Citizen Kane (1941)

Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.

Director:

Orson Welles

Writers:

Herman J. Mankiewicz (original screenplay), Orson Welles (original screenplay),

Stars:

Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead

Top 250 #44 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Cotten	...	Jedediah Leland
Dorothy Comingore	...	Susan Alexander Kane
Agnes Moorehead	...	Mary Kane
Ruth Warrick	...	Emily Monroe Norton Kane
Ray Collins	...	James W. Gettys
Erskine Sanford	...	Herbert Carter
Everett Sloane	...	Mr. Bernstein
William Alland	...	Jerry Thompson
Paul Stewart	...	Raymond
George Coulouris	...	Walter Parks Thatcher
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Matiste
Gus Schilling	...	The Headwaiter
Philip Van Zandt	...	Mr. Rawlston
Georgia Backus	...	Miss Anderson
Harry Shannon	...	Kane's Father

Storyline

A group of reporters who are trying to decipher the last word ever spoke by Charles Foster Kane, the millionaire newspaper tycoon: "Rosebud." The film begins with a news reel detailing Kane's life for the masses, and then from there, we are shown flashbacks from Kane's life. As the reporters investigate further, the viewers see a display of a fascinating man's rise to fame, and how he eventually fell off the "top of the world."

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Plot Keywords:

rosebud | newspaper | reporter | last words | power | 

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Taglines:

It's Terrific!

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

American

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$686,033 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures, Mercury Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susan's singing voice was provided by a professional opera singer who, under Orson Welles' direction, sang outside of her vocal range. She agreed to having her voice used this way on the condition that her identity never be revealed, fearing it would harm her career. She was Jean Forward of the San Francisco Opera.

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Goofs

In the newsreel sequence, a gazette in Spanish is shown, announcing Kane's death. The newspaper's name is "El Correspendencia" but that name simply makes no sense for Spanish speakers. The closest match to this would be "La Correspondencia" because most of the words that end with an "A" are meant to reflect a female gender and the correct article is "La", not "El". However, that literally means "The Mail" and this is just a generic name which is fairly related to news media. Also, the words "Murió" in the header, as well as the "Xanadú" in the article's text are misspelled because they lack the accent marks on the last vowels. Another mistake is "Destinguido editor" instead of "Distinguido editor" can be read below the article's title. Finally, the title would never be written as such in Spanish (you can read "Madrid" in the paper): you wouldn't say "El Sr. Kane se murió" but rather "El Sr. Kane ha muerto". It might be a "Heart of Darkness" reference, with the intention that it be translated as "Mr. Kane, he dead."

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The end credits show previous scenes from the film showcasing the Mercury Theatre performers.

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Connections

Referenced in Trailer Failure: Jennifer's Body, Inception, Ninja Assassin, Power & Astro Boy (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Aria from Salammbo"
(1941) (uncredited)
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Lyrics by John Houseman
Sung by Dorothy Comingore (dubbed by Jean Forward)

User Reviews

an example of a unique and well done movie

The movie Citizen Kane was loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. The movie begins with the death of Charles Foster Kane, who was the editor of the New York Journal. He says the name rosebud and drops a crystal ball, which falls to the ground a shatters. News clips are shown about the different occurrences in Kane's life depicting how Kane acquired his fortune. Throughout the whole movie reporters are trying to figure out what the word rosebud meant and why it was the last word he said before he died. The reporters find people who knew Kane throughout his life trying to get information from them that would put some sense to Kane saying `rosebud' as his last word. Many of the stories told by the people interviewed show the audience a lot about his life through flashbacks. One of the opening scenes is that of Kane's mansion called Xanadu. It has a sign that says `no trespassing' that is hung from the outside gate. The shot is very dark and gloomy, hinting that maybe Kane's life was the same way. He was a very power-hungry man that went from being at the top to rock bottom. Many other movies have definitely taken note to style and effects of this movie. The camera work, lighting, acting a music contributed to making Citizen Kane one of the best American movies of all time. Orson Welles deserves all the credit that he receives from this movie. He was the leading character, producer and director; basically a one man show that still many of us appreciate. I thought that this movie was well done. It had so much symbolism that made the movie unique, although if you didn't know what was symbolic during the different scenes it would be hard to follow, but most of the symbolism is easily recognized. One of the best symbolic scenes that also foreshadows is when Kane is at the top of the stairs and he is told that he lost his position and as he walks down the stairs the camera is shooting from at the top and it looks like a spiral showing that Kane's life and career are out of control. Citizen Kane was very dramatic and all who took part in the movie played their roles well. The characters seemed very real and believable making this movie very memorable. This film has features that every movie should try to incorporate; symbolism, great actors, interesting storyline, excellent camera shots, lighting and sound techniques. I think everyone should see this movie at least once in their life time because it is one of the greatest American movies of all time.