---
name: "Orson Welles"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/orson-welles"
fi1m_id: "orson-welles"
imdb_id: "nm0000080"
tmdb_id: 40
wikidata_id: "Q24829"
roles: ["Director","Actor","Writer"]
born: "6 May 1915"
died: "10 October 1985"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 14
average_fi1m_score: 81
average_as: "director"
average_over: 8
updated: "2026-09-26T17:42:18.718497+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Orson Welles

## Identity

Orson Welles

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/orson-welles
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** orson-welles
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000080
- **TMDB ID:** 40
- **Wikidata ID:** Q24829
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24829, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000080/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/40

Director and actor. Born 6 May 1915 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA. Died 10 October 1985.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Actor, Writer
- **Born:** 6 May 1915, Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
- **Died:** 10 October 1985
- **Active:** 1941–2000
- **Also known as:** George Orson Welles, O. W. Jeeves
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 14: 5 acting, 8 directing, 1 writing
- **Frequently works with:** [Joseph Cotten](https://film.one/person/joseph-cotten.md), [Akim Tamiroff](https://film.one/person/akim-tamiroff.md), [John Huston](https://film.one/person/john-huston.md), [Oja Kodar](https://film.one/person/oja-kodar.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 2 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as director, over 8 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 86 (5), 1950s 84 (2), 1960s 73 (3), 1970s 82 (1), 1980s 82 (1), 1990s 66 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 86 to 85 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 3 of 8 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Comedy 2, Crime 2, Thriller 2, Adventure 1, Documentary 1
- **Screen time:** 14 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $29m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24829, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000080/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/40

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Third Man*](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md) (92)
- **HBO Max:** [*Chimes at Midnight*](https://film.one/film/chimes-at-midnight.md) (88)
- **Tubi:** [*Touch of Evil*](https://film.one/film/touch-of-evil.md) (88)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*A Man for All Seasons*](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md) (81)
- **The Criterion Channel:** [*Othello*](https://film.one/film/othello.md) (80)
- **Hulu:** [*The Stranger*](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md) (76)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Orson Welles

> Orson Welles put the camera on the floor and let ceilings press down on men who thought they were bigger than their houses. The films he was allowed to finish are among the best America has made; the rest are fragments, some of them remarkable.

The camera is on the floor. In *Chimes at Midnight* (1965) Edmond Richard shoots the tavern from the boards with a wide lens, so the beams press down and Falstaff fills the frame like furniture. In *Don Quixote* the camera is down among the sheep when the Don charges them, low and fast, dust everywhere. In the 1942 footage of *It's All True*, George Fanto shoots four fishermen from low on the sand so they stand against enormous skies. Welles liked people to look larger than the houses they stood in, and then he liked to show you the houses winning.

He arrived at RKO in 1939 with a contract that gave him unusual control, and spent it on *Citizen Kane* (1941), which he directed, co-wrote and starred in. Gregg Toland's deep focus keeps near and far sharp, so a scene has more than one thing to look at. Then the control went. *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942) was cut by around forty minutes while Welles was in Brazil shooting *It's All True*, which the studio abandoned. He lost the studio soon after. From the late 1940s he worked mostly in Europe on whatever money turned up: *Othello* (1951) was shot over years in pieces, *Chimes at Midnight* ran short, *Don Quixote* was never finished. *Touch of Evil* (1958) was a late return to Hollywood.

What survived intact is as good as its reputation, and Welles's own performances are the surest thing in it. Quinlan in *Touch of Evil* is broad enough to risk becoming an attraction in his own right, which is what makes his authority believable. His Falstaff is quieter than you expect, the eyes forever going to Keith Baxter's Hal, checking. In the scene where Hal, still playing at being king, says Falstaff will be banished, Welles simply stops, and we found it harder to watch than anything in *Kane*: it is an old man's face waiting to be told it was a joke.

