The Orson Welles Almanac guest when he returned to the show April 11, 1943. Orson Welles's variety show was auditioned in New York December 2, 1943, with the Compton advertising agency representing Mobilgas. The cast included Welles (host) and Duke Ellington (music), with guest spots by Rita Hayworth and Jimmy Durante on an audition record. "Billboard" reported that plans were under way for scheduling the show. The 30-minute program was heard Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET January 26 – July 19, 1944. The wartime variety show presented readings from classic works, drama, music, sketch comedy, magic, mindreading and personal commentary by Welles. Many of
Orson Welles to be directed by Welles starring Chaplin, then directed by Chaplin with the idea credited to Welles. Prior to 1948, Welles convinced Republic Pictures to let him direct a low-budget version of "Macbeth", which featured highly stylized sets and costumes, and a cast of actors lip-syncing to a pre-recorded soundtrack, one of many innovative cost-cutting techniques Welles deployed in an attempt to make an epic film from B-movie resources. The script, adapted by Welles, is a violent reworking of Shakespeare's original, freely cutting and pasting lines into new contexts via a collage technique and recasting "Macbeth" as a clash of