The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952)

Director:

Orson Welles

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)
(more)

Release Date:

June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Powerful drama of uncontrolled human emotion!

Plot:

Durante il periodo delle Repubbliche Marinare, in Italia, Otello, detto "il moro di Venezia", viene...

Plot Keywords:

Mistrust Of Wife | Directed By Star | Moor | Shakespeare's Othello | Interracial Romance

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Othello
Micheál MacLiammóir	...	Iago
Robert Coote	...	Roderigo
Suzanne Cloutier	...	Desdemona
Hilton Edwards	...	Brabantio
Nicholas Bruce	...	Lodovico
Michael Laurence	...	Michael Cassio
Fay Compton	...	Emilia
Doris Dowling	...	Bianca
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Abdullah Ben Mohamet	...	Page-boy (uncredited)
Joseph Cotten	...	Senator (uncredited)
Jean Davis	...	Montano (uncredited)
Joan Fontaine	...	Page (uncredited)

Directed by
Orson Welles

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean Sacha		uncredited
William Shakespeare		play
Orson Welles		uncredited

Produced by
Julien Derode	....	associate producer
Walter Bedone	....	producer (uncredited)
Patrice Dali	....	producer (uncredited)
Rocco Facchini	....	producer (uncredited)
Giorgio Papi	....	producer (uncredited)
Orson Welles	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Alberto Barberis
Angelo Francesco Lavagnino

Cinematography by
Anchise Brizzi
George Fanto
Alberto Fusi		(as R. Fusi)
Aldo Graziati		(as G.R. Aldo)
Oberdan Troiani		(as O. Troiani)

Film Editing by
Jenö Csepreghy		(as John Shepridge)
Renzo Lucidi
William Morton
Jean Sacha

Production Design by
Luigi Scaccianoce
Alexandre Trauner

Costume Design by
Maria De Matteis

Art Department
Clément Hurel	....	poster artist (uncredited)

Music Department
Willy Ferrero	....	conductor

Other crew
Joe Cauvin	....	location manager (uncredited)
Harriet Medin	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Gudrun Ure	....	voice dubbing: Suzanne Cloutier (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Mercury Productions
• Les Films Marceau

Distributors

• United Artists (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)
• Mondo Home Entertainment (2005) (Italy) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Screen Time Images  film restoration
• Screen Time Images  sound remixing

Also Known As:

Othello (Australia) (France) (USA)
Otello (Italy)

Runtime:

90 min | USA:93 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA | Italy | France | Morocco

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (re-release) | Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Italy:T | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 (1967) | Finland:S (1967) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Castle, El Jadida, Morocco

Company:

Mercury Productions

Trivia:

The movie was shot over three years and production was stopped twice, mainly because Wells ran out of money. He then starred in the films The Third Man (1949) and Prince of Foxes (1949). He took his payment from those films and used them as money for "Othello".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: There was once in Venice a moor, Othello, who for his merits is the affairs of war was held in great esteem. It happened that he fell in love with a young and noble lady called Desdemona, who drawn by his virtue became equally enamoured of Othello...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Return to Glennascaul (1951)

Welles brings it !

The power of Welles performance should make anyone not already an admirer stand up and take notice. The dark, brooding nature of Welles character sets the tone throughout this film. Each of the prominent characters seems to feed off this intensity, making each the better for it. The spartan sets and excellent use of lighting add to this powerful delivery making the words feel true and soul wrenching. I think this production could have been played out on a bare stage and still be regarded as a fine work, the dialogue and delivery is of such fine caliber. "The Moor of Venice" is a fine example of Orson Welles vast talents as a performer and director and should not be missed.