Orson Welles' Sketch Book (1955)
Orson Welles made a six-episode television series for the BBC, which basically has him playing storyteller. Through the six episodes we see him sitting in a chair where that terrific voice of his just speaks to the viewer as if you were sitting right next to him. The subject changed throughout the series but all the stories center around Welles' life and for the visuals of television we're given sketches that the legendary filmmaker drew.
You can check the individual episodes for more detailed reviews of those episodes. This here is more for the overall series, which I personally found to be quite excellent. Welles was a master director and actor but he was perhaps an even better storyteller. These six episodes run fifteen minutes each and each of them are wonderfully detailed with that terrific voice of Welles talking about the subjects and drawing your attention closer with each spoken word.
I was really shocked to see how wonderful this series was and especially episode five, which takes a look at the notorious The War of the Worlds radio broadcast. I've seen countless films and documentaries on the subject and there's just something wonderful here about getting to hear these stories from Welles. He tells a terrific story about John Barrymore's reaction to the alien invasion and Barrymore also appears in episode four with another terrific story.
If you're a fan of Welles then these six episodes are a must see. Each of them was highly entertaining and proves was a master storyteller Welles was.
