Othello (1952)

Directed by Orson Welles. Starring Orson Welles, Micheál Mac Liammóir, Suzanne Cloutier, Robert Coote, Nicholas Bruce, Hilton Edwards, Michael Laurence, Fay Compton, Doris Dowling, Jean Davis.

Welles’ Mercury production of Shakespeare’s tragedy of the titular noble Moor of Venice fooled by jealous “friend” Iago into believing his wife, Desdemona, has been unfaithful. Shot on a shoestring budget over the course of several years, with production being halted repeatedly while Welles searched for more money, it’s remarkable that the film exists at all. The filmmaker continues to wave the flag of German expressionism with the flamboyant camera angles and radical turmoil caught in close-ups, the shadowy photography sometimes obscuring the “traditional” blackface distraction. Purists may be frustrated by the severe revisions and abbreviations to the text, the desperate filmmaking conditions result in dubbing issues and continuity flubs, and artistry fails the filmmaker in an awkwardly staged/edited violent bathhouse encounter, but the only significant misstep is the (re-)casting of lacquered willow Cloutier as Desdemona. Premiere screening held in 1951, released in a few European markets the following year, but didn’t arrive in the States until 1955. Joseph Cotten and Joan Fontaine make uncredited appearances.

77/100