The failures are mostly things you hear. *Othello* is dubbed in every line, and it costs the actors. *Don Quixote* lays voices over mouths filmed years earlier. *Touch of Evil* plots conspicuously. Welles staged for the eye, and when the money ran out the ear was left to fend for itself.

The reconstructions show what is missing. *It's All True* (1993) was assembled with respect, which is not what Welles was known for; his cutting was quick and his narration was half the point. *Don Quixote* (1992) treats every surviving foot as though it must be used. Start with *Ambersons* and *Chimes at Midnight*, then *Kane*, and come to the fragments last, knowing they are somebody else's best guess at what he meant.

## Biography

Orson Welles was an American director, actor, screenwriter and producer. He directed, produced, co-wrote and starred as Charles Foster Kane in *Citizen Kane* (1941). He played Harry Lime in *The Third Man* (1949).

Welles is also credited as director and co-writer on *Touch of Evil* (1958), *The Lady from Shanghai* (1947), *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942) and *Chimes at Midnight* (1965). He directed *The Stranger* (1946) and *The Trial* (1962).

*Sources: nytimes.com, bfi.org.uk.*

## On Fi1m (14)

### Performed in (5)

- *Moonlighting* (1985), Fi1m 82, as Orson Welles — [page](https://film.one/tv/moonlighting.md)
- *The Muppet Movie* (1979), Fi1m 82, as Lew Lord — [page](https://film.one/film/the-muppet-movie.md)
- *Casino Royale* (1967), Fi1m 50, as Le Chiffre — [page](https://film.one/film/casino-royale-1967.md)
- *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), Fi1m 81, as Cardinal Wolsey — [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md)
- *The Third Man* (1949), Fi1m 92, as Harry Lime — [page](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md)

### Directed (8) — the average rests on these

- *It's All True* (1993), Fi1m 78, as Self — [page](https://film.one/film/its-all-true.md)
- *Don Quixote* (1992), Fi1m 54, as Self — [page](https://film.one/film/don-quixote.md)
- *Chimes at Midnight* (1965), Fi1m 88, as Falstaff — [page](https://film.one/film/chimes-at-midnight.md)
- *Touch of Evil* (1958), Fi1m 88, as Police Captain Hank Quinlan — [page](https://film.one/film/touch-of-evil.md)
- *Othello* (1951), Fi1m 80, as Othello — [page](https://film.one/film/othello.md)
- *The Stranger* (1946), Fi1m 76, as Prof. Charles Rankin — [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)
- *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942), Fi1m 89, as Narrator (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-ambersons.md)
- *Citizen Kane* (1941), Fi1m 93, as Charles Foster Kane — [page](https://film.one/film/citizen-kane.md)

### Wrote (1)

- *Monsieur Verdoux* (1947), Fi1m 82, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/monsieur-verdoux.md)

