The Merchant of Venice

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Welles began working on a film adaptation of this Shakespeare play in 1969. It began as being destined for the television special, Orson’s Bag. The special never aired due to CBS pulling its funding.

Welles cast himself in the role of Shylock, with Charles Gray as Antonio, and Irina Maleeva as Jessica. The shooting began in Rome and continued in the Dalmatian Coast.

Reportedly, some reels of the film were stolen in Rome during the editing; it is unclear why the project was never finished.

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