History Trivia / CitizenKane

* OpenMouthInsertFoot: During production, Welles was very cautious about the film's publicity, limiting access to the raw footage. On the premiere night, rival gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Hearst correspondent Louella Parsons showed up uninvited. Hopper wrote negatively about the movie, calling it "a vicious and irresponsible attack on a great man", with ''Friday'' magazine drawing point-by-point comparisons between Kane and Hearst, documenting how Welles had reportedly led on Parsons. When Welles couldn't understand why Parsons was being so friendly to him, the magazine interview quoted Welles as saying "Wait until she finds out the picture's about her boss", with Welles denying he made any such statement. When ''Friday's'' article was published, Hearst sent Parsons an angry letter because he learned about the movie from Hopper, instead of Hearst columnist Louella Parsons, who was so humiliated, she demanded a private screening, threatening to take legal action against [=RKO=] Studios, Radio City Music Hall, and expose the private lives of people in the film industry.

* DescendedCreator: Director Creator/OrsonWelles plays the titular role of Charlie Kane.

* FromEntertainmentToEducation: ''Citizen Kane'' is often used to teach cinematography, and as a master work in storytelling and narrative form, and pretty much defined cinema as an artist's medium, with all its different visual and audio techniques used cohesively to tell a complex story.

** Originally, the movie was going to be based on the life of UsefulNotes/HowardHughes with Cotten in the lead. Eventually, Welles realized [[RealityIsUnrealistic nobody would believe most of the stuff Hughes had done]], so he decided to make Kane a media baron instead.

** Welles was originally going to make an adaptation of Creator/JosephConrad's ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'' but the executives didn't believe they could possibly stretch a budget far enough to cover it, so he made ''[[TropesAreNotBad Kane]]'' instead.

* CreatorBacklash: To a marginal extent. While Welles never regretted or ''hated'' the film, much like Creator/AlanMoore and ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' he did regret how it overshadowed his entire career. He stated that he found the film too gimmicky and not mature, and he regretted how Marion Davies was wrongfully associated with the film. Despite this, he stated in interviews that Kane is the only film of his with which he is entirely satisfied in that it came out exactly as he wished with no budget constraints and no ExecutiveMeddling, though personally he preferred ''The Trial'' and ''Chimes at Midnight''.

** Ray Collins (Jim Gettys) enjoyed a prolific career as a Hollywood character actor. Besides ''Kane'', he's probably best-remembered for his role as Lt. Arthur Taggart on ''Series/PerryMason'' towards the end of his career.

** Welles himself is an interesting aversion. An acknowledged [[ChildProdigy child genius]], he was a theatrical star since age 16, and became famous for his theatre and [[Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds radio]]. He had in fact made three films prior to this (a bizarre short in 1934, a 40-minute film that was intended to be part of a hybrid stage play/movie performance in 1938, and he narrated a version of ''Swiss Family Robinson'' a year before Kane came out). As an actor, Welles came to be in demand for playing sinister anti-hero/villains and specialized in OneSceneWonder but as a director he struggled to find funding for his works. As such Welles found greater demand as an actor than as a director.

** Ray Collins (Jim Gettys) enjoyed a prolific career as a Hollywood character actor.

* ActorAllusion: Kane knows plenty of magic tricks that amuse Susan. Creator/OrsonWelles himself was an amateur magician.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted. The film has characters named Jim Gettys and Jim Kane.

* StreisandEffect: Most people today, outside of specialists in mass media, know Hearst largely for his association with this film. Ironically, at the time, Hearst somewhat aware of this trope as a result of his yellow journalism origins, tried to avoid it by refusing to mention the film: rather than rail against it or say that it was terrible, Hearst ordered his newspapers to not mention it at all. This is thought to be a primary reason for its failure, that and bribing distributors not to play it in many theatres.

** In the long-run, Hearst's persecution of Welles and sabotage of the film's release permanently linked him with Kane, to the extent that a biography of his life is titled "Citizen Hearst", and Kane's satirical depiction of Hearst as this controlling frustrated politician became how people remember Hearst. Most biographers argue that Hearst was not really as much of a ByronicHero as Kane is, nor such a BastardBoyfriend, likewise, Hearst's good deeds such as his championing of George Herriman's ''ComicStrip/KrazyKat'' and other comics artists is forgotten in favor of his association with the Yellow Press.

