Weird show by Orson Welles that followed the Campbell Playhouse. It’s been described as literary vaudeville, which is close to the mark – an anthology of anthologies. Shows might feature two adaptations and a poem – which means you’re constantly having to recalibrate and it’s hard to pay attention. Later on the show changed to a more traditional format and involved the adaptation of just one story. A quick summary of the episodes I've heard"
Ep 1 – "Sredni Vashtar" – Odd pot pouri of a show – some adaptations of stories by Saki and Geoffrey Household (something Irish). Irritating Jiminy Cricket. Dolores del Rio talks about Mexican independence.
Ep 3 – “The Interlopers”. A lot better – "The Interloper" is a spooky tale. Then there’s a poem, and a reprise of “I am a Fool” which he did for Mercury – Orson in aw shucks mode. We didn’t really need to hear it again. Last appearance of Jiminy Cricket – thank God.
Ep 11 (part) “Wilbur” – fast paced story about a chimpanzee. Done with skill, but fast-paced Welles comedy still doesn’t seem to work.
Ep 13 - “Happy Prince” – part of a Christmas show. A decent enough tale. More interesting was reading from the Gospels and some Merry Christmas chanting from the Mercury gang.
Ep 16 - "The Apple Tree." Geraldine Fitzgerald and Welles in John Galsworthy's story of a cross-class romance which doesn't work out due to the weakness of the guy (it was turned into a film, Summer Story). Interesting to hear Welles in a romance tale where he plays a weakling rather than a dashing, brooding hero. Script is here.
Ep 17 - "My Little Boy." A reprise of a short story done on Mercury Theatre. He says this was the most popular the Mercury had done to that point - was this true? Surely War of the Worlds pipped it? Anyway it's a family tale with Welles as the father of a little boy watching him grow up. Yeah, yeah.
NB There is an excellent article on the show at the Wellesnet website - see here.
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