Citizen Kane | Summary, Cast, & Facts (2024)

film by Welles [1941]

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What is Citizen Kane about?

The plot of Citizen Kane centres on the rise and fall of publishing magnate Charles Foster Kane. Following Kane’s death at the start of the film, a reporter interviews those who knew Kane in an attempt to better understand his life and the meaning of “Rosebud,” his last word. Flashback episodes of Kane’s life are shown in correspondence with the interviews.

Where does Citizen Kane take place?

Based on flashbacks of discrete episodes in Kane’s life, Citizen Kane mostly takes place in three different settings: Colorado during Kane’s childhood, New York at the height of his success as a media magnate, and finally Florida as Kane nears his demise.

Who is the protagonist of Citizen Kane based on?

The protagonist of Citizen Kane is said to have been based on real-life magnate William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was an American newspaper publisher who built up the nation’s largest newspaper chain and whose methods significantly influenced the practice of American journalism. He fought the production of Citizen Kane from the start and reportedly barred mention of it in his newspapers.

Why is Citizen Kane such an important film?

On a technical level, Citizen Kane is important for the innovative lighting and focusing methods of its cinematographer, Gregg Toland, and the dramatic editing style of Robert Wise. It was Orson Welles’s debut as a film director, and it has been hailed by many critics as one of the greatest movies of all time.

What is the significance of “Rosebud” in Citizen Kane?

“Rosebud” is the last word spoken by Citizen Kane’s protagonist, Charles Kane, on his deathbed at the beginning of the film. The meaning of the word remains a mystery for much of the film, until “Rosebud” is eventually revealed to be the name of Kane’s beloved sled from his childhood. Critics have suggested that the word alludes to the last time Kane was truly happy.

Citizen Kane, American film drama, released in 1941, that was directed, produced, and cowritten by Orson Welles, who also starred in the lead role. Citizen Kane is acclaimed by many critics as the greatest movie ever made. As a landmark work in the history of cinema, it ranks among the few films ever produced for which a remake, in the opinion of most critics, is all but unthinkable. Deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to America’s film heritage, it was among the first films selected in 1989 for inclusion in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.

(Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.)

Britannica QuizBest Picture Movie Quote Quiz

Welles’s much-analyzed drama centres on the rise and fall of a publishing magnate, Charles Foster Kane, who closely resembles William Randolph Hearst. (Hearst fought the film’s production from the start, and, when he was unsuccessful in his efforts to ban the film outright, he reportedly barred mention of it in his newspapers.) The mystery in the film surrounding the word “Rosebud,” which, it is revealed, is the name of the beloved sled of Kane’s childhood, made that word famous around the world and gave it a cultural significance well beyond the realm of cinema.

Welles was only 25 years old when he produced the film, and the movie’s groundbreaking techniques under his direction—primarily the innovative lighting and focusing methods of cinematographer Gregg Toland and the dramatic editing style of Robert Wise—continue to influence filmmakers today. The film also benefited from an equally acclaimed supporting cast, many of whom worked on Welles’s famed radio show Mercury Theatre on the Air as well.

Production notes and credits

Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles
Music: Bernard Hermann
Running time: 119 minutes

Cast

Orson Welles (Charles Foster Kane)
Joseph Cotten (Jedediah Leland)
Dorothy Comingore (Susan Alexander Kane)
Agnes Moorehead (Mary Kane)
Ruth Warrick (Emily Kane)
Ray Collins (James W. Gettys)
Everett Sloane (Mr. Bernstein)

Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)

Picture
Director
Lead actor (Orson Welles)
Screenplay*
Editing
Cinematography (black and white)
Score
Art direction (black and white)
Sound

Lee Pfeiffer