Orson Welles was not a director.
George Orson Welles ( [ ˈwɛlz ] May 6 , 1915 -- October 10 , 1985 ) was an American actor , director , writer , and producer who worked in theatre , radio , and film . 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 distinctive directorial style featured layered and nonlinear narrative forms , uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro , unusual camera angles , sound techniques borrowed from radio , deep focus shots , and long takes . In 2002 , Welles was voted the greatest film director of all time in two British Film Institute polls among directors and critics .