Mr. Arkadin

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Mr. Arkadin ★★★ Confidential Report 1955

Screenwriter, director, star Welles, adapting from his own novel, gave this plot a dry run on radio during early 1950s. Welles examines the life of yet another ruthless millionaire, but this one can't seem to remember the sordid source of all that cash. Investigator Arden follows the intriguing and descending trail to a surprise ending. As in “Citizen Kane,” oblique camera angles and layered dialogue prevail, but this time only serve to confuse the story. Shot over two years around Europe, required seven years of post production before finding distribution in 1962. 99m/B VHS, DVD . GB Orson Welles, Akim Tamiroff, Michael Redgrave, Patricia Medina, Robert Arden, Mischa Auer; D: Orson Welles; W: Orson Welles; C: Jean (Yves, Georges) Bourgoin.