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Orson Welles manuscript speech for 1941 New York Film Critics Best Picture Award to Citizen Kane

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:8,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
Orson Welles manuscript speech for 1941 New York Film Critics Best Picture Award to Citizen Kane
Condition Reports: If you wish to obtain additional information on a particular lot, or cannot appear at the viewing, Profiles may provide, upon request, a condition report. We remind prospective buyers that descriptions of property are not warranted and that each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the terms of the limited warranty. Condition reports, as other descriptions of property, are not warranted; they are only provided as a service to interested clients.
Six page typed manuscript speech which Orson Welles prepared for his acceptance of the New York Film Critics Award to Citizen Kane as best picture of 1941. The film critics bestowed this prestigious recognition to the Mercury Theater Players in spite of heavy pressure from William Randolph Hearst’s giant media machine to kill any acknowledgement of the film whatsoever, due to his belief it was a satire of him. Being a showman by nature, Welles prepared the scenes from Kane detailed here in the speech to be performed live for the awards presentation, by Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane, and Welles himself. There are numerous pencil corrections, additions, and deletions in Welles’ own hand to fine-tune the speech to his liking, such as “Citizen Kane is really a sort of psychological detective story Well then,- here are couple (sic) of what might be described as the clues.” A fascinating and totally unique artifact from the very height of Orson Welles prestige, just before battles with studio heads over artistic and creative freedom on his next film would leave him struggling for financing to the end of his days. Light handling and soiling, overall Very Good condition. The proceeds from the sale of this lot will benefit The Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of radio from its golden age. www.repsonline.org