Mr. Arkadin is a film written and directed by Orson Welles. Its history is quite convoluted; the story was based on an episode of the radio series The Lives of Harry Lime, which in turn was based on the character Welles portrayed in The Third Man. In addition, several different versions of the film were released. Jonathan Rosenbaum's essay "The Seven Arkadins" is an attempt to detail the different versions including the novel and radio play. Adding to the confusion is a novel of the same title that was credited to Welles; Welles claimed the book was only ghostwritten with Maurice Bessy. In 1982 Welles described it as the 'biggest disaster' of his life, due to him losing creative control of the film.
Released in some parts of Europe as Confidential Report, this film shares themes and stylistic devices with its cousin The Third Man. Like many of Welles' other films, Mr. Arkadin was heavily edited without his input. The Criterion Collection has now issued a 3 DVD box set which includes three separate versions of Mr. Arkadin including a comprehensive re-edit that combines material taken from all the known versions of the film. Also included are three of the Harry Lime radio plays Welles reportedly wrote and based the screenplay on, as well as the complete novel. The Criterion release also includes commentary tracks from Welles film scholars Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore.
Guy Van Stratten, American smuggler, leaves an Italian prison term with one asset, a dying man's words about wealthy, mysterious Gregory Arkadin. Guy finds it most pleasant to investigate Arkadin though his lovely daughter Raina, her father's idol. To get rid of Guy, Arkadin claims amnesia about his own life prior to 1927, sending Guy off to investigate Arkadin's unknown past. Guy's quest spans many countries and eccentric characters who contribute clues. But the real purpose of Guy's mission proves deadly; can Guy himself survive it? Written by Rod Crawford
Guy Stratten gets the order from Mr. Arkadin, to find out everything about his past, because he lost his memory. Stratten accepts, but when he finds out that all the persons he asked about Arkadin are getting killed, he tries to prevent Arkadin from killing him. Written by Stephan Eichenberg
