Orson Welles

Heart of Darkness A major component of Welles’ career was unfinished projects, most of them films. He was a polymath, interested in a huge array of classic works to adapt as well as to material for documentaries. He would pile his plate high but never clean it, except by finally, grudgingly tossing the remains of particular items into the trash when it was clear they just couldn’t be chewed and swallowed. Ironically, his Hollywood career began with an unfinished project. Welles was interested in adapting the Joseph Conrad novel because of its commentary on the abuses of power. In 1939 he went to Hollywood and inked a three-movie deal with RKO, with Darkness as the first scheduled production. One snag that manifested itself immediately was that Welles was still highly-committed to work on the radio. Campbell Playhouse was now full-steam ahead on the heels of the “The War of the Worlds” spectacle. This caused delays on the film’s production, since Welles was working on