## Complete filmography (267)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *War of the Worlds* (2026), as narrator
- *WeirdWorld* (2025), as Troy2000 (Archive footage)
- *Human Nature in Eleven Parts* (2025), as Narrator "The Scorpion and the Frog" (archive footage)
- *The Scorpion and the Frog* (2025), as Narrator (archive footage)
- *The Battle of Grovers Mill* (2024), as Radio Host (voice) (archival footage) · Original Story
- *From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight* (2023), as Falstaff
- *Looking Back Before You Leap* (2023), as General Zaroff (voice)
- *My Guest is Orson Welles* (2021), Actor
- *Hopper/Welles* (2020), Director
- *Cerné par le diable* (2019), Thanks
- *Halston* (2019), as Theme Song Performance
- *Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"* (2019), as (archive footage)
- *The Other Side of the Wind* (2018), as Journalist (uncredited) · Director, Editor, Screenplay
- *Silent Times* (2018), Thanks
- *The Brother Side of the Wake* (2018), Thanks
- *The Magic History of Cinema* (2017), Actor
- *Embers & Dust* (2016), as Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
- *Passage to Mars* (2016), as Theme Song Performance
- *Bucket* (2015), series, Thanks
- *Tim May Presents Reptile* (2014), Thanks
- *Too Much Johnson* (2013), as Keystone Kop (uncredited) · Director, Screenplay, Editor, Producer
- *The Debridement of Rome* (2012), Thanks
- *Magic Mirror Maze* (2012), Actor
- *Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen* (2012), as (archive footage)
- *Welcome to the Basement* (2012), series, as Theme Song Performance
- *Incident at Barstow* (2011), Thanks
- *Jucy* (2010), as Elephant Lamp (archive sound)
- *Variations on a High School Romance* (2010), Thanks
- *Beer and Board Games* (2010), series, Thanks
- *L'antre du Mea* (2010), series, Thanks
- *Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff* (2010), as Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
- *Dahmer vs. Gacy* (2010), Thanks
- *Hollywood sul Tevere* (2009), Actor
- *Lucifer et moi* (2009), as (archive footage 1982)
- *F for favor* (2008), Original Concept
- *The Deep* (2007), as Russ Brewer · Producer, Director, Screenplay
- *The Hitchhiker* (2007), Original Concept
- *Orson Welles Talks With Roger Hill* (2005), as (Self) · Director
- *The Well* (2005), Actor
- *Orson Welles Uncut* (2005), Actor
- *The Hitch Hiker* (2004), as Ronald Adams
- *Filming 'The Trial'* (2002), Director, Producer
- *The Magnificent Ambersons* (2002), Original Film Writer
- *The Movie Movie (An Excerpt)* (2002), as Archival Footage
- *Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV* (2001), Thanks
- *NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3* (2001), as Narrator
- *Moby Dick* (2000), as Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage) · Director, Theatre Play, Editor
- *One Man Band* (1999), Presenter / Various, Director, Writer, Editor
- *The Big Brass Ring* (1999), Writer
- *According to Occam's Razor* (1999), Actor
- *Hi-Fi* (1999), Actor
- *As Long as He Lives* (1998), Thanks
- *The Way to Santiago* (1998), Writer
- *The Big Brass Ring* (1997), Writer
- *The Hearts of Age* (1997), Original Concept
- *Treasury of Children's Stories* (1996), as Theme Song Performance
- *Orson Welles: The One-Man Band* (1995), Director
- *Valentines. A Bouquet of Letters and Poetry of Lovers* (1994), as Theme Song Performance
- *It's All True* (1993), Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/its-all-true.md)
- *Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles* (1993), Actor
- *Historias Breves 0: Distant encounters* (1993), Thanks
- *Don Quixote* (1992), Director, Editor, Producer, Screenplay — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/don-quixote.md)
- *Dieter & Andreas* (1989), Thanks
- *Continental* (1989), Thanks
- *Waxwork* (1988), Thanks
- *On the tracks of a filmmaker* (1988), as Orson Welles
- *Someone to Love* (1987), as Danny's Friend
- *Unseen Lollo* (1986), Director, Writer
- *The Transformers: The Movie* (1986), as Unicron (voice)
- *It's All True: Four Men on a Raft* (1986), Director, Writer
- *Scene of the Crime* (1985), series, as Creator
