Politics

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Welles was a self-identified “progressive” who was hounded for being a leftist and sometimes probed or followed by various Red Scare-oriented committees of the U.S. government.

He first threw his hat into the arena of politics and current events in October of 1943, speaking at the Third Free World Dinner at NYC’s Hotel Pennsylvania. Others taking the rostrum were a British Minister, a U.S. Colonel and a Chinese ambassador. He also gave two speeches in November on behalf of the American Free World Association, which was committed to the destruction of fascism.

As a companion to these appearances at conferences, Welles began publishing essays in the left-wing journal Free World, edited by Louis Dolivet, a French emigre who’d risen among the ranks of American and exile wartime politics.

Welles espoused the Free Worlders’ value of internationalism, which was positioned opposite the isolationism prevalent in America as the second Great War rumbled on. This stance garnered some accusations of communism--this time this perception of Welles at least came from some political stance of his--previously, accusations of communism had come from William Randolph Hearst as a desperate attempt to smear Welles.

To these accusations, Welles said, “communists know otherwise. I am an overpaid movie producer...I’m all for making money if it means earning it...surely my right to having more than enough is canceled if I don’t use that more to help those who have less. This sense of humanity’s interdependence antedates Karl Marx.”

In the fall of ‘44, Welles directed a smidgen of his boundless energy to campaigning for FDR’s reelection. This involved a whistle-stop tour at which he gave speeches. Barbara Leaming writes that “it was not simply the content of his speeches he labored to get absolutely right, but their spoken rhythms as well.” He would meet with local Democratic leaders in each town to receive relevant local references. At a Sept. 21, 1944 rally at Madison Square Garden, Welles got the honor of introducing Henry Wallace. Leaming writes, “Orson’s appearance before the great mass oddly recalled his impersonation of Kane delivering a similarly resounding election speech in the film.” Getting to the content, Leaming praises Welles’ use of “the word ‘they’ chanted incessantly to conjure up the Republican opposition” and “the mighty opening line, ‘These are great days’ spoken thrice to punctuate the text at strategic moments.” The speech was such a hit that, afterward, the crowd outside chanted “Wallace and Welles in the White House in 1948!”

Sources
Higham, Charles. Orson Welles: The Rise and Fall of An American Genius. New York: St.Martin’s. 1985.
Leaming, Barbara. Orson Welles. New York: Viking. 1983.

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