Citizen Kane

Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies in his gigantic, estate named Xanadu. The paper he owned, the New York Inquirer, is desperate to unearth the meaning of his cryptic last word, Rosebud. Ace reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland) begins an investigation by interviewing Kane's singer second wife Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore) and working down a list of friends and employees.

Photo of a glass snow globe with a miniature version of Kane's childhood home.

As the story unfolds, we see Kane, aided by his closest friend, Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotton), build a nationwide newspaper empire. He marries the US President's niece and looks set for a great political career. But his bid for the governor's office crashes when his rival exposes Kane's affair with Susan Alexander. He marries her and they both go into seclusion in his unfinished palace. Ultimately Kane cannot love anyone and he is left to a lonely death.

Cast:

(Orson Welles ... Director)
Joseph Cotten ... Jedediah Leland
Agnes Moorehead ... Kane’s mother
Dorothy Comingore ... Susan Alexander Kane
William Alland ... Jerry Thompson
Ray Collins ... James W. Gettys
Erskine Sanford ... Herbert Carter
Harry Shannon ... Kane’s Father
Everett Sloane ... Mr. Bernstein
Buddy Swan ... Kane, age eight
Ruth Warrick ... Emily Monroe Norton Kane

Quote:

[first lines] Charles Foster Kane: Rosebud...

Trailers:

http://akas.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi844956185/
http://akas.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2612920601/

Soundtrack:

"This Can't Be Love" (1938) (uncredited) Music by Richard Rodgers
"Una voce poco fa" (1816) (uncredited) from opera "Il barbiere di Seviglia"
"A Poco No" (1935) (uncredited) Music by Pepe Guízar
"Funeral March" (1837) (uncredited) (Third Movement of "Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35" (1839))
"A Hot Time in the Old Town" (1896) (uncredited) Music by Theo. A. Metz
"The Battle Cry of Freedom" (1862) (uncredited) Music by George Frederick Root
"The Girl I Left Behind Me" (1758?) (uncredited) Written by Samuel Lover
"In A Mizz" (1937) (uncredited) Written by Charlie Barnet and Haven Johnson
"Song Without Words, Op. 62 No.3 (Funeral March)" (1842-1844) (uncredited) Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
"Aria from Salammbo" (1941) (uncredited) Music by Bernard Herrmann

Bibliography » Books:

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News

101 years ago, Everett Sloane † was born. (Mr. Bernstein)
(October 01, 1909)

Trivia

Release date: May 1, 1941

The movie was almost entirely shot in a studio. Some shots of Xanadu were made in New York.

Oscar: Best Writing, Original Screenplay -> Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles

Oscar nominations: Best Actor Best Cinematography Best Director Best Music Best Picture Best Art Direction-Interior DecorationBest Film EditingBest Sound Recording

Welles privately watched Stagecoach (1939) about 40 times while making this film.

The original nitrate negatives are gone.

Kane bought Susan an opera house, William Hearst bought a film studio to promote Marion Davies’ (his wife) stardom.

Orson Welles: “I started at the top [with this movie] and worked my way down”

Louella Parsons, a gossip journalist, working for Hearst threatened to publish exposes on the private lives of every one of the RKO board of directors if Citizen Kane was exhibited.
--Source: The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons, Page 241

Despite all the publicity, the film was a box office flop and was quickly consigned to the RKO vaults.
--Source: The Making of Citizen Kane, Page 117

Not only the RKO studio was afraid of the Hearst retaliation. Several other major studio’s pooled together the total cost of the picture ($842,000?) in the hopes of getting the film away from Welles and into the nearest incinerator.
--Source: The Making of Citizen Kane, Page 112

For this movie cinematographer Gregg Toland, pioneered deep focus, a technique that keeps every object in the foreground and background in simultaneous focus.
--Source: Encyclopedia of Movie Special Effects, Page 61

The film's opening title card is presented briefly with no music.

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Citizen Kane

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Citizen Kane

Cast:

Quote:

Trailers:

Soundtrack:

Bibliography » Books:

Bibliography » Web:

News

Trivia