{"id":44382,"date":"2024-06-28T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=44382"},"modified":"2024-06-28T05:23:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T09:23:43","slug":"the-bootleg-files-the-american-film-institute-presents-a-salute-to-orson-welles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/28\/the-bootleg-files-the-american-film-institute-presents-a-salute-to-orson-welles\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: The American Film Institute Presents a Salute to Orson Welles"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 871: <\/strong>\u201cThe American Film Institute Presents a Salute to Orson Welles\u201d (1975 televised tribute to the iconic actor\/filmmaker). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> On YouTube. <\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> On a VHS label.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> It fell through the cracks. <\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:<\/strong> Unlikely.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, television audiences viewed the American Film Institute\u2019s (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to Nicole Kidman. Unlike the other movie industry awards, the AFI honors focuses its attention on a single person who puts up with lavish praise and some mild kidding before accepting the star-shaped honor.
\n<\/p>\n

The first AFI Lifetime Achievement Award was presented in 1973 to John Ford, with James Cagney receiving the second tribute. There was no controversy to either selection \u2013 Ford was in frail health and passed away five months after the ceremony was televised, while Cagney had retired from the screen in 1961 and was mostly unseen by the public until his award was presented.<\/p>\n

For the third AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, it was decided to honor Orson Welles. Unlike Ford and Cagney, a show honoring Welles sparked controversy from some corners of Hollywood where it was argued there were other creative artists who were more deserving. Tom Nolan, a writer for the Village Voice, quoted an unnamed film industry figure who complained, \u201cExcept for one great film 30 years ago, what has Welles contributed?\u201d<\/p>\n

One person who had no problems with the AFI\u2019s choice was Frank Sinatra, who was a longtime friend of Welles. Sinatra volunteered to host the award show and he used his influence to ensure television viewers saw Hollywood stars among the audience at the event, which was held in the ballroom of the Century Plaza Ballroom in Beverly Hills. <\/p>\n

The public saw the ceremony on February 9, 1975, in a CBS broadcast titled \u201cThe American Film Institute Presents a Salute to Orson Welles.\u201d As a tribute to Welles, the production was rather wobbly \u2013 some of his most memorable dramatic performances were not included among the clips that highlighted his dramatic skills and only six of the films he had directed to date were featured. However, the Welles-directed films that were shown included \u201cOthello\u201d and \u201cChimes at Midnight,\u201d both among his hardest to see films at that time. <\/p>\n

Also, a surprisingly large number of A-list talent who worked with Welles were not part of the on-screen felicitations while Ingrid Bergman, who never worked with Welles, was among the stars recalling his greatness. (Bergman, whose arrival was greeted with a standing ovation, half-jokingly stated the reason she was present was \u201cbecause I work across the street\u201d).<\/p>\n

Several of the stars saluting Welles had a non-cinematic connection to him. Sinatra, who never made a film with Welles, acknowledged they became acquainted when they were part of an entertainment industry effort to re-elect President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. Johnny Carson, who also never made a film with Welles, shared an anecdote on how he was a teenage volunteer for Welles during a USO magic show in 1943. And comic ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, joined by his dummy Charlie McCarthy, recalled how radio listeners in 1938 tuned away from his show to get caught up in Welles\u2019 \u201cWar of the Worlds\u201d broadcast happening on a rival network.<\/p>\n

As for those with a more substantial bond to Welles, Charlton Heston co-hosted the event \u2013 he shared a clip of the two of them in \u201cTouch of Evil\u201d and then described it as \u201ca minor film classic.\u201d Indeed, that kind of backhanded compliment permeated the show \u2013 there were reminders of Welles\u2019 youth in creating \u201cCitizen Kane\u201d and the insinuations that he never created anything of equal grandeur.<\/p>\n

Natalie Wood recalled working with Welles when she was six years old on the film \u201cTomorrow is Forever\u201d while Janet Leigh and Dennis Weaver had a brief reminiscence about making \u201cTouch of Evil.\u201d Joseph Cotten had more time to recall his collaborations with Welles while Peter Bogdanovich shared a comic incident from the production of \u201cThe Other Side of the Wind.\u201d Jeanne Moreau was part of the ceremony to recall her work in Welles\u2019 European films and Francois Truffaut shared his views of Welles’ directing, but their segments were cut from the CBS telecast, which included Sinatra singing an updated version of \u201cThat\u2019s Why the Lady is a Champ\u201d with new lyrics advocating \u201cThat\u2019s Why Orson is a Champ.\u201d <\/p>\n

When Welles was finally able to address the ceremony, he gave a gracious six-minute speech that was equal parts funny, poignant and ironic in pointing out his maverick status in an industry where he struggled for decades to secure funding for the films he wrote and directed. He observed, \u201cAs a director, for instance, I pay myself out of my acting jobs. I use my own work to subsidize my work. In other words, I\u2019m crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welles also shared clips from \u201cThe Other Side of the Wind,\u201d which was in production at the time. Welles hoped that he could use the event to generate investment backing in that work, but \u201cThe Other Side of the Wind\u201d remained unfinished at the time of Welles\u2019 death in 1985. For many years, this telecast offered the only chance to see any portion of \u201cThe Other Side of the Wind\u201d until the posthumously assembled work finally emerged in 2018. Oddly, there was no mention of “F for Fake,” which Welles completed in 1973 but was still awaiting a U.S. release.<\/p>\n

The AFI telecast had a brief release on VHS video, but to date there has not been a DVD or Blu-ray release. An unauthorized upload of the show is on YouTube, but the quality is so-so and it is choppy in sections. Oddly, the AFI only uploaded clips from the show on its YouTube, but not the full presentation.<\/p>\n