Orson Welles Double Feature Part 2

Orson Welles (1915-1985) was an actor, playwrite, director and producer of radio, tv and movies. Welles first feature-length film Citizen Kane (1941) is considered to be one of the top three American films ever made. Welles was an important film director, but his influence was also felt very strongly on the radio. Welles was the child of a well-to-do inventor and a sufferagette. At an early age he was declared a child prodigy. At three he could recite Shakespeare and play both piano and violin. Left an orphan as a teenager, Welles gravitated toward the theater. He is well know for The Shadow and Mercury Theater on the Air in the 1930s. On the latter program Orson Welles produced War of the Worlds on October 30, 1938. At the age of 23 Welles was catapulted onto the world stage. The second installment of our Orson Welles double feature is: Mercury Summer Theater June 21, 1946 The Hitch-hiker From a script by the great Lucille Fletcher this suspensful tale was first broadcast on CBS' Suspense in 1942. This is a later production that Welles directed as well as starred in. This chilling tale is used in class rooms to teach students about radio drama. Listen to it and you'll know why.