''Return to Glennascaul'', also known as ''Orson Welles' Ghost Story'', is a 1951

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

starring

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. It was written and directed by

Hilton Edwards Hilton Edwards (2 February 1903 – 18 November 1982) was an English-born Irish actor, lighting designer and theatrical producer. He co-founded the Gate Theatre with his partner Micheál Mac Liammóir and two others, and has been referred to as ...

, produced by

Micheál Mac Liammóir Micheál Mac Liammóir (born Alfred Willmore; 25 October 1899 – 6 March 1978) was an actor, designer, dramatist, writer and impresario in 20th-century Ireland. Though born in London to an English family with no Irish connections, he emigrated ...

for Dublin Gate Theatre Productions and distributed by

Arthur Mayer Arthur L. Mayer (March 28, 1886, Demopolis, Alabama - April 14, 1981, New York City) was an American film producer and film distributor who worked with Joseph Burstyn in distributing films directed by Roberto Rossellini and other famous European ...

. The plot is derived from the ubiquitous story of the

vanishing hitchhiker The vanishing hitchhiker (or variations such as the ghostly hitchhiker, disappearing hitchhiker, phantom hitchhiker) is an urban legend in which people travelling by vehicle, meet with or are accompanied by a hitchhiker who subsequently vanishes ...

. It is similar to

Lucille Fletcher Violet Lucille Fletcher (March 28, 1912August 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her credits include ''The Hitch-Hiker (radio play), The Hitch-Hiker,'' an original radio play written for Orson Welles and adapt ...

's original radio play, ''

The Hitch-Hiker ''The Hitch-Hiker'' is a 1953 American film noir thriller co-written and directed by Ida Lupino, starring Edmond O'Brien, William Talman and Frank Lovejoy, about two friends taken hostage by a hitchhiker during an automobile trip to Mexico. ...

,'' which was first performed in 1941 on ''

The Orson Welles Show ''The Orson Welles Show'' was an unsold television talk show pilot directed by Orson Welles. It has never been broadcast or released in its entirety. Filming began in September 1978 and the project was completed around February 1979. It ran 74 min ...

'' starring Welles as the spooked driver.

Plot summary

Welles, plays himself taking a break from the filming of ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', is driving in the Irish countryside one night when he offers a ride to a man (played by Michael Laurence) with car trouble. The man relates a strange event that happened to him at the same location. Two women flagged down, asking for a ride to their manor. They invited him in for a drink. The daughter, Lucy Campbell (played by Helena Hughes), was apparently the long lost love of the man's uncle by the inscription read in the cigarette case she admired. After leaving, he went back for his cigarette case but found the manor deserted and decayed. In

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, a real estate broker (played by John Dunnehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043964/reference/) told him the mother (played by Shelah Richards) and daughter had died years ago. The Broker gives him a set of keys to the manor so he can see if his cigarette case is there. Upon arrival, he hears voices and sees his footprints in the dust on the floor. On the fireplace mantle is the cigarette case and as he hears the clock chimes he flees from the house as Lucy cries, "don't go". Having finished his tale, he shows Welles the cigarette case, who is now sufficiently spooked, and drops the man off at his home. He leaves in a hurry when the man asks him in for ''a cup of tea or something stronger'' as the ghostly women had earlier invited him into Glennascaul. As Welles drives off he passes two flesh, and blood women (played by Isobel Couser and Ann Clery) who wave for a ride, who recognize the actor and he tries to hide his face as he drives past.

Awards

The film was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

for Best Short Subject.

Releases

This film is only 23 minutes long and is an extra on the recently released reissued DVD of Welles' ''Othello''. It was also released as ''Orson Welles' Ghost Story''.

References

External links

* 1951 films Irish black-and-white films Irish short films Films based on urban legends 1951 short films 1950s English-language films {{short-film-stub