(1915 – 1985) One of America’s most revered film-makers, Orson Welles was already an accomplished director and actor before he made his first movie at age twenty-four.

Welles initially received wide acclaim for his stage direction, and notoriety for his 1938 radio adaptation of War of the Worlds. Told through a series of simulated news bulletins, it sparked nationwide panic. Welles achieved his greatest success with his first movie Citizen Kane (1941), hailed by some as the greatest motion picture ever made.

Unfortunately although Welles continued to enjoy periodic success in films as both director and actor, the remainder of his life consisted of losing battles for the right to control his subsequent films, and ultimately to make films at all.