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The Fountain of Youth Poster

The Fountain of Youth

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.)

Top Cast

  • Marjorie Bennett

    Marjorie Bennett

    journalist

  • Madge Blake

    Madge Blake

    journalist

  • Billy House

    Billy House

    Albert Morgan

  • Rick Jason

    Rick Jason

    Alan Brody

  • Nancy Kulp

    Nancy Kulp

    Stella Morgan

  • Joi Lansing

    Joi Lansing

    Carolyn Coates

  • Dan Tobin

    Dan Tobin

    Humphrey Baxter

  • Orson Welles

    Orson Welles

    the narrator

Overview

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.)

Rating

6.2 / 10
16 Reviews
0 Popular

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