Matt Connarton Unleashed: Erich Pilcher reviews Citizen Kane (1941).

Youth on the Martin Legendary was the Xanadu, where Kubla Khan decreed his stately

pleasuredome. Today almost as legendary as Florida, Xanadu world's largest private pleasure ground.

Here on the desert of the Gulf coast, a private mountain was commissioned

and successfully built. One hundred thousand trees twenty thousand tons of marble are the

ingredients of Xanadu's Mountain. Contents of Xanadu's palace, paintings, pictures, statues,

the very stones of many another palace. A collection of everything so big

it can never be cataloged or appraised, enough for ten museums. The loot

of the world, Xanadu's livestock, the fowl of the air, the fish

of the sea, the beast of the field in jungle, two of each,

the biggest private zoos and snowa. Like the Pharaohs, Xanadu's Landlord leaves

many stones to mark his grave. Since the Pyramids, Xanadu is the costliest

monument a man has built to himself. Here in Xanadu, last week,

Xanadu's Landlord was laid to rest a potent figure of our century, America's Kubla

Khan Charles Foster Kane, It's humble beginnings in this ramshackle building, a dying

daily Can's empire in its glory held dominion over thirty seven newspapers, two syndicates,

a radio network, an empire upon an empire, the first time,

grocery stores, paper hills, apartment buildings, factories, forests, ocean liners,

an empire through which, for fifty years flowed in an unending stream.

The wealth of the Earth's third richest gold mine, famed an American legend,

is the origin of the Cane fortune. How to boarding housekeeper Mary Kane,

by a defaulting border in eighteen sixty eight, was left to supposedly worthless deed

to an abandoned mine shaft, the Colorado alone. Fifty seven years later,

before a congressional investigation, Walter P. Thatcher, grand old man of Wall

Street, four year's chief target of Caine Paper's attacks on trusts, recalls a

journey he made as a youth. My Pome had been appointed trustee by Missus

Kine for a large fortune which he recently acquired. It was her wish that

I should take charge of this boy, this Charles Foster Caine, is it

not have done the little miss a case he does? That boy, Charles

Foster Kane personally attacked you after striking you in the stomach with a slave much

chair. And I shall read to the Committee of Prompents statement which I have

brought with me, And I shall then refuse to answer any further questions.

Mister Charles Foster Kane, in every essence of his social beliefs, and by

the dangerous manner in which has persistently attacked the American traditions of private property,

initiative and opportunity for advancement, is in fact nothing more or less than a

communist. That same month in Union Square, in the words Charles Foster Kane

r minus to every working man in a slave he is today what he has

always been, harvest will be a fatist. And still another opinion, Paine

urged his country's entry into one war, opposed participation in another swung. The

election to one American president at least spoke for millions of Americans, was hated

by as many more. For forty years appeared in Caine you sprint. No

public issue on which Caine papers took no stand. No public man whom Caine

himself did not support or denounce, often support then denounce. Weie married vice

divorce, first to a president's niece, Emily Naughton, who left him in

nineteen sixteen died nineteen eighteen in a motor accident with their son, sixteen years

after his first marriage. Two weeks after his first divorce, Caine married Susan

Alexander Singer at the town Hall in Trenton, New Jersey, a wife to

one time opera singing Susan Alexander. Caine built Chicago's municipal opera house cost three

million dollars and see for Susan Alexander Kane have finished before she divorced him.

The still unfinished Xanadu cost no man, can say. Caine, holder of

mass opinion, though he was in all his life, was never granted elective

office by the voters of his country. But cain papers were once strong,

indeed, and once the prize seemed almost his. In nineteen sixteen, as

independent candidate for governor, the best elements of the state behind him, the

White House seemingly the next easy step in a lightning political career, and suddenly

less than one week before election defeat shameful, ignominious. If he'd got set

back for twenty years the cause of reform in the US, or ever canceled

political chances for Charles Foster Kane. Then the first year of the Great Depression,

Okaine paper closes cocaine in four short years collapse, eleven cane papers merged,

more sold, scrapped. Is that correct? Don't believe everything you hear

on the radio. Read the inquirer. How did you find business conditions in

Europe? How did I find business conditions in Europe? Mister bones with great

difficulty. I'm glad to be back with kay. I'm always glad to be

back, young man. I'm an American. I always been an American.

Anything else, and I was a reporter. We asked him quicker than that.

Come on, young fella, well what do you think of the chances

for war in Europe? I've talked with the responsible is the great powers England,

French, Germany and Italy. They're too intelligent to embark on a project

which would mean the end of civilization as we now know it. You can

take my word for it. There'll be no Warkin helped to change the world

what Caine's world now is history, and the great Yellow Journalist himself lived to

be history, outlived his power to make it alone, and is never finished.

