Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report (1955)

Mr. Arkadin (ar KAH din) is notorious for having an especially problematic production, even for one featuring and directed by Orson Welles. You see, he had missed one deadline too many and gotten dismissed from the creative process by producer Louis Dolivet (better known for politics than film). At least five edits saw theatrical release, none with Welles' approval. The cut retitled Confidential Report, running 98 minutes, is neither the most widely seen version overall nor the one thought to be closest to what Welles ultimately had in mind; more likely it stems from an earlier draft.

Like in Citizen Kane, the plot involves examination of the past life of a rich man played by Welles. This time, the man in question actually calls for the examination -- confiding to narrator-protagonist Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) that he himself can't remember who he was before 1927. Guy travels to multiple countries to find answers, and the picture he pieces together is a good deal uglier than Kane's. Gregory Arkadin (sporting a strange yet aptly hybrid accent for Welles) wants this information forgotten from the world -- at all costs.

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)

Here I am already reviewing another mid-'40s war movie in which the objective is to blow up a bridge. One key difference is that this one takes place in the Spanish civil war. Which doesn't stop the protagonist, Robert "Roberto" Jordan (Gary Cooper, at Ernest Hemingway's insistence), from being an American, present only on principle. Nor does it stop most of the Spaniards from being played by members of other nationalities, including quite a few born in the Russian Empire.

Nowadays, the film may be best remembered for its accidental influence on a bigger classic. It was somewhat important to the plot that Maria (Ingrid Bergman, also at Hemingway's insistence) had unusually short hair, as she was recovering from a shave of shame. Because of this, it was too late to redo certain Casablanca scenes in a timely manner, so "As Time Goes By" didn't get cut as planned.