Mr. Arkadin (1955)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Orson Welles

Writers:

Orson Welles (story)
Orson Welles (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Crime | Mystery | Drama

Tagline:

Discovering the past can be murder...

Plot:

An American adventurer investigates the past of mysterious tycoon Arkadin...placing himself in grave danger.

Plot Keywords:

Smuggler | Tycoon | Adventurer | Amnesia | Castle

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Gregory Arkadin
Michael Redgrave	...	Burgomil Trebitsch
Patricia Medina	...	Mily
Akim Tamiroff	...	Jakob Zouk
Mischa Auer	...	The Professor
Paola Mori	...	Raina Arkadin
Katina Paxinou	...	Sophie
Grégoire Aslan	...	Bracco
Peter van Eyck	...	Thaddeus
Suzanne Flon	...	Baroness Nagel
Robert Arden	...	Guy Van Stratten
Jack Watling	...	Marquis of Rutleigh
Frédéric O'Brady	...	Oscar (as O'Brady)
Tamara Shayne	...	Woman in Apartment (as Tamara Shane)
Terence Longdon	...	Secretary (as Terence Langdon)

Also Known As:

Confidential Report (UK)
Dossier secret (France)
Mister Arkadin (Spain)
Monsieur Arkadin - Dossier secret (France)

Runtime:

93 min | France:95 min (Cannes Film Festival) | USA:98 min (TCM print) | USA:105 min (2006 Restored Version)

Country:

France | Spain | Switzerland

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Ultraviolet High Fidelity Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Filmorsa

Trivia:

Marlene Dietrich turned down the rule of Raina Arkadin.

Goofs:

Continuity: When he meets Guy van Stratten, Jakob Zouk's beard is much heavier in close-ups.

Quotes:

Gregory Arkadin: I knew what I wanted. That's the difference between us. In this world there are those who give and those who ask. Those who do not care to give... those who do not dare to ask. You dared. But you were never quite sure what your were asking for.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brunnen (2005)

Soundtrack:

Saeta

Grit your teeth - it gets better!

This is an insane movie. It's almost as if someone had taken Citizen Kane and the Mask of Demitrios shoved them in a blender then tried to make a coherent film out of the bits while under the influence of heavy medication.

And somehow it works - but only just.

If you haven't watched this film yet and are contemplating doing so I will warn you that Robert Arden's 100% subtlety free performance is incredibly bad and his character (Guy Van Stratten) has to carry the first part of the movie almost alone. Please just grit your teeth and put up with him (and the dodgy lip sync) for a bit, because what comes later is weird, deeply flawed, but bizarrely watchable semi-masterpiece. Dreamlike and occasionally very funny.

I would love to have seen Welles' version.

The music is perfect.