- *Moonlighting* (1985), series, as Orson Welles · Thanks — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/moonlighting.md)
- *The Dreamers* (1985), as Marcus Kleek · Director, Writer
- *Orson Welles' Magic Show* (1985), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Almonds and Raisins* (1984), as Narrator
- *The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail* (1984), as Narrator
- *The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh* (1984), Director
- *Where Is Parsifal?* (1984), as Klingsor
- *The Witching* (1983), as Mr. Cato
- *Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?* (1983), as Magician (uncredited)
- *The Psychic Connection* (1983), as Narrator
- *Hot Money* (1983), as Sheriff Paisley
- *Slapstick of Another Kind* (1982), as Aliens' Father (voice) (uncredited)
- *Wagner e Venezia* (1982), as Richard Wagner (voice)
- *Trick or Treats* (1982), as Other
- *Genocide* (1982), as Narrator (voice)
- *Butterfly* (1982), as Judge Rauch
- *The Quest for Fire Adventure* (1982), as Narrator
- *A Gift of Harvest* (1981), as Narrator
- *The War of the Worlds: Next Century* (1981), Thanks
- *The New Deal for Artists* (1981), as Narrator (voice)
- *History of the World: Part I* (1981), as Narrator (voice)
- *Tales of the Klondike* (1981), series, as Narrator
- *The Man Who Saw Tomorrow* (1981), as Presenter / Narrator (voice)
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, as Robin Masters (voice)
- *Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park* (1980), as Narrator
- *Shōgun* (1980), series, as Narrator
- *The Secret of Nikola Tesla* (1980), as J.P. Morgan
- *A Step Away* (1980), as English Narrator
- *The Greenstone* (1980), as Narrator (voice)
- *The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis* (1979), as Narrator
- *To Try Again... and Succeed* (1979), as Narrator (voice)
- *Filming Othello* (1979), as Host · Director, Writer
- *The Muppet Movie* (1979), as Lew Lord — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-muppet-movie.md)
- *The Double McGuffin* (1979), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Orson Welles Show* (1979), Director, Writer
- *The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon* (1979), as Narrator
- *A Woman Called Moses* (1978), series, as Narrator (voice)
- *The Magic of David Copperfield* (1978), series, as Host
- *Orson Welles at The Magic Castle* (1978), Writer
- *The Biggest Battle* (1978), as Narratore
- *Mysterious Castles of Clay* (1978), as Narrator
- *It Happened One Christmas* (1977), as Henry F. Potter
- *The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed* (1977), as Narrator
- *Hot Tomorrows* (1977), as Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
- *The Rime of the Ancient Mariner* (1977), as Narrator
- *From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural* (1977), as Narrator
- *Voyage of the Damned* (1976), as José Estedes
- *NBC: The First Fifty Years* (1976), Writer
- *Bugs Bunny Superstar* (1976), as Narrator (voice)
- *A Mother's Tale* (1976), as Narrator
- *Magnificent Monsters of the Deep* (1975), as Narrator
- *3 A.M.* (1975), Editorial Services, Editor
- *Rikki-Tikki-Tavi* (1975), as Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
- *Who's Out There?* (1975), as Host
- *The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art* (1974), as Narrator
- *A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles* (1974), Actor
- *Crónicas fantásticas* (1974), series, Thanks
- *And Then There Were None* (1974), as Voice on Tape
- *The Monkey's Paw* (1973), as Host
- *Kelly Country* (1973), as Narrator
- *F for Fake* (1973), Director, Writer, Editor
- *Orson Welles' Great Mysteries* (1973), series, Director, Screenplay, Creator
- *The Battle of Sutjeska* (1973), as Winston Churchill
- *The Cave* (1973), as Narrator
- *The Man Who Came to Dinner* (1972), as Sheridan Whiteside
- *Treasure Island* (1972), as Long John Silver · Writer
- *Necromancy* (1972), as Mr. Cato
- *Get to Know Your Rabbit* (1972), as Mr. Delasandro
- *Malpertuis* (1972), as Cassavius
- *Future Shock* (1972), as Narrator
- *Ten Days' Wonder* (1971), as Théo Van Horn
- *A Safe Place* (1971), as The Magician
- *Directed by John Ford* (1971), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Silent Years* (1971), series, Actor
