Every fan of the film of this should check out Orson Welles’ radio version. It’s clear Welles was a massive fan of the novel (he gushed about it ad nauseum the previous week and in the introduction) and it helps give you an idea of what a non-mutilated version of the film might be like.
This is a decent enough adaptation – I don’t agree with the Vanity Fair article which describes it as “brilliant” but think it’s better than Simon Callow does in his book on Welles. Welles’ performance as George is awful – whiny, high pitched, etc - and is a major flaw (and to his credit Welles seemed to recognise this when he cast Tim Holt for the film version). There is no Aunt Fanny character but Walter Huston is on hand to play Eugene.
NB. A random thought how the Ambersons could have been a popular film - cast Welles as George but reconfigure the part to better fit Welle’s image. Make George like the popular impression of Welles at the time – charming, brilliant, smooth, egotistical, bratty, surrounded by people who either humour him or long for his come-uppance. And have him do something genuinely nice at the end rather than just realising he's bad.
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