Othello (1952 film)

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Othello
original film poster
Directed by	Orson Welles
Produced by	Orson Welles
Written by	Orson Welles, William Shakespeare
Starring	Orson Welles, Micheál MacLiammóir, Suzanne Cloutier, Robert Coote
Distributed by	Marceau Films/United Artists
Release date(s)	1952
Running time	91 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Othello ia a 1952 drama film based on the Shakespearean play, made by Mercury Productions Inc. and Les Films Marceau and distributed by United Artists (1955). It was directed and produced by Orson Welles who also played the title role. The screenplay was adapted by Welles and an uncredited Jean Sacha. The film was shot on location in Morocco, Venice, Tuscany and Rome and at the Scalera Studios in Rome.

In addition to Orson Welles, the cast consisted of Micheál MacLiammóir as Iago, Robert Coote as Roderigo, Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, Hilton Edwards as Brabantio, Nicholas Bruce as Lodovico, Michael Laurence as Cassio, Fay Compton as Emilia and Doris Dowling as Bianca. Joseph Cotten and Joan Fontaine also appear, uncredited.

One of Welles' more complicated shoots, Othello was filmed on and off over a period of three years. Shooting began in 1949 but was forced to shut down when money for the production ran out. Welles used the money from his acting jobs like The Third Man (1949) to finance the film.

This lengthy and complicated shoot is detailed in Micheál MacLiammóir's book Put Money in Thy Purse.

The film was released in Europe to great praise in 1952, winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, though it was largely ignored in America. It was restored in 1991, with its soundtrack rebuilt in stereo sound (the dialogue was largely the same, though re-mastered, but the score was newly recorded in stereo), and re-released to theatres. This version was shown to great acclaim in the United States, and first appeared on cable television in 1995.

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Orson Welles
Citizen Kane (1941) • The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) • The Stranger (1946) • The Lady from Shanghai (1947) • Macbeth (1948) • Othello (1952) • Mr. Arkadin (1955) • Touch of Evil (1958) • The Trial (1962) • Chimes at Midnight (1965) • The Immortal Story (1968) • F for Fake (1974)