Orson Welles shot this film as part of an experiment in using film as part of a stage production of William Gillette's farce. Unfortunately, the film was never shown publicly because, though Welles had legally arranged for the right to stage Gillette's copyrighted play, the movie rights were held by Paramount, which took out an injunction to prevent Welles from showing the film.
The only known copy of the film was said to have been destroyed in a fire at Orson Welles' villa in Madrid, Spain, in August 1970. However, as of 2013, a copy has turned up in Pordenone, Italy. The restoration's premiere: October 2013.
Orson Welles never completed editing the film component for Too Much Johnson and put the footage in storage. He rediscovered it three decades later at his home outside of Madrid, Spain. "I can't remember whether I had it all along and dug it out of the bottom of a trunk, or whether someone brought it to me, but there it was", he later recalled. "I screened it, and it was in perfect condition, with not a scratch on it, as though it had only been through a projector once or twice before. It had a fine quality." Welles, however, never allowed the footage to be seen publicly, stating the film would not make sense outside of the full context of the Gillette play. In August 1970, a fire broke out at Welles's villa and the only known complete print of Too Much Johnson was destroyed.
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