Orson Welles directed.
Orson Welles . In his 20s , Welles directed a number of high-profile stage productions for the Federal Theatre Project , including an adaptation of Macbeth with an entirely African American cast , and the political musical The Cradle Will Rock . Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells ' novel The War of the Worlds performed for his radio anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air . His first film was Citizen Kane ( 1941 ) , which he co-wrote , produced , directed , and starred in as Charles Foster Kane . Welles was an outsider to the studio system and directed only 13 full-length films in his career .