A GOLDEN AGE IN BLACK AND WHITE 69
00:12
Following a newsreel of
Kane’s life, reporter Jerry
Thompson is charged with
discovering the meaning of
Kane’s final word, “Rosebud.”00:33
Bernstein tells Thompson of
the early days at the Inquirer,
in which Kane wrote his
“Declaration of Principles.”01:26
Thompson speaks to Susan.
She describes her marriage to
Kane, and how he forced her
to continue singing.Hitler (cutting to a shot of Kane
declaring, pompously, “You can
take my word for it, there will be
no war”). Next come the women
in his life, and how an illicit affair
cut short his political career. The
audience is shown his rise, fall,
and withdrawal from public life.
The riddle of Rosebud
When the newsreel ends, its
producer isn’t satisfied: he wants
to know who Charles Foster Kane
was, not what he did, and sends
reporter Jerry Thompson (William
Alland) to discover the meaning of
the word Kane uttered with his last
breath: “Rosebud.” At this point,
Citizen Kane essentially becomes
two movies. The framework is
Kane’s life as recounted by his
friends and enemies, as Thompson
squares up to this extraordinary
riddle wrapped in a larger-than-life
enigma. But Welles also slyly
offers the audience other scenes
from Kane’s life in flashback, a ❯❯
What else to watch: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) ■ The Lady from Shanghai (1947) ■
The Third Man (1949, pp.100–03) ■ Touch of Evil (1958, p.333) ■ The Trial (1962) ■ Me and Orson Welles (2008)
00:18
Thompson reads Thatcher’s
memoirs, which tell the story of
the young Charles Kane, whom
Thatcher had adopted, and
how Kane first took over the
Inquirer newspaper.00:49
Leland recounts
Kane’s unhappy first
marriage, and how he
began the affair with
Susan that would end
his political career.00:00 00:15 00:30 00:45 01:00 01:15 01:30 01:5901:32
After Susan’s first night,
Kane writes Leland’s review
for him, truthfully describing
her performance as terrible.
He then fires Leland and they
never speak again.01:49
The butler tells
Thompson that Kane
trashed the room after
Susan left, and said
“Rosebud” on seeing
a snow globe.Minute by minute
In happier days, Kane and Leland
stand surrounded by copies of the
Inquirer. Kane intends to use the paper
to campaign for ordinary folk, a pledge
that Leland will later throw back at him.
01:36
Susan takes an overdose,
saying that she does not
want to sing any more.
Kane slaps her, and she
walks out on him.