The scene Orson Welles hated with every fibre of his being: “When I think of it, my flesh crawls”
It’s hard to think of Orson Welles as someone who would be critical of himself when he literally made Citizen Kane – a movie often used as shorthand for describing the best of the best – but even he wasn’t immune to tearing apart his own work.
It happens to the best of us. Creating art can be really hard, especially when the idea you have in your head just isn’t translating onto the page, but Welles never held back on discussing the times he was unhappy with his art, which is something that it’s sometimes better to keep to yourself. When you exist in the spotlight, it’s probably best not to expose all of your weaknesses, although the vulnerability is certainly admirable.
Welles wasn’t that bothered about how he came across in public; he led with his opinions and spoke plainly about his work – and that of others. We’re our own worst critics, though, and he once didn’t shy away from tearing apart a scene from one of his most acclaimed films (that wasn’t Citizen Kane).
Released six years after his debut masterpiece, The Lady from Shanghai saw Welles star opposite Rita Hayworth. Though critics were split at the time, the film has since earned its stripes as one of his finest. It’s been referenced endlessly in cinema history – especially that iconic hall of mirrors scene, which remains nothing short of breathtaking.
Despite the great performances, compelling plot, and Welles’ masterful direction, he couldn’t help but pick apart a specific moment that he saw as a particularly bland moment. In an interview with director Peter Bogdanovich, he revealed, “In life I tend to forget the worst of the bad moments. But in your own movies the bad moments are unforgettable. That first scene in the park, for instance. When I think of it, my flesh crawls. The whole sequence has no flavour.”
Seeing the scene as a dish without any seasoning, Welles cringed at the memory of it, unable to believe that he had actually let this sequence into the final cut. When Bogdanovich noted that there was something slightly different about the look of the scene, Welles explained, “It’s just like any Columbia program picture—you could clip it into any old B Even Rita doesn’t look like she does in the rest of the picture.”
You’d think that someone like Welles would’ve put more thought into his opening sequence if he was going to turn around and criticise it so strongly, but clearly he didn’t try hard enough to create something that would endure as he’d hoped.
Welles is being harsh on himself, although you can tell that the scene wasn’t actually shot in Central Park – it was obviously filmed in a studio. Still, the noirish black-and-white cinematography, lit with heavy shadows, allows the scene to look cinematic enough, and Hayworth’s entrance, riding across the park in a horse-drawn carriage, is instantly captivating.
Perhaps Welles should have actually worried about his terrible Irish accent in the film, not what the opening scene looked like.