** AFIS100Years100MovieQuotes: #17

* BreakthroughHit: For Creator/OrsonWelles. Also for Music/BernardHerrmann, who had been a music composer for the Mercury Theater, went to Hollywood along with Welles and the actors, composed the music to ''Citizen Kane'' as his very first film score, and went on to become one of [[PsychoStrings the most successful]] [[Film/{{Vertigo}} film composers]] [[TaxiDriver in movie history]].

* CommonKnowledge:
** People assume Marion Davies had a bad career, as her expy in the film shows. In fact, Marion Davies was widely considered [[Film/ShowPeople a talented actress and comedienne]], independent of all the publicity Hearst arranged for her. Hearst did push Davies towards melodramatic leading-lady roles, despite performing better in light comedy. Ironically, Welles and Mankiewicz claimed that they made Susan so talentless to ensure she ''wasn't'' confused with Marion Davies. Instead, the opposite happened.
** Likewise, everyone feels that this film was a satire on Hearst and Hearst alone. In truth, the film was intended to be a general satire and tragedy of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream and the resemblances to Hearst came about largely because screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz was a regular at Hearst's parties and knew him well. Both he and Welles included details from several American tycoons like Samuel Insull and Howard Hughes in addition to Hearst. Likewise, Welles himself never intended the film to be a TakeThat on Hearst, indeed the drafts of the screenplay credited to him show that it was Welles who made Kane more sympathetic and that the original screenplay was a good deal more anti-Hearst.
** Everyone from [[http://www.paulrossen.com/paulinekael/raisingkane.html Pauline Kael]] to [[http://www.cracked.com/article_16625_8-classic-movies-that-got-away-with-gaping-plot-holes_p2.html Cracked]] claims that no one actually heard Kane's last words, therefore the whole "Rosebud" mystery is a plot hole. In reality, Raymond the Butler tells the journalist that he was present during Kane's death, so presumably he heard "Rosebud" himself.
** There's also Kael's claim that Herman Mankiewicz wrote the entire script himself, and that Welles unfairly took credit. Despite [[http://www.popoptiq.com/kael-vs-kane-pauline-kael-orson-welles-authorship-citizen-kane/ being thoroughly debunked]] by Robert L. Carringer, Peter Bogdanovich and others, this argument's still repeated by credulous film buffs.
** Likewise, many, see the Hearst controversy as really ending Welles' career and see the film's bad reception as single-handedly stifling a great talent a la TallPoppySyndrome. The truth is that Film/CitizenKane, while criticized and seen as attracting unwanted attention from a powerful man, was a highly respected production in Hollywood at the time. Yes it was booed at the Oscars, but it was also nominated for the awards, and Welles won an Oscar (with Mankiewicz) for his screenplay. The film was admired for its technical brilliance and Welles had enough admirers to balance out others who disliked him. It was Film/TheMagnificentAmbersons that truly tarnished his reputation, since unlike Kane (which had a smooth, competent production), Ambersons was a famous mess and more or less made sure that Welles would never have AuteurLicense again.

* DyeingForYourArt: To simulate heavy drunkenness, Cotten stayed awake for 24 straight hours, resulting in some unscripted flubbery (that caused Welles to grin despite himself).

** Joseph Cotten went on to a long and very successful career as a leading man and character actor in Hollywood.

* ThrowItIn: Joseph Cotten stumbling over the word "criticism". It was a genuine flub, but fortunately both he and Welles stayed in character (albeit Welles grins) and Cotten follows up with a brilliant ad-lib "I AM drunk", so it stayed in the film as-is.

** Welles himself is an interesting aversion. He was a star since age 16, and became famous for his theatre and [[Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds radio]], and had in fact made three films prior to this (a bizarre short in 1934, a 40-minute film that was intended to be part of a hybrid stage play/movie performance in 1938, and he narrated a version of Swiss Family Robinson a year before Kane came out). As an actor, Welles came to be in demand for playing sinister anti-hero/villains and specialized in OneSceneWonder but as a director he struggled to find funding for his works. As such Welles found greater demand as an actor than as a director.

