Another biography on Orson Welles? One that focuses on his life before Citizen Kane, just like Simon Callow's? I mainly gave this a go because it was written by Patrick McGilligan whose books are always worth reading and it was worth it. It's a fantastic book - most of the books I've read on Welles have been great.
It plays to McGilligan's strengths - he's done sturdy work on Welles' family tree, as per usual. He also spends a lot of time de-bunking myths about Welles, proving a counter balance (just as he did in his books on Hitchcock and Clint Eastwood): his supposedly distant parents, the role of John Houseman, the paternity of Michael Lindsay Hogg, his supposed womanising (there seems to have been a lot of it but much was seemingly emotional), his supposed nothing marriage to Virginia Welles, the enigma of his elder brother, the mystery of Dadda Bernstein, the personal touches in Kane.
The book got a little less special as it went on, mainly because the ground it covered was more familiar. McGilligan isn't as good on theatre as Simon Callow but is more thorough when it comes to facts. It was always worth reading though. The epilogue on Welles' last day was really moving.
I felt McGilligan was a bit harsh on Houseman at times - so he blew his own trumpet, that's not a massive crime, and I think having to deal with the legend of Welles would be hard.
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