The University of Michigan has recently acquired a valuable collection of personal and professional materials from the legendary filmmaker Orson Welles. These items, contributed by his youngest daughter, Beatrice Welles, enhance the university’s already substantial Screen Arts Mavericks & Makers collection dedicated to Welles.
Included in this acquisition are personal artifacts from Welles’ teenage years, such as letters, postcards, diaries, and doodles. The collection also features heavily annotated scripts from well-known films like “Chimes at Midnight” and “The Immortal Story,” alongside rare, previously unseen screenplays for various incomplete projects from the 1950s and 1960s. These include scripts for “Ulysses,” “The Unthinking Lobster,” and “Operation Cinderella.” Additionally, the archive houses the script for “Fountain of Youth,” a television pilot for Desilu Productions that aired and won a Peabody Award, although the series was never continued.
This treasure trove of documents provides a deeper insight into Welles’ creative process and the breadth of his work, much of which remained unfinished.
Philip Hallman, the curator of the collection, expressed his excitement about the recent acquisition, stating, “It’s sort of the missing piece of the Welles puzzle; it documents a period people haven’t had the opportunity to see original material from.” He emphasized the significance of the find, noting, “It really shows just how productive he was during this period. It’s voluminous, the mountain of scripts he was writing.”
Beatrice Welles, daughter of Orson Welles and Italian actress and countess Paola Mori, shared her thoughts on the collection’s new home. She mentioned that she had always wanted to consolidate her father’s belongings in one place, although she acknowledged that her father might not have been entirely pleased with the chosen location.
Beatrice Welles noted, “He hated anything scholarly,” when reflecting on her father’s views. However, she recognized the University of Michigan’s already impressive collection, significantly enriched by donations from individuals like Chris Wilson, the son of Richard Wilson, Welles’s longtime associate. “When I saw what they had, I thought this is the place to add to, and hopefully people will follow suit,” she said. “With what I have given them, it’s probably the best collection in the world.”
Additionally, two years ago, the university acquired eight boxes of papers from Oja Kodar, a Croatian actress who was Welles’s partner and lover during the final years of his life, further enhancing their collection.
The newly acquired correspondence offers a glimpse into the vibrant and articulate teenage years of Orson Welles. It includes sketches of donkeys made during a painting trip to Ireland and letters written with enthusiasm from a ship in Hong Kong, which he described as “a wonderful surprise.” In one letter, young Welles exclaimed, “And gosh, what a ship this is! They speak of floating hotels in reference to liners, but this is more.”
This acquisition by the University of Michigan coincides with recent developments in completing Welles’s unfinished final project, “The Other Side of the Wind.” The production team, in collaboration with Netflix, has announced progress towards finishing the film, overcoming years of obstacles.
