[78-L] Me and "Me and Orson Welles"

[Cary Ginell]

One other note about this scene. Before the curtain went up to reveal the scene you describe below, Welles ordered that all the red EXIT lights in the theatre be extinguished, which was, of course, a violation of the New York City fire code. So the theater was in complete darkness when a voice cried out "CAESAR!!" and Joseph Holland, as Caesar, appeared, dressed in a fascist uniform, saying "Bid every noise be still!" 

Cary Ginell


> I've heard all these years that it was in "modern dress" but this and 
> the rehearsals in the movie do not give any clue to the surprise when 
> you see the opening night that the modern dress was NAZI (or Fascist) 
> dress.  When I saw Arthur in Oct I didn't get a chance to ask him the 
> question that I think is important -- how accurate is that re-creation 
> of the play?  We know he wasn't the type who would go around screwing 
> Orson's girlfriend, but that aspect of the movie is all he ever gets 
> asked aboutI and he is annoyed with it -- especially since his wife is 
> always by his side!
> 

> 
> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
>