- *Sentinels of Silence* (1971), Actor
- *Flame of Persia* (1971), as Narrator
- *Freedom River* (1971), as Narrator · Producer
- *An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon* (1970), Writer, Director, Producer, Editor
- *An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. I – Selections from George Ade, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain* (1970), Director, Producer, Writer
- *An Evening with Orson Welles: The Happy Prince* (1970), Director, Producer, Writer
- *An Evening with Orson Welles: Two Wise Old Men – Socrates and Noah* (1970), Director, Producer, Writer
- *An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. II – Clarence Darrow* (1970), Director, Producer, Writer
- *An Evening with Orson Welles: My Little Boy* (1970), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Night Gallery* (1970), series, as Narrator
- *Is It Always Right to Be Right?* (1970), as Narrator
- *Waterloo* (1970), as Louis XVIII
- *The Enemy Before Us* (1970), as Narrator
- *Catch-22* (1970), as Brigadier General Dreedle
- *Start the Revolution Without Me* (1970), as The Narrator
- *The Kremlin Letter* (1970), as Bresnavitch
- *A Horse Called Nijinsky* (1970), as Narrator
- *The Merchant of Venice (Rushes)* (1970), as Shylock · Director
- *Upon This Rock* (1970), as Michelangelo (voice)
- *Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali* (1969), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Merchant of Venice* (1969), as Shylock · Producer, Screenplay, Director, Editor
- *The Battle of Neretva* (1969), as Četnik
- *Twelve Plus One* (1969), as Markan
- *The Southern Star* (1969), as Plankett
- *The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal* (1969), as Justinian
- *Tepepa* (1969), as Colonel Cascorro
- *To Build a Fire* (1969), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Fight for Rome* (1968), as Justinian
- *The Name of the Game* (1968), series, as Narrator
- *The Immortal Story* (1968), as Charles Clay · Director, Screenplay
- *House of Cards* (1968), as Leschenhaut
- *Oedipus the King* (1968), as Tiresias
- *Vienna* (1968), Director, Writer, Producer
- *I'll Never Forget What's'isname* (1967), as Jonathan Lute
- *Beggars Would Ride* (1967), as Narrator
- *Casino Royale* (1967), as Le Chiffre — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/casino-royale-1967.md)
- *The Sailor from Gibraltar* (1967), as Louis de Mozambique
- *Ten Days That Shook the World* (1967), as Narrator
- *The Heroine* (1967), Director, Editor
- *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), as Cardinal Wolsey — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md)
- *Is Paris Burning?* (1966), as Konsul Nordling
- *The Bible: In the Beginning...* (1966), as Additional Writing · Scenario Writer
- *Chimes at Midnight* (1965), as Falstaff · Director, Screenplay, Costume Design — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/chimes-at-midnight.md)
- *National Geographic Specials* (1965), series, as Narrator
- *Americans on Everest* (1965), as Narrator- Self
- *Marco the Magnificent* (1965), as Akerman, Marco's Teacher
- *Profile No. 6: Orson Welles* (1965), Actor
- *A King's Story* (1965), as Narrator
- *The Finest Hours* (1964), as Narrator (voice)
- *In the Land of Don Quixote* (1964), series, Director, Editor, Additional Camera, Producer, Creator
- *The V.I.P.s* (1963), as Max Buda
- *La ricotta* (1963), Actor
- *Ro.Go.Pa.G.* (1963), as The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
- *River of the Ocean* (1962), as Narrator (English)
- *The Trial* (1962), as Albert Hastler · Director, Screenplay, Editor
- *Lafayette* (1962), as Benjamin Franklin
- *King of Kings* (1961), as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- *The Tartars* (1961), as Burundai
- *Survival* (1961), series, as Narrator
- *Austerlitz* (1960), as Robert Fulton
- *An Arabian Night* (1960), as Storyteller
- *Crack in the Mirror* (1960), as Hagolin / Lamerciere
- *Five Columns on the Front Page: Hong Kong as seen by Orson Welles* (1960), Director
- *David and Goliath* (1960), as King Saul
- *High Journey* (1959), as Narrator
- *Ferry to Hong Kong* (1959), as Captain Hart
