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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 65 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Citizen Kane .
Orson Welles. He also starred in the film and helped write the script. And he was only 25 at the time! Imagine what he could have offered the world if RKO hadn't pulled him in so fiercely!
9. Best Original Screenplay, Picture, Actor, Director, Black and White Cinematogoraphy, Black and White Interior Decorating, Sound Recording, Dramatic Picture Score, and Film Editing. It only won for Best Original Screenplay.
Gregg Toland. He also did some fantastic work with John Ford's 'Grapes of Wrath.' He artfully used the new technique of deep focus, as well as lighting to show the emotional positon of a character, as well as physical position.
William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was a powerful newspaperman, as well. Both Kane and Hearst had palatial and massive estates (Xanadu and San Simeon), and both had young female companions (Susan and Marion Davies).
Thompson. Though he never discovers the true meaning of Kane's last words, the audience does. If you sit and think about it, the meaning is heart-wrenchingly tragic. The movie is REALLY deep.
Emily Norton Kane. She was a direct descendant of James Monroe, I believe. Many thought that Charles Kane married her in order to further his chances at becoming president one day. He, however, never even became governor.
singer. She didn't even like singing, virtually all of her singing career was Charlie's idea. When she couldn't land a part with any prestigous comapanies, Charlie built her an opera house where she could perform.
nursing home. They sit at a large reflective desk with an enormous picture of Charlie gazing down at them. Dripping with symbolizm, that scene is.
Mercury Theater. They performed the famed radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' 'War of the Worlds' in 1938. Those who were featured in 'Citizen Kane' include Joseph Cotton (Leland), Dorothy Comingore (Susan), Ruth Warrick (Emily), Ray Collins (the political opponent), Agnes Moorehead (Charlie's mother), and Everett Sloane (Mr. Bernstein)
Dorothy Comingore. Dorothy Comingore (who played Susan Alexander Kane) was pregnant throughout a rather long segment of shooting. Director Orson Welles dressed her in flowing robes and gowns, and placed her behind obstacles in order to mask her condition.
| A rather notable actor appears in several scenes of "Citizen Kane," but his face is obscured in shadow, and his name is barely (if at all, in some prints) noted in the credits. Who is he? | "Citizen Kane": Behind the Scenes
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Alan Ladd. Ladd plays one of the reporters in the shadowy "News on the March" screening room early in the film, and appears again (still in shadow) in the final scenes. He received no official credit for his role.
| According to a number of biographies and film history texts, cinematographer Gregg Toland "earned" his place in the crew of "Citizen Kane" by brandishing his Academy Award and stating quite simply to Orson Welles that Welles *needed* him in order to make the movie work. For what film had Toland won the Academy Award as Best Cinematographer? | "Citizen Kane": Behind the Scenes
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"Wuthering Heights" (1939). Toland was nominated for every single one of the films mentioned -- and, eventually, for "Citizen Kane," as well -- but by the time he approached Welles, he had only won for "Wuthering Heights."
Margaret. Dorothy was born Margaret Louise Comingore, and appeared in several "Three Stooges" features before being tapped by Orson Welles for "Citizen Kane."
| Orson Welles has been portrayed by a number of actors over the years, in many films. Which actor has *never* played Welles in a film? | "Citizen Kane": Behind the Scenes
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D. B. Sweeney. MacFayden played Welles in "Cradle Will Rock" (1999); Schrieber played Welles quite brilliantly in "RKO 281" (1999); D'Onofrio played Welles (with a dubbed-in voice) in "Ed Wood" (1994). As of September 2003, Sweeney has never portrayed Welles in a motion picture.
1 . The only Academy Award the film won was for Best Original Screenplay, shared by Orson Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz.
RKO Pictures. Anyone who's seen the made-for-cable movie "RKO 281" should have gotten this one right.
| A famous behind-the-scenes anecdote concerns the fact that Welles kept co-star Joseph Cotten awake for more than 24 hours in order to approximate the inebriated state that Cotten's alcoholic character, Jedediah Leland, was supposed to be embracing in a critical scene. During this confrontational scene that Welles insisted on shooting over and over, Cotten misspoke a word, and Welles left that error in the final cut of the film. What word did the exhausted Cotten mispronounce, even in the final version of the film? | "Citizen Kane": Behind the Scenes
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criticism. The sleep-deprived Cotten pronounced "criticism" as "crimitism." Welles liked the authenticity of the error so much that he left it in the film. Listen for it!
Jean Forward. Jean Forward, as far as I can determine, never did anything else in the film industry aside from this thankless role in "Citizen Kane" -- and, according to Roger Ebert's commentary on the DVD, composer Bernard Herrmann demanded that she sing a half octave above her natural range in order to make her sound weak!
May Day. "Citizen Kane" was first shown to the American moviegoing public on May 1, 1941.
the Palace Theatre. The original plan was for "Citizen Kane" to premiere at Radio City Music Hall, but various circumstances did not allow for that plan to be realized; as a result, "Citizen Kane" premiered in a smaller theater.
| While Jedediah Leland is being interviewed by Mr. Thompson, Kane's remarkable "castle" property is referenced. By which name does Leland *not* sarcastically call Kane's palatial home in response to the question? | "Citizen Kane": Behind the Scenes
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He refers to the property by all of these names (Shangri-La, Sloppy Joe's, El Dorado). Leland: "What's it called again? Shangri-La? El Dorado? Sloppy Joe's?" Leland quickly admits to Thompson that he knew that the name of Kane's compound was Xanadu all the time -- he was just pretending not to remember.
Rosebud. The inspiration for "Citizen Kane" was the life of William Randolph Hearst, a man who created an empire of newspapers, radio stations and magazines. Rosebud was said to be an inside joke between cast and crew, for it was said that Rosebud was actually a pet name that Willian Randolph Hearst created for intimate areas of his lover's body. (eeew!)
Orson Welles. Orson Welles, the boy wonder, was only 25 years of age when he created Mercury Theatre Company. Most of the members of the company each made their debut in "Citizen Kane."
Jospeh Cotten played Jed Leland, Kane's supposed best friend.
Everett Sloane played Mr. Bernstein the successful business man.
William Alland played Thompson the reporter.
We never actually get to see his face. We never get a good look at Thompson's face. His back is always turned to us or his face is in the shadows. It is said that at the premiere of "Citizen Kane" William Alland who played Thompson told the audience that he should probably turn around and show them his back or no one would recognize him.
Xanadu. Xanadu is the name of Kane's estate. San Simeo was the name of William Randolph Hearst's estate. Xanadu's location is supposedly on the dessert coast of Florida, except Florida doesn't have dessert coast. During the picnic scene on the beach the background is actually from some dated pre-historic setting from a movie. You can actually see pterodactyls flying around in the background!
An opera house. Kane built an opera house just for her. Susan never wanted it. The fact of the matter is that Susan never wanted anything Kane bought for her because it was always things that Kane thought she should like.
Statues. At the end of the movie, the camera pans across thousands of statues left in Kane's storage warehouse, some were never even taken out of their crate.
El Rancho. The outside of the club was actually a model. So when the camera panned over the roof and through the skylight to show Susan sitting at a table, they would either have a bolt of lightning separate the model from the actual set or go to a dissolve.
Governor. Charles Foster Kane made an unsuccessful bid for Governor. Perhaps he would have won, but Kane's opponent, Gettys, blackmailed him when he discovered that he was cheating on his wife (who was the President's niece) with Susan Alexander. Kane refused to step back and the scandal was released to the public with the headline, "Kane Caught In Love Nest With 'Singer'".
1941. Charles Foster Kane died alone in Xanadu.
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