Already decame pleasure Palace, aloof seldom visited, never photographed, an emperor

of new sprint, continued to direct his failing empire, vainly, attempted to

sway as he once did, the destinies of a nation that had ceased to

listen to him, ceased to trust him. Then, last week, as

it must to all men, death came to Charles Foster Kane. No,

the words you just heard are the words that bring us into the world of

Charles Foster Kane, and it is a part of the opening scene from Citizen

Kane and nearly ten minutes long. It attempts to encapsulate the life of a

media titan, mogul, failed politician, and a man that had everything but

in reality had nothing that was real. Last week we looked at the making

of Citizen Kane in the controversy and pitfalls that surrounded it. This film was

released in nineteen forty one and tells the story of Charles Foster Kine, played

by director Orson Wells, a man that as a young child inherits a fortune

and then amasses wealth, fame, prestige, and notoriety as a national media

mogul, but is missing love and is emotionally broken. Our next two clips

show what makes Cain such a compelling character in cinema. First, in a

conversation with his conservator, mister Thatcher, we hear the new newspaper man Cain

explain his view on running a newspaper. Then, in our second clip,

a middle aged Cain while running for governor shows his over the top delivery and

extreme self confidence. These scenes are important because they establish what makes Cain so

endearing and charming. Also, notice the commanding presence Caine carries the Spain off

Jersey. Co's not clearly your idea how to run a newspaper. I don't

know how to run a newspaper, mister Thatcher. I just try everything I

can think of. You know perfectly well, there's not the slight this proof

of this a modern off the Jersey Bernstein. I'd like you to meet mister

Thatcher, just Cleland. Mister Thatcher, my ex guardian. We have no

secrets from our readers, mister Bernstein. Mister Thatcher is one of our most

devoted readers. He knows what's wrong with every copy of the Enquirer since I

took over read the cable girls delightful in Cuba. Stop could send you prose

poems about scenery, but don't feel right spending your money. Stop. There

is no war in Cuba, signed Wheeler, any air. Yes, dear

Wheeler, you provide the prose poems. I'll provide the war. That's fine,

Mister Cares like myself Away. I came to see you about this campaign

of yours, I campaign against the Public Clensed Company. Mister Thatcher, Do

you know anything we could use against them? Still the college boy on John,

No, mister Thatcher, I was expelled from college a lot of colleges,

you remember, I remember, Charles. I think I should remind you

of a fact that you seem to forgot. Yes, that's why yourself one

of the largest individual in the Public Clensed Company. Trouble is, you don't

realize you're talking to two people as Charles Foster Kane, who owns eighty two

thousand, three hundred and sixty four shares of Public Transit Preferred. You see,

I do have a general idea of my holdings. I sympathize with you.

Charles Foster Kane is a scoundrel. His paper should be run out of

town. A committee should be formed to boycott him. You may, if

you can form such a committee, put me down for a contribution of one

thousand dollars my time. On the other hand, I am the establisher of

the Inquirer. As such, it's my duty, and I'll let you in

on a little secret. It's also my pleasure to see you at the decent

hardworking people in this community aren't robbed blind by a pack of moneymad pirates just

because you haven't anybody to look after their interests. I'll let you in on

another little secret, mister thatcher. I think I'm the man to do what

you see. I have money and property. If I don't look after the

interests of the underprivileged, maybe somebody else will, maybe somebody without any money

of property. Yes, yes, well, I happen to see your financial

statement today, Charles, how did you now tell me? Honestly, my

boy, don't you think it's rather unwise to continue this philanthropic enterprise, this

empire that's costing you a million dollars a year? You're right, mister Thatcher.

I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a

million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year,

you know, mister Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year.

And I have to close this place in sixty years. And now Kine's

campaign speech. Now in complete control of the government of the state. I

made no campaign promises because until a few weeks ago, I had no hope

of being elected. Now, however, I have something more than a hope.

Jim gets Jim Gettys has something less than a chance. Every straw vote,

every independent poll shows and I'll be elected. Now I can afford to

make some promises a working man, the working man, and the slung child.

No, they can expect my best efforts in their interests. The decent

ordinary citizens know then I'll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged,

the undefeated and they underfed another pop govern not. Yes, well, i'd

make my promises now if I weren't too busy arranging to keep them. Here's

one promisomic and Boss Jim Getty's, how does I'll keep it? My first

official act is governor of the state will read to a point a special district

attorney to arrange for the indicement, prosecution and conviction abost Jim w get his

The main theme throughout this film is not Cain in his life, the power,

fortune, and fame that he carries. It is that this man is

emotionally bankrupt. His quest for control and love has disastrous consequences. That is

because he is emotionally unavailable and unwilling to commit to anyone emotionally outside of just

token things in gifts and money. In one of the most heartbreaking scenes of

this film, Cain confronts long time friend, supporter and reporter Jedediah Leland played

by Joseph Cotton, for writing a poor review of his current wife's Sopra.

