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John Collier

Writing

Known For

The Fountain of Youth
6.2

A darkly comic fable about vanity and desire, "The Fountain of Youth" follows a newly married couple whose relationship is destabilized by the arrival of a potion that promises centuries of youth and beauty—but in a quantity sufficient for only one person. As temptation and resentment grow, the gift becomes a catalyst for moral and emotional collapse. Written, directed, and narrated by Orson Welles and based on John Collier’s short story “Youth from Vienna,” the film uses stylized narration and experimental visual techniques to construct a compact essay on human vanity. (Note: Originally produced in 1956 as a television pilot and broadcast once in 1958 as part of NBC’s Colgate Theatre anthology series (S1E5); it later achieved independent archival and cultural status, including a 1958 Peabody Award.)

The Fountain of Youth

1958Movie
Nattmagasinet
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The movie begins with a disenchanted poet who, having had his fill of the world, decides to hide out in a large department store. There are many floors, dusty nooks and crannies, and forgotten storerooms where he can secret himself. He believes he has found the peace and serenity he seeks--away from humankind--in order to write his poetry. To his initial horror, he finds he is not alone. There are Others who have also sought refuge in the dark places of the department store. He quickly finds himself at the mercy of this clandestine social underclass, for none may leave and risk exposing those who have spent years in the store. What quickly evolves is a chilling tale involving the poet and a young woman who had lost her way in the store while a mere child, and who has since spent her entire life as the downtrodden handmaid to the evil matriarch who rules her clan with an iron fist.

Nattmagasinet

1970Movie