** Likewise, many, see the Hearst controversy as really ending Welles' career and see the film's bad reception as single-handedly stifling a great talent a la TallPoppySyndrome. The truth is that Film/CitizenKane while criticized and seen as attracting unwanted attention from a powerful man, was a highly respected production in Hollywood at the time. Yes it was booed at the Oscars, but it was also nominated for the awards, and Welles won an Oscar (with Mankiewicz) for his screenplay. The film was admired for its technical brilliance and Welles had enough admirers to balance out others who disliked him. It was Film/TheMagnificentAmbersons that truly tarnished his reputation, since unlike Kane (which had a smooth, competent production), Ambersons was a famous mess and more or less made sure that Welles would never have AuteurLicense again.

** Likewise, everyone feel that this film was a satire on Hearst and Hearst alone. In truth, the film was intended to be a general satire and tragedy of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream and the resemblances to Hearst came about largely because screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz was a regular at Hearst's parties and knew him well. Both he and Welles included details from several American tycoons like Samuel Insull and Howard Hughes in addition to Hearst. Likewise, Welles himself never intended the film to be a TakeThat on Hearst, indeed the drafts of the screenplay credited to him show that it was Welles who made Kane more sympathetic and that the original screenplay was a good deal more anti-Hearst.

** Towards the end of his life, Welles was asked to provide a commentary for the film. He declined, as he was done talking about it.
* WorkingTitle: ''The American''.

* DuelingMovies: For a long time, ''Citizen Kane'' competed for #1 on a film list with Creator/JeanRenoir's ''Film/TheRulesOfTheGame''. The 2012 list saw it finally replaced from Sight and Sound's Best Film List. The critics list placed Film/{{Vertigo}} ahead of it, while the directors list placed Film/TokyoStory ahead of it.

** Originally, the movie was going to be based on the life of Howard Hughes with Cotten in the lead. Eventually, Welles realized [[RealityIsUnrealistic nobody would believe most of the stuff Hughes had done]], so he decided to make Kane a media baron instead.
** Welles was originally going to make an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'' but the executives didn't believe they could possibly stretch a budget far enough to cover it, so he made ''[[TropesAreNotBad Kane]]'' instead.

* AcclaimedFlop: Hard to believe, but the "Greatest Film of All Time" '''''was''''' a spectacular box office bomb for its time, though eventually it made a profit in repertory screenings and Welles lived off its royalties even when he was down and out in Europe.

* FromEntertainmentToEducation: ''Citizen Kane'' is often used to teach cinematography, and as a master work in storytelling and narrative form

* OldShame: The only thing Welles ''really'' regretted was his portrayal of the Marion Davies {{Expy}} Susan.

** Joseph Cotten went on to a long and very successful career as a leading man in Hollywood.

** Welles himself is an interesting aversion. He was a star since age 16, and became famous for his theatre and (cough) [[Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds radio]], and had in fact made three films prior to this (a bizarre short in 1934, a 40-minute film that was intended to be part of a hybrid stage play/movie performance in 1938, and he narrated a version of Swiss Family Robinson a year before Kane came out), but the movie almost destroyed his career.

* AcclaimedFlop: Hard to believe, but the "Greatest Film of All Time" '''''was''''' a spectacular box office bomb for its time, though eventually it made a profit in repertory screenings and Welles lived off its royalties even when he was down and out in Europe. See CreatorKiller below for more.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Jerry, TheFaceless reporter who investigates the "Rosebud" angel of Kane's life, is William Alland, who became a prolific producer of TheFifties science fiction films like ''Film/ThisIslandEarth'', ''Film/TheDeadlyMantis'', ''Film/TheSpaceChildren'', ''Film/ItCameFromOuterSpace'', ''Film/TheMolePeople'', ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' and [[Film/RevengeOfTheCreature and its sequel]]. ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' fans are very familiar with his work.