Could someone please explain to the the scene in the baths with cassio, rodrigo and iago. I know cassio doesn't die in the book, but I thought that cassio was dead (how could he get away from iago?) but then all of a sudden he is there at the end of the film. What was iago stabbing at, and how did cassio get away from iago?
Thanks
Iago stabbed Cassio in the leg, I believe, at one point. He did not kill him. However, Roderigo does get killed in the bath house (he's under the boards....if that's the murder you're referring to)
shareThe murder attempt does happen in the play, but was hastily relocated to a bath-house as a bit of last-minute improvisation by Welles. This happened because someone left the trailer with all the costumes unlocked, and they were all stolen. In need of filming the scene without costumes, and with limited time on location, Welles headed for the nearest bath-house, bought some towels, and started filming.
shareI suppose I shouldn't really reply without checking, but my recollection is that seththevoz is wrong on nearly every single detail, though right in the overall story. It is not that the costumes were stolen but that they were delayed in their shipment from Spain, and Welles was running out of money while his crew and actors sat idle in the hotel. Finally, he rented the local fish market and borrowed the towels from the hotel for filming the scene.
shareI may well be wrong - I read that version of the story in 'The Pocket Essential Welles', which may be a nifty little book, but doesn't list sources etc, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's apocryphal.
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