Claiming that he doesn't know his own past, a rich man enlists an ex-con with an odd bit of detective work. Gregory Arkadin says he can't remember anything before the late 1920s, and convict Guy Van Stratten is happy to take the job of exploring his new acquaintance's life story. Guy's research turns up stunning details about his employer's past, and as his work seems linked to untimely deaths, the mystery surrounding Mr. Arkadin deepens.
Direction
Welles stages himself like a haunted cathedral.
Cinematography
Deep shadows, deeper lies — expressionist noir heaven.
Acting
Welles' voice alone could convict him.
Director
Orson Welles
Orson Welles
Gregory Arkadin
Akim Tamiroff
Jakob Zouk
Grégoire Aslan
Bracco
Patricia Medina
Mily
Jack Watling
Marquis of Rutleigh
Mischa Auer
The Professor
Peter van Eyck
Thaddeus
Michael Redgrave
Burgomil Trebitsch
Amparo Rivelles
Frédéric O'Brady
Oscar
Tamara Shayne
Woman in Apartment
Paola Mori
Raina Arkadin
Robert Arden
Guy Van Stratten
Gustavo Re
Police at Naples Port (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Welles disowned the theatrical release after producers re-edited without him; he secretly assembled his own 'Confidential Report' cut in Europe.
The film's nested flashback structure and fake biography directly inspired 'Citizen Kane' comparisons Welles found exhausting — he was recycling himself.
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