The Fountain of Youth
Original title: Fountain of Youth
- Episode aired Sep 16, 1958
- 27m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
524
YOUR RATING
A couple is conflicted when they are offered a chance at youth.A couple is conflicted when they are offered a chance at youth.A couple is conflicted when they are offered a chance at youth.
- Awards
- 1 win
Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was intended as the pilot episode of a TV series for Desilu, consisting of short stories with a sting in the tail, all introduced by Orson Welles. However, Welles was adamant that he "didn't want it to be like Hitchcock" - although the huge success of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was probably what inspired the idea. Welles instead planned to narrate each story, weaving in and out of the story and talking directly to the audience as he does in this pilot, thereby having the largest role without actually being a character in the plot. At the end of "The Fountain Of Youth", he actually mentions "next week's story" by name. However, it was never made and the series did not eventuate; Welles may have been compensated, perhaps, by the fact that this pilot did win the Peabody Award that year.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Greatest Show You Never Saw (1996)
Featured review
An exercise in technique and style
What made Welles such a pivotal figure in the pantheon of the all time great filmmakers was not his pioneering of new techniques but combining different techniques still in their infancy in a pioneering way. That's what made CITIZEN KANE such an instant classic ahead of its time and that's what makes this 30 minute made-for-TV short endlessly watchable. The plot remains entertaining and has a twist that is not wholly unpredictable 50 years later but its the Wellesian bravura that makes the short so remarkable.
Welles, one year after the box office failure but stylistic tour-de-force of TOUCH OF EVIL, combines stills, back projection, on-camera narration provided by himself and some very expressionistic lighting that hides and reveals characters as if they're summoned on stage, and nothing seems forced, silly, or primitive. Welles once more treads new, personal, ground at the same time he perfects it. While, due to the nature of the project, it will never be regarded highly among his other works, The Fountain of Youth is still a must-see for the Welles aficionado.
Welles, one year after the box office failure but stylistic tour-de-force of TOUCH OF EVIL, combines stills, back projection, on-camera narration provided by himself and some very expressionistic lighting that hides and reveals characters as if they're summoned on stage, and nothing seems forced, silly, or primitive. Welles once more treads new, personal, ground at the same time he perfects it. While, due to the nature of the project, it will never be regarded highly among his other works, The Fountain of Youth is still a must-see for the Welles aficionado.
helpful•51
- chaos-rampant
- Dec 7, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Orson Welles Show
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime27 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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