The people who piled up outside the theater said they came because of Orson Welles.
When the Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago unveiled the newly restored Welles` adaptation of Shakespeare`s ”Othello,”
the space outside the theater became a human gridlock. Men and women, wearing mostly chic clothes, stood elbow to elbow in line and at the service desk, dead set on getting inside.
This was the Midwest premiere of what has been called a lost treasure, brilliant but hardly seen because, for one thing, the pace of the dialogue was out of sync with the actors. Limited funds and technology impeded Welles in his effort to produce his 91-minute version of the story of ”Othello,” a valiant black soldier who wins the heart of a lovely Venetian woman and then, misled by his aide, kills her.
The film center holds 285 people. About 50 men and women more than that showed up, hoping that some of the $50 ticket holders wouldn`t. They all did. As students and other volunteers faced unfortunate guests, gently breaking the bad news that ”No, there is not one seat left,” the lucky ones were inside getting restless.
Holding programs that bore a hauntingly lifelike picture of Welles and said, ”He never saw his own `Othello,` as you`re about to,” some attendees began to wonder aloud when they would see the movie. The film was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. At 7:43, there arose a round of applause meant to stir organizers into action and get the film rolling. It did.
Welles` daughter, Beatrice Welles-Smith, who has her father`s eyes, capped off her short speech with: ”This film will blow you away.”
Apparently it did.
As the credits rolled and the crowd oozed from the theater, down a flight of stairs and into the lobby of the Betty Rymer Gallery to partake of sweets and spirits, their opinions of the film could be heard. ”It was simply marvelous,” one woman said. ”I`ve never seen anything like it,” another said.
The Winters-Czechoslovakian father, Jamaican mother and their son, a School of the Art Institute graduate-stood off to the side of the crush of people.
”The minute Desdemona decided to marry Othello, she started having a lot of little problems,” Aureen Winters said. ”I can relate to that.”
”The minute we announced our engagement” she said, pointing to her husband, Frank, ”people started causing all kinds of problems for us. . . . Unlike Othello and Desdemona, we`re still together, 23 years later.”
One year after beginning the painstaking restoration of Welles` film, producer Michael Dawson was somewhat numb.
Asked what it felt like to see the final product, Dawson said, ”It`s kind of like climbing Mt. Everest. Once you get to the top, you don`t really know how you feel, but you know it`s Miller time.”
There was no beer for this festive occasion, so he settled instead for a glass of ”Othello” wine.
