Citizen Kane | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane has been consistently ranked as one of the best films ever made. A masterpiece of technique and storytelling, the film helped to change Hollywood film-making and still exerts considerable influence today. However, at the time of its premiere in 1941, it was a commercial failure that spelled disaster for Welles' Hollywood career.

Citizen Kane tells the story of millionaire press magnate Charles Foster Kane (played by Welles). The film opens with Kane on his death bed in his magnificent Florida castle, Xanadu, murmuring the word "Rosebud." A newsreel reporter (William Alland) searches for clues to the meaning of the word and to the meaning of Kane himself. Interviewing many people intimately connected with Kane, the reporter learns that the millionaire was not so much a public-minded statesman as he was a tyrannical, lonely man. The reporter never learns the secret of Kane's last word. In the film's final moments, we see many of Kane's possessions being thrown into a blazing furnace. Among them is his beloved childhood sled, the name "Rosebud" emblazoned across it.

Citizen Kane encountered difficulties early on. Welles fought constantly with RKO over his budget and against limits on his control of the production. Furthermore, because the film was based in part on the life of publisher William Randolph Hearst, Hearst's papers actively campaigned against it, demanding that Citizen Kane be banned and then later refusing to mention or advertise it altogether. Although the scheme backfired, generating enormous publicity for the movie, a frightened RKO released the film only after Welles threatened the studio with a lawsuit.

Critics reacted positively, but were also puzzled. They enthusiastically applauded Citizen Kane's many technical innovations. Throughout the film, Welles and his crew employed depth of field (a method in which action in both the foreground and background clearly are in focus, and used to great effect by cinematographer Gregg Toland), inventive editing, sets with ceilings, chiaroscuro lighting, and multilayered sound. Although sometimes used in foreign film, many of these techniques were new to Hollywood. They have since, however, become standard for the industry.

Critics also were impressed by Citizen Kane's many virtuoso sequences: a "March of Time"-type newsreel recounting the bare facts of Kane's life; the breakfast table scene, where in a few minutes his first marriage deteriorates to the strains of a waltz and variations (by noted screen composer Bernard Herrmann, in his first film assignment); a tracking shot through the roof of a nightclub; and a faux Franco-Oriental opera. None of these sequences, however, are showstoppers; each propels the narrative forward.

That narrative proved puzzling both to critics and to audiences at large. Written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Welles (although there is considerable controversy over how much Welles contributed), the narrative employs a series of flashbacks that tell different pieces of Kane's life story and reveal the witnesses' various perceptions of him. By arranging these pieces out of order, the script opened the door for later screenwriters to avoid the demands of strict chronology. At the time, however, this innovation confused most audiences.

While Citizen Kane did well in New York, the film did poor business in small-town America. The film was a commercial failure, allowing RKO's officials to eventually let go of Welles. Thereafter, he found it increasingly difficult to make movies in Hollywood. Shunned by the studio system, he was forced to spend much of his time simply trying to raise money for his various projects.

For a while, Citizen Kane itself seemed to suffer a similar fate. Although the film was nominated for a host of Oscars, Academy members took RKO's side in the studio's battle with Welles, awarding the movie only one Oscar for best original screenplay. The film lost to How Green Was My Valley for best picture. Citizen Kane soon sank into obscurity, rarely discussed, except when described as the beginning of the end of Welles' film career.

After World War II, RKO, seeking to recoup its losses, released Citizen Kane in European theaters hungry for American films and also made it available for American television. Exposed to a new generation of moviegoers, the film received new critical and popular acclaim. Riding the wave of Citizen Kane's new-found popularity, Welles was able to return to Hollywood, directing Touch of Evil in 1958.

Consistently ranked number one on Sight and Sound's top ten films list since the mid-1950s, Citizen Kane continues to attract, inspire, and entertain new audiences. In 1998, it was voted the best American film of the twentieth century by the American Film Institute.

Carringer, Robert L. The Making of Citizen Kane. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996.

Higham, Charles. The Films of Orson Welles. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1970.

Kael, Pauline. The Citizen Kane Book. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1971.

McBride, Joseph. Orson Welles. New York, Viking Press, 1972.

Naremore, James. The Magic World of Orson Welles. New York, Oxford University Press, 1978.

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