What went on the screen was nothing compared to what went on behind the scenes.
In 1939, boy-wonder Orson Welles leaves New York, where he has succeeded in radio and theater, and, hired by RKO Pictures, moves to Hollywood with the purpose of making his first film.
RKO 281 (1999) is a drama, history and tv movie film directed by Benjamin Ross, released on November 20, 1999 with a runtime of 1h 24m. It stars Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith and John Malkovich. Viewers rate it 6.5 out of 10 across 102 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for RKO 281 before you stream it.
Liev Schreiber
as Orson Welles
James Cromwell
as William Randolph Hearst
Melanie Griffith
as Marion Davies
John Malkovich
as Herman Mankiewicz
Liam Cunningham
as Gregg Toland
David Suchet
as Louis B. Mayer
Fiona Shaw
as Hedda Hopper
Anastasia Hille
as Carole Lombard
Brenda Blethyn
as Louella Parsons
Roy Scheider
as George Schaefer
Roger Allam
as Walt Disney
Simeon Andrews
as John Houseman
Directed by Benjamin Ross, written by John Logan, Thomas Lennon and Richard Ben Cramer, produced by Su Armstrong.
Average viewer score of 6.5/10 from 102 ratings.
RKO 281 is a very underrated movie I haven't seen alot of people talking about. It's based in part upon the real-life story of the behind the scenes of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, and in part of the documentary The Battle over Citizen Kane that made as a part of The American Experience. Orson Welles (Liev Schreiber) has been offered a carte blanche-contract with RKO after his legendary War of the Worlds broadcast,…
Reviewed on May 31, 2014
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RKO 281 (1999) is available to stream on HBO Max Amazon Channel and HBO Max. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of RKO 281 (1999) includes Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich and Liam Cunningham. The film was directed by Benjamin Ross. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
RKO 281 was released on November 20, 1999 and runs for 1h 24m.
RKO 281 (1999) holds an average rating of 6.5 out of 10 from 102 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy drama, history and tv movie films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official RKO 281 trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
