

A MAGICIAN IS JUST AN ACTOR PLAYING THE PART OF A MAGICIAN.
Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works of art by painters like Picasso and Matisse. Irving was infamous for writing a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles moves between documentary and fiction as he examines the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.
Ratings
3.5
Cast

Orson Welles
Self

Oja Kodar
The Girl

Elmyr de Hory
Self

Clifford Irving
Self

Laurence Harvey
Self
Edith Irving
Self
David Walsh
Self

Paul Stewart
Self
Richard Wilson
Self

Joseph Cotten
Self

Howard Hughes
Self (archive footage)
Richard Drewett
Self
Alexander Welles
Self

Gary Graver
Self

Andrés Vicente Gómez
Self
Julio Palinkas
Self
Christian Odasso
Self

Françoise Widhoff
Self

Peter Bogdanovich
Self

William Alland
Self
Mark Forgy
Self

Nina van Pallandt
Self
Crew
Associate Producer
Sound Mixer
Director
Producer
Writer
Director of Photography
Additional Photography
Original Music Composer
Executive Producer
Co-Director
Co-Writer
Details
Release Date
1973-09-01
Runtime
89 min
Original Language
French
Languages
English
French
Spanish
Production Companies
SACI
Les Films de l'Astrophore
Janus Film und Fernsehen
Countries
France
Germany
Iran
Genres
Documentary