- *Compulsion* (1959), as Jonathan Wilk
- *Lords of the Forest* (1958), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Roots of Heaven* (1958), as Cy Sedgewick
- *The Fountain of Youth* (1958), the narrator, Director, Producer, Production Design, Writer, Music Arranger
- *Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina* (1958), Director, Writer
- *Colgate Theatre* (1958), series, Music Arranger, Screenplay, Producer, Director
- *South Seas Adventure* (1958), as Narrator
- *The Vikings* (1958), as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- *The Long, Hot Summer* (1958), as Will Varner
- *Touch of Evil* (1958), as Police Captain Hank Quinlan · Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/touch-of-evil.md)
- *Man in the Shadow* (1957), as Virgil Renchler
- *Moby Dick* (1956), as Father Mapple
- *Orson Welles and People: Camille, the Naked Lady and the Musketeers* (1956), Director, Writer, Producer, Production Designer, Music Arranger
- *Around the World with Orson Welles* (1955), series, as Host: Orson Welles · Director, Writer, Creator
- *The Land of the Basques* (1955), Director
- *Ford Star Jubilee* (1955), series, as Oscar Jaffe
- *Mr. Arkadin* (1955), as Gregory Arkadin · Director, Screenplay, Producer, Production Design, Costume Design, Editor, Story, Art Direction
- *Moby Dick—Rehearsed* (1955), An Actor Manager /Father Mapple /Ahab, Director, Writer
- *Napoleon* (1955), as Sir Hudson Lowe
- *Three Cases of Murder* (1955), as Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment), Theme Song Performance
- *Trouble in the Glen* (1954), as Sanin Cejador y Mengues
- *Royal Affairs in Versailles* (1953), as Benjamin Franklin
- *King Lear* (1953), as King Lear
- *Man, Beast and Virtue* (1953), as Captain Perella, the Beast
- *Return to Glennascaul* (1952), as Narrator
- *Trent's Last Case* (1952), as Sigsbee Manderson
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Sheridan Whiteside
- *Othello* (1951), as Othello · Director, Producer, Screenplay — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/othello.md)
- *I Love Lucy* (1951), series, as Orson Welles
- *The Black Rose* (1950), as Bayan
- *The Miracle of St. Anne* (1950), The Director, Director, Writer
- *Prince of Foxes* (1949), as Cesare Borgia
- *The Third Man* (1949), as Harry Lime — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md)
- *Black Magic* (1949), as Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro · Co-Director
- *Macbeth* (1948), as Macbeth · Director, Costume Design, Producer, Screenplay, Set Designer
- *The Lady from Shanghai* (1947), as Michael O'Hara · Producer, Screenplay, Director
- *Monsieur Verdoux* (1947), Story — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/monsieur-verdoux.md)
- *Duel in the Sun* (1946), as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- *Battle for Survival* (1946), as Narrator
- *The Stranger* (1946), as Prof. Charles Rankin · Director, Co-Writer — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)
- *Tomorrow Is Forever* (1946), as John Andrew MacDonald
- *Mexico City, Old and New* (1945), as Narrator
- *Follow the Boys* (1944), as Orson Welles (uncredited)
- *Know Your Ally: Britain* (1944), as Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
- *Jane Eyre* (1943), as Edward Rochester · Associate Producer
- *Journey into Fear* (1943), as Colonel Haki · Producer, Screenplay
- *It's All True* (1943), Director, Screenplay
- *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942), as Narrator (voice) · Director, Producer, Screenplay, Additional Photography — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-ambersons.md)
- *Citizen Kane* (1941), as Charles Foster Kane · Screenplay, Producer, Director — Fi1m 93, [page](https://film.one/film/citizen-kane.md)
- *Swiss Family Robinson* (1940), as Opening Narrator (uncredited)
- *The Green Goddess* (1939), Rajah/Narrator, Director, Adaptation, Producer
- *The Spanish Earth* (1937), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Hearts of Age* (1934), as Death · Director, Writer
- *Twelfth Night* (1933), Narrator, Director, Adaptation, Costume Design, Director of Photography
- *Voyage of the Brigantine Yankee*, as Narrator
- *Something Else*, Original Concept

