There are many films that you tell people they have to see. They could be the latest Star Wars film, or the latest entry in the MCU. These are escapist fare, using the best computer generated effects. They make a lot of money for their studios, and entertain the audience. They follow the basic philosophy of giving the people what they want. These movies are the basic concept of films, from the beginning of the cinema. Films were basic, and followed formulas, such as simple storylines. Movie making changed with Citizen Kane. After that movie,films could be large in scale, and have a captivating story.
Orson Welles was famous for his Mercury Theater Players. They put on radio plays. Welles and his group, catapulted to fame, with their War of the Worlds broadcast. It was based on the H. G. Welles novel. The radio play was done as a newscast, talking about an invasion from Mars, which seemed real in 1938. The newfound fame, allowed Orson Welles, to write, direct and act in Citizen Kane, Welles playing the part of Charles Foster Kane: newspaper magnate. He also had his Mercury Players in the cast. None of them had ever appeared before a camera. Joseph Cotten, got his start in this movie. He starred as Jedediah Leland, Kane’s best friend. An interesting first appearance in this film, is Ray Collins, as James W. Gettys. He is the political boss who destroys Kane’s political ambitions. Ray Collins is best known for his role on Perry Mason as the over zealous homicide detective, Lt. Tragg.
The acting is great in this movie. Orson Welles slightly veiled portrayal of real life newspaper baron, William Randolph Hearst disguised as Kane, should have won him an Oscar. He did win the coveted statue, for the script, sharing it with Herman J. Mankiewicz. Welles dominates the screen, showing all of Kane’s flaws. He shows a man of business, who uses his inherited wealth, to buy a failing newspaper. His enthusiastic use of tabloid journalism, enables him to become a very wealthy and popular man. This popularity doesn’t give him an insight on human relations. He cannot succeed in his personal life. He has two failed marriages. His first to Emily Monroe Norton Kane, ( Ruth Warwick),doesn’t succeed, because of Kane’s obsession with his business. The second marriage fails because of Kane’s possessiveness. Dorothy Comingore is marvelous as Susan Alexander Kane. She shows a woman who isn’t meant to be in Kane’s world. She breaks down under Kane’s desire for her to be an opera diva. Comingore never realized acting fame, and her life became as tragic as her character in Kane.
Joseph Cotten holds his own against Orson Welles in Citizen Kane. He was a steadfast friend to Kane, but his treatment of people has upset him. He still remains an employee of Kane’s paper. He is the drama critic. He is writing a negative review of Susan Kane’s opera performance, but passes out drunk, leaving it unfinished. Kane sees it, and completes it, as negatively as it was started. He later fires Jedediah Leland. Cotten is really exceptional, being interviewed as the old Jedediah. He lets loose about the type of person Kane was. There is a special disdain in his voice, for Kane’s callous treatment of his first wife. He even has memory lapses, while talking to the reporter.
The award for scriptwriting was well deserved. The movie starts out, with Kane uttering the word Rosebud, before his death In a sign of the times, and quite uniquely, the newpaper magnate’s life, is told in a newsreel. It is narrated by William Alland, who plays the investigative reporter, Jerry Thompson, whose face is never shown in the film. It becomes Thompson’s job, to find out what Rosebud means. This leads up to the main part of the film. The older people who were in Kane’s life, tell their stories in flashback.
Jerry Thompson first goes to the archives of Charles Parks Thatcher. He is reading materials regarding Kane. The sunlight shines into the room, almost blindingly. It is the film shining a light into Kane’s life. We see Kane being sold into a better life to Mr. Thatcher. As young Charles Kane is taken away, the snow piles up, burying his childhood. It is here where the audience finds out the meaning of Kane’s last word.When next we see Kane, he is an ambitious young man, on his way to great financial success. This ambition leads him to celebrate his efforts getting America into The Spanish American War. He celebrates in his office with dancers, parodying the movie musicals of the day. It is Charles Foster Kane at the height of his journalistic power. The film then shows how Kane loses his power, and all control over his personal life. He has the ideal American family, but business begins to separate Kane and his first wife. Welles shows this through the couple’s breakfast table. They go from sitting close to each other, to being a great distance away. Kane’s second marriage is shown as two people having nothing in common. Their conversation in Xanadu- Kane’s castle, is held in a large room. The couple is separated by two chairs, with Kane sitting among old statues he has collected. The conversation is a distant echo. It shows the complete lack of love in their marriage. It culminates in Susan leaving Kane. Susan while being interviewed is shown in harsh lighting, in the club she owns. Her once sunny disposition, ruined by drink, and Charles Foster Kane’s manipulation.
The techniques Orson Welles used while filming Citizen Kane, are now standard. This includes deep focus photography. This allows everything in the foreground, center and background, to remain in focus. Welles directed this movie masterpiece, but Gregg Toland, was his cinematographer. He was great at what he did. He wanted to work with Welles, because of his great vision and enthusiasm. This academy award winner, working with Orson Welles, made movie history.
Orson Welles was a master orator, and a fine actor. He never achieved anything that compares to Kane. His reputation suffered, because of the negative publicity, around the film. He was not allowed free rein on his next movie, The Magnificent Ambersons. It was edited by the studio from three hours to just two. He was bitter about Citizen Kane’s reception. The film not only flopped at theaters, but didn’t get the best reception from critics. It got a new life on television, and a brand new perspective. Orson Welles received unwarranted criticism several years after the movie’s initial release. He was accused of not having much creative involvement. His co-writer, Herman Mankiewicz was given the credit. Research was done by film historians, and the accusations of Welles non-involvement, was proven to be false. The stories were just tall tales by publicity seeking critics. Orson Welles worked 16 hours or longer on his masterpiece, and should be lauded for the final effort. It is a movie that should be studied, for it’s portrait of a man’s rise and fall. The film’s look also has gained praise from critics for it’s look and feel. It is always studied in film school. It is not a movie that you tell friends to see. This is a film that you tell your film fan friends to watch again with a critical eye. Citizen Kane can be viewed a dozen times, and you can still find something that stands out about it.
Very nice review.