The purpose of this column is to inform as well as entertain, to educate without you thinking there’ll be a test. It’s not just enough for me to say something sucks; I should be able to tell you, specifically and objectively, why it sucks. The objective is to have to go away saying either, “Praise be, the scales have fallen from my eyes!” or “This crazy _________ don’t know ________.” So to that end:
The subject has come up on here several times—why all the fuss about Citizen Kane. Some people won’t (or don’t) like it because it’s in black and white. Some won’t like it because it’s (to my recollection) all-white. Some won’t like it ‘cause it’s an “old” movie. Or they just don’t like the story.
Part of the Kane legend has to do with its origins. Orson Welles, as a result of his War of the Worlds broadcast, was invited to Hollywood by RKO Studios and given a deal that probably inspired his famous quote, “This is the biggest electric train set a boy ever had:” he could make any movie he wanted to, total control of casting, story, the works. He was 26 years old and had never directed a film.
So he spent a year just watching movies, immersing himself in film (similar to Quentin Tarantino’s pre-directing experiences or what Stanley Kubrick did, watching every SF film available prior to direction 2001). The story he originally wanted to tell was one based on the life of Howard Hughes, but after researching the subject, he decided Hughes’ life was so incredible, no one would believe it. (Note: This was 30 years before he holed up in Vegas.) So Welles decided to base is character on William Randolph Hurst.
Hurst (Patty Hurst’s grandfather) was the Rupert Murdoch of his day and did not like the idea of his life being ridiculed. A large part of this centers around Kane’s last word. Welles always said “Rosebud” didn’t mean anything, it was just a distraction (that the whole movie centers around, sure, Orson). One account says it was a nickname a friend gave Hurst’s mother, and you don’t wanna go talking about someone’s mama. By most accounts, apocryphal or not, “Rosebud” was Hurst’s nickname for his mistress’s… uh, “rosebud,” and the idea that the last thing on his mind (I was gonna say “lips,” but we’re in the gutter enough already) was his girlfriend’s… Well, you get the idea.
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