## Gallery

- ![Orson Welles](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-88091456b504.jpg) Orson Welles — Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Orson_Welles_1937_cr3-4.jpg/1280px-Orson_Welles_1937_cr3-4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Front cover of the dust jacket for the first edition of The Citizen Kane Book (1971), the first book publication of "Raising Kane", an essay by Pauline Kael, an](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-f74c179b8fec.jpg) Front cover of the dust jacket for the first edition of The Citizen Kane Book (1971), the first book publication of "Raising Kane", an essay by Pauline Kael, an — Little, Brown and Company; dust jacket design by Bernie LaCasse, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Citizen-Kane-Book-FE.jpg/1280px-Citizen-Kane-Book-FE.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![American theatrical release poster for the 1973 experimental documentary film F for Fake.](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-5682538a142b.jpg) American theatrical release poster for the 1973 experimental documentary film F for Fake. — Distributed by Specialty Films in the United States., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/F_for_Fake_%281973_poster%29.jpg/1280px-F_for_Fake_%281973_poster%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Poster for the 1967 U.S. release of the 1966 film, Chimes at Midnight, titled Falstaff](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-3c5e251bcf39.jpg) Poster for the 1967 U.S. release of the 1966 film, Chimes at Midnight, titled Falstaff — Peppercorn-Wormser Film Enterprises (Harry Saltzman, distributor), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Falstaff-1967-Half-Sheet-Poster.jpg/1280px-Falstaff-1967-Half-Sheet-Poster.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Orson Welles](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-c2ee0dfbb9d8.jpg) Orson Welles — Image via TMDB
- ![Orson Welles](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-959e99b5de9c.jpg) Orson Welles — Image via TMDB
- ![Orson Welles](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-dd2f8273405c.jpg) Orson Welles — Image via TMDB
- ![Poster for the 1967 U.S. release of the 1966 film, Chimes at Midnight, titled Falstaff](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-fa57fa6cf997.jpg) Poster for the 1967 U.S. release of the 1966 film, Chimes at Midnight, titled Falstaff — Peppercorn-Wormser Film Enterprises (Harry Saltzman, distributor), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Falstaff-1967-Poster.jpg/1280px-Falstaff-1967-Poster.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Frederick J. Gottfredsen House in the Library Park Historic District, Kenosha, WI (1888). Gottfredsen was born in Kenosha in 1857 and was educated at Lake Fores (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-b9f3de732796.jpg) Frederick J. Gottfredsen House in the Library Park Historic District, Kenosha, WI (1888). Gottfredsen was born in Kenosha in 1857 and was educated at Lake Fores (2013) — Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Frederick_J._Gottfredsen_House_2013.jpg/1280px-Frederick_J._Gottfredsen_House_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Orson Welles](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-51e79cc1fdaa.jpg) Orson Welles — Image via TMDB
- ![Orson Welles](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-e7cc530f64c0.jpg) Orson Welles — Image via TMDB
- ![Orson Welles](https://film.one/media/person/59002/gallery-1b62185352d1.jpg) Orson Welles — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- 1942: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *Citizen Kane*
- 1942: Best Actor (nominated), for *Citizen Kane*
- 1942: Best Director (nominated), for *Citizen Kane*

### Cannes Film Festival — 1 won

- 1952: Palme d'Or (won)

### Venice Film Festival — 1 won

- 1970: Golden Lion (won)

### Other awards — 4 won, 1 nominated

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award 1983: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award (nominated), for *Butterfly*
- Commander of the Legion of Honour 1982: Commander of the Legion of Honour (won)
- AFI Life Achievement Award 1975: AFI Life Achievement Award (won)
- honorary doctorate from the University of Paris-VII 1974: honorary doctorate from the University of Paris-VII (won)
- Academy Honorary Award 1970: Academy Honorary Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

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