In this scene, Leland explains what love is too Charles Foster Kane, and

how it is unlike what anyone else in the world would view as love.

What you are unable to see in this scene due to audio only is the

way Orson Wells and Greg Toland shot the scene to make Cain appear as a

giant. To do this, they cut a hole in the floor of the

scene setting to lower the camera all the way down and shoot it upright for

a larger view of Cain. Well, you god drug too. Talk to

me about as Alexander, don't. Father, I'm not as I've set back.

The sacred cause of reform is that it all right. That's the way

they wanted. The people have made that choice. It's obvious the people preferred,

Jim get is to me. You talk about the people as though you

own them, so they belonged to you. Goodness, As long as I

can remember, you've talked about giving the people their rights as if you can

make them a present of liberty as a reward for services rendered. Jed.

Remember the working man, I'll get drunk too, Jedediah, it'll do any

good. I won't do any good. Besides, you never get drunk.

You used to write an awful lot about the working man turning into something called

organized labor. You're not gonna like that one little bit when you find out

it means that you're a working man expects something as his right, not as

your gift. Charlie, when you're precious under privilege, you really get together,

Oh boy, that's gonna add up to something bigger than your privilege and

I don't know what you'll do. Sail away to a desert island, probably

and lord it over the monkeys. I won't worry about it too much,

Jed. It'll probably be a few of them there to let me know when

I do something wrong. You may not always be so lucky. Yeah,

very drunk, that's wrong. What do you care? You don't care about

anything except you. You just want to persuade people that you love them so

much that they ought to love you back. Only you want love on your

own terms. I promised it would be divulged if the influence of William Randolph

Hurst hindered this film. Sadly it did. Radio City Music Hall refused to

take part in the premiere. Many cinemas, fearing that Hurst would sue them

for defamation, or refused to advertise their theaters just outright refused to show it.

Hearst papers, radio stations, and magazines would not advertise the film.

This led to the film losing an astounding one hundred and sixty thousand dollars following

its initial release. It nearly bankrupted RKO Pictures and led to Wells being labeled

as troublesome in never wielding the power he had on this film creatively for the

rest of his career. Despite this, the film did receive critical acclaim.

The Washington Post called it the single most important film ever made. It was

nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Wells was nominated for Best

Actor and Best Director. The film only won won award for Best Original Screenplay

for Hermann, Mankowitz and Wells. When the Oscars aired on Hurstoned radio stations,

the award was edited out of the broadcast. However, in the sixties,

this film began to have a major resurgence. This allowed the film to

gain the widespread appreciation it did not get upon release. That appreciation carries through

to today. It is widely considered to be the greatest film ever made,

and in my opinion, it is. On a personal note, this film

led me to have an admiration for Wells and his works. It also led

me to seek a film minor while I was in college. I'm such a

fan of Wells that one of my most prized possessions is an autograph from orson

Wells. That is why I have chosen to honor Wells this month, my

birthday month, because without him in this marvelous, beautiful, heartbreaking, compelling

film. It's safe to say there would not be classic film reviews with Eric

Pilcher. I hope you join me next week, when our month long tribute

to Orson Wells continues with one of his most heralded performances ever in Carol Mann's

nineteen forty nine film The Third Man. To close this review, we will

hear a clip from the American Film Institute. We're a who's who of cinema,

William Friedkin, Lawrence Fishburn, Norman Jewison, Richard Dry, Sidney Pollock,

Kevin Spacey, Peter Bogdanovich, Debbie Reynolds, Steven Spielberg, and another

personal favorite director of mine, Martin Scorsese. I'll explain why. In their

opinion, Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever For WM and H and Matt

Connorton unleashed, this has been a classic film review. Citizen Kane is the

most important greatest American film as far as I'm concerned. This is the gold

standard here. It's pretty hard to top Citizen Kane. Citizen Kane is the

greatest movie ever made. He's not clearly your idea how to run a newspaper

I don't know how to run a newspaper, mister Betcher. I just try

everything I can think of. There's never been a film that I'm aware of

that if you watch it for the one hundred and thirty eighth time, you

can still see something new that you hadn't noticed before. I made no campaign

promises, because until a few weeks ago, I had no hope of being

elected. Now I have something more than a hope. Jim Jim Gettis has

something less than a chance. Every single not just every scene, but every

shot has an idea. There's a concept and an idea being executed at every

second of that film. There's this extraordinary performance which people seem to take for

granted. I mean, Orson ages from twenty five to eighty five in this

movie, and he's totally believable in every phase of it. Rosebud Orson Wells

was brilliant. I mean, and that was like his first film and he

was twenty six years old. It is just one of the great movies ever

made, and I think many people are going to agree it's just one of

the great American experiences. Throughout that jug, the citizen game will always be

something that demands attention and respect and admiration for another way of looking at the

world through the cinematic eye.