Editing Joseph Cotten (section)

==== ''Journey into Fear'' (1943) ====
Cotten was cast in the World War II spy thriller ''[[Journey into Fear (1943 film)|Journey into Fear]]'' (1943) based on the novel by [[Eric Ambler]]. It was originally scripted by [[Ben Hecht]] but Welles, who was supervising, disliked it, and rewrote it with Cotten.<ref>{{cite news| title= Welles Actor Teamed With Michèle Morgan: John Carroll Borrowed New ...| last= Schallert| first= Edwin | work= Los Angeles Times | date= April 26, 1941| page= A9}}</ref> Released by RKO, the Mercury production was directed by [[Norman Foster (director)|Norman Foster]]. It was a collaborative effort due to the difficulties shooting the film and the pressures related to Welles' imminent departure to South America to begin work on ''[[It's All True (film)|It's All True]]''.<ref name="TIOW">{{cite book| last1= Welles| first1= Orson| first2= Peter |last2= Bogdanovich| editor= [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]]| title= [[This is Orson Welles]]| place= New York| publisher= HarperCollins | year= 1992 | isbn= 0-06-016616-9}}</ref>{{Rp|165, 377}}<ref>{{cite news| title= Screen News Here and in Hollywood: MGM May Lend Wallace Beery to ... | first= Douglas W. | last= Churchill| work= The New York Times | date= July 29, 1941| page= 19}}</ref>

[[Alfred Hitchcock]] cast Cotten as a charming serial killer in ''[[Shadow of a Doubt]]'' (1943).<ref name=classic/> It was made for Universal Pictures, for whom Cotten then appeared in ''[[Hers to Hold]]'' (1943), as [[Deanna Durbin]]'s leading man.

After Welles's return, he and Cotten co-produced ''[[The Mercury Wonder Show]]'' for members of the U.S. armed services. Opening August 3, 1943, the all-star magic and variety show was presented in a tent at 9000 Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. Featured were Welles (Orson the Magnificent), Cotten (Jo-Jo the Great), [[Rita Hayworth]] (forced to quit by [[Columbia Pictures]] boss [[Harry Cohn]] and replaced by [[Marlene Dietrich]]), [[Agnes Moorehead]] (Calliope Aggie) and others. Tickets were free to servicemen, and more than 48,000 of them had seen show by September 1943.<ref name="TIOW"/>{{Rp|177, 377–378}}

In late 1943, Cotten visited Welles's office and said that producer [[David O. Selznick]] wanted to make two or three films with him, but that he wanted him under his own contract. Welles then tore up Cotten's contract with Mercury Productions, saying, "He can do more for you than I can. Good luck!"<ref name="Whaley">[http://www.lybrary.com/barton-whaley-m-191.html Whaley, Barton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407122754/http://www.lybrary.com/barton-whaley-m-191.html |date=April 7, 2016 }}, ''Orson Welles: The Man Who Was Magic''. Lybrary.com, 2005,</ref>{{Rp|186}} Cotten signed a long-term deal with Selznick. Selznick loaned out Cotten and [[Ingrid Bergman]] to [[MGM]] for the thriller ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1944), which was a major hit. Selznick then put Cotten in the wartime drama ''[[Since You Went Away]]'' (1944) alongside [[Claudette Colbert]], [[Jennifer Jones]] and [[Shirley Temple]], which was another major success.<ref name="tom">[https://books.google.com/books?id=dwf5SUcfousC&pg=PA190 Thomas Schatz, ''Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s'' University of California Press, 1999. p. 190] accessed January 1, 2014</ref>

Selznick followed this up by teaming Cotten with [[Ginger Rogers]] and Temple in ''[[I'll Be Seeing You (1944 film)|I'll Be Seeing You]]'' (1945), another melodrama. [[Hal Wallis]] borrowed Cotten and Jones to make ''[[Love Letters (1945 film)|Love Letters]]'' (1945). Exhibitors voted him the 17th most popular star in the United States in 1945.<ref>"Bing Crosby Again Box-Office Leader: Van Johnson Second in Film Poll of Exhibitors{{spaced ndash}} Rogers Wins for Westerns". ''[[The New York Times]]''. December 28, 1945. p. 21.</ref> Selznick used Cotten, Jennifer Jones and [[Gregory Peck]] in ''[[Duel in the Sun (film)|Duel in the Sun]]'' (1946), an epic Western that was hugely popular at the box office.

[[Dore Schary]], who had worked for Selznick, went to run RKO and hired Cotten for ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (1947 film)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'' (1947), where he was [[Loretta Young]]'s leading man. Cotten then made ''[[Portrait of Jennie]]'' (1948) for Selznick, co starring with Jones; Cotten played a melancholy artist who becomes obsessed with a girl who might have died many years before. His performance won Cotten the International Prize for Best Actor at the 1949 Venice International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite news|title=Joseph Cotten;Obituary|work=The Times|location=London|date=Feb 8, 1994}}</ref>