Citizen Kane

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

• Director: Orson Welles
• Genre:Drama / Mystery
• Runtime:114 minutes

Cast

Joseph Cotten : Jedediah Leland
Orson Welles : Charles Foster Kane
Dorothy Comingore: Susan Alexander Kane
Agnes Moorehead : Mary Kane
Ruth Warrick : Emily Monroe Norton Kane

Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), the enormously wealthy media magnate, has lost his power and been abandoned by his loved ones, and has been living alone in his vast palatial estate Xanadu for the last years of his life, with a “No trespassing” sign on the gate. He dies in a bed holding a snow globe, and utters “Rosebud…” before his death.

Kane’s death then becomes sensational news around the world. Reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland) tries to find out about Kane’s private life and, in particular, to discover the meaning behind his last word. The reporter interviews the great man’s friends and associates, and Kane’s story unfolds as a series of flashbacks. Thompson approaches Kane’s second wife, Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), now an alcoholic who runs her own club, but she refuses to tell him anything. Thompson then goes to the private archive of Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris), a deceased banker who served as Kane’s guardian during his childhood. It is through Thatcher’s written memoirs that Thompson learns about Kane’s childhood. Thompson then interviews Kane’s personal business manager Mr. Bernstein (Everett Sloane), best friend Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten), Susan for a second time, and Kane’s butler Raymond (Paul Stewart).

In several flashbacks, it is told that Kane’s childhood was spent in poverty (his parents ran a boarding house), then changed when the “world’s third largest gold mine” was discovered on an apparently worthless property his mother had acquired (the title deeds left to her by a lodger unable to pay his bill). He is forced to leave his beloved mother (Agnes Moorehead) when she sends him away to live with Thatcher, to be both educated and protected from his abusive father. After gaining full control over his possessions at the age of 25, Kane enters the newspaper business with sensationalized yellow journalism. He takes control of the newspaper, the New York Inquirer, and hires all the best journalists (he hires them away from the Chronicle, the main rival of the Inquirer). His attempted rise to power is documented, including his manipulation of public opinion for the Spanish American War of 1898; his first marriage to Emily Monroe Norton (Ruth Warrick), a President’s niece; and his campaign for the office of governor of New York State, in which Kane creates alternative newspaper headlines depending on whether he wins.

Kane’s life gradually goes downhill. The relationship between him and his wife disintegrates over the years. A “love nest” scandal with Susan Alexander ends both his first marriage and his political aspirations. Kane marries his mistress, but as a result of his domineering personality, he forces Susan into an operatic career for which she has no talent or ambition, destroys his relationships and pushes away his loved ones. Kane spends his last years building his vast estate and lives alone after Susan leaves him, interacting only with his staff. Read more