Welles Quotations

Mum worked as a secretary for Orson Welles for what sounded like a very miserable year. Her brother was the actor Jeremy Brett, who became famous for playing Sherlock Holmes. He was an absolutely lovely man. Very exciting and glamorous, he'd always make me feel amazing and full of confidence, like I'd picked the right thing to do in life.

Stars wide of belt often cultivated a gentlemanly grandeur, a groomed refinement that filtered through their fingertips - the dainty fidgets of Hardy's plump digits, Orson Welles performing magic tricks with nimble dexterity, Jackie Gleason lofting a teacup to his lips as if he were Lady Bracknell - or through a fine set of twinkle-toes.

I fell in love with Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone and Hitchcock and Orson Welles and John Huston.

When Orson Welles was acting in 'Compulsion,' the director Richard Fleischer let him just take over and direct the courtroom scenes. To be able to see Welles - who knew more about directing than anyone - direct himself and the other actors, it was unbelievable and unforgettable.

Originally I thought I'd go back to the H.G. Wells novel. But gradually I realized the beauty of the Howard Koch and Orson Welles version.

Welles was an astute and worldly man about everything but his art. He couldn't afford to be otherwise.

The only thing worse than what consumers don't know about vintage dating is what they nonetheless believe. From the time Orson Welles intoned the famous line for Paul Masson in the 1970s: 'We will sell no wine before its time,' people have maintained the notion that when it comes to wine, older is better. Unfortunately, such a belief can lead to poor choices of wine and disappointment with a purchase.

It always amazed me that he was able to do it, and that Orson Welles was able to do it. I never understood it because the talents are absolutely opposite - polar opposites.