Orson Welles

One of Welles’ notable unfinished projects was an adaptation of Don Quixote. This ambitious project was begun in Mexico City in 1957. Welles was able to get an investment of $25,000 from his friend Frank Sinatra. He began shooting on the streets of Mexico City, using improvisation as much as written dialogue, aiming for a feel of an old silent picture. The project, as was the case with so much of what Welles worked on, would bottom out financially and be placed on a back burner while he worked on others. What set it apart from others that flamed out quickly was that Welles would go back to Don Quixote over and over, repeatedly dusting it off. Maurizio Lucidi was a photographer and editor on the project. During a hiatus from it, he was working on, Welles tried to woo him to Paris to work on Don Quixote. He sent him a telegram reading “Won’t you come and have some fun.” In need of a follow-up, he sent one reading “I need you,” with the third cutting to the chase: “send any ki