>provides emphasis (e.g., the sound of the
flashlamp when the staff ’s picture is taken
punctuates Kane’s bragging about having
gotten his candy; after Kane says, “And now,
gentlemen, your complete attention, if you
please,” he puts his fingers in his mouth and
whistles; the trumpets’ blare).
>enhances the overall dramatic effect of the
sequence.This overwhelming sound mix almost tells the
story by itself.
Characterization
All the functions named in the previous section
are important to this particular sequence and the
overall film. In this section, we will look more
closely only at how the sound helps illuminate the
characters of Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles),
Mr. Bernstein (Everett Sloane), and Jed Leland
(Joseph Cotten). Even though their dialogue is pri-
marily a function of the narrative, its vocal delivery
brings it to life. Long after you have seen the movie,
you remember the characters, what they said, and
the voices of those who portrayed them. As one
legacy of his radio experience, Welles planned it
that way.
Each of the actors playing these characters has
a distinctive speaking voice that is a major part of
their characterization. Indeed, their voices are part
of the key to our understanding of their characters.
The depth and resonance of Welles’s voice, coupled
with its many colors (or qualities) and capabilities
for both nuance and emphasis, enhance his ambigu-
ous portrayal of the character. In several distinct
areas, the sound of his voice deepens our under-
standing of this contradictory figure. It helps Kane
flaunt his wealth and his power as the Inquirer’s
publisher: when he brags to the new reporters
about feeling like a “kid in a candy store” and hav-
ing gotten his candy, his remarks are punctuated
by the sound of the photographer’s flashlamp. How-
ever, this sound may also be interpreted as Welles’s
way of mocking Kane’s bragging.
Kane dominates the table of guests with the
announcement that he is going to Europe for his
health—“forgive my rudeness in taking leave of
you”—but there is in fact nothing physically wrong
with him, as we learn when he calls attention to his
mania for collection (and wealth) by sarcastically
saying, “They’ve been making statues for two thou-
sand years and I’ve only been buying for five.”
This conversation between Kane and Bernstein is
directed and acted as if it were a comedy routine on
a radio show or in a vaudeville theater between the
“top banana” (Kane) and the “straight man” (Bern-
stein). The implied nature of this exchange is some-
thing that 1940s audiences would have instinctively
understood.
The sound in this scene helps Kane build on his
power, not only as the boss and host of the party—
“And now, gentlemen, your complete attention, if you
please”—but also as the flamboyant and influential
publisher: “Well, gentlemen, are we going to declare
war on Spain, or are we not?” He’s in charge because
he’s the boss, and the boss’s voice also dominates his
employees. As he asks this question, the band
enters, playing “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,”
and is followed by women dancers carrying toy
rifles. When Leland answers, “The Inquireralready
has,” Kane humiliates him by calling him “a long-426 CHAPTER 9SOUND
Sound effectsWelles rarely missed an opportunity to use
sound effects expressively, as here, where the bright light of
the old-fashioned flash unit not only illuminates the scene
but also punctuates his bragging about his acquisition of the
Chroniclestaff: “I felt like a kid in a candy store!”