Charles Foster Kane
This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (February 2021) |
Charles Foster Kane | |
---|---|
Citizen Kane character | |
First appearance | Citizen Kane |
Created by | Herman J. Mankiewicz Orson Welles |
Portrayed by | Orson Welles Buddy Swan (as a child) |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Owner/Publisher of the New York Daily Inquirer |
Family | Jim Kane (father) Mary Kane (mother) Walter Parks Thatcher (legal guardian) |
Spouse | Emily Monroe Norton Kane (first wife) Susan Alexander Kane (second wife) |
Children | Charles Foster Kane III (deceased) |
Religion | Christian |
Nationality | American |
Charles Foster Kane is a fictional character who is the subject of Orson Welles' 1941 film Citizen Kane. Welles played Kane (receiving an Academy Award nomination), with Buddy Swan playing Kane as a child. Welles also produced, co-wrote and directed the film, winning an Oscar for writing the film.
Inspiration
The general consensus is that publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst is the primary inspiration behind Charles Foster Kane.
In the film, Kane is given the line "You provide the prose poems; I'll provide the war," undeniably similar to "You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war," a quote widely attributed to Hearst. Also, an overhead shot of Hearst's ranch is shown in the film as Xanadu, the lavish estate where Kane resides.
In addition, Kane's unsuccessful attempt to make his second wife an opera star parallels Hearst's effort to make his mistress Marion Davies a serious dramatic movie actress despite critics' complaints that she was miscast and better in light comedy roles. The connection with Hearst is strengthened by the fact that Welles's co-writer, Herman J. Mankiewicz, was a frequent guest of Davies at Hearst Castle.
Some biographies of Welles posit that Welles himself was a source of inspiration for the character. Some of the character's dialogue on how to run a newspaper are direct quotes from Welles's comments on how to make a motion picture (though this was his first). Mankiewicz included dialogue about Kane's voracious appetite, also a reference to Welles.
Later news media figures including
Fictional character biography
Citizen Kane explores the life of the titular character. We are given an overview of his public career in the pastiche News on the March newsreel, with some parts then shown in more detail through the flashback recollections of those who knew him.
Early years
Kane is born of humble origins in the fictional settlement of Little Salem, Colorado, in 1862 or 1863.[a] A supposedly worthless mine given to his mother in 1868—to settle a bill for room and board by Fred Graves — is discovered to be rich in gold, making the family suddenly fabulously wealthy. In 1871, in return for an annual income of $50,000, Kane's mother puts her son and the money under the guardianship of New York City banker Walter Parks Thatcher, who raises Kane in luxury. Kane resents Thatcher for ripping him away from his family, and spends most of his early adult life rebelling against him. He attends prestigious colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell and a college in Switzerland—and gets himself expelled from all of them.
At the age of 25 Kane acquires control of the money, the world's sixth-largest private fortune. He returns from a trip abroad to take control of the New York Daily Inquirer,[b] a struggling newspaper acquired on his behalf by Thatcher as a result of a foreclosure on a debt, thinking that "it would be fun to run a newspaper". He takes up full-time residence in the newspaper office (the sitting editor resigning in protest) and in the first edition publishes a "declaration of principles" stating his duty to be truthful to his readers and to campaign on behalf of the poor and underprivileged. His best friend Jedediah Leland - the Inquirer's drama critic - asks to keep the text of the declaration, feeling it might one day be an important document.
To Thatcher's fury, Kane campaigns against slum landlords, "copper robbers" and "traction trusts" (monopoly control of railways) - including companies in which he himself is a major shareholder. To finance the fledgling Inquirer, Kane uses his personal resources, reasoning that this would allow him to operate it, even at a million-dollar annual loss, for 60 years. Over a period of six years, Kane also hires staff members away from the rival Chronicle newspaper, regarding them as collectibles. However, he uses yellow journalism tactics to blow stories out of proportion and encourage a war with Spain in 1898.
Political career
Kane, whose party affiliation is never explicitly specified, is shown to be a supporter of
Kane eventually marries Emily Monroe Norton, the niece of a President of the United States.[d] Their marriage takes place at the White House. The marriage sours because of Kane's egomania, obsession with his newspapers and attacks on her uncle's administration. Their marital problems reach the point that they are barely on speaking terms, with Kane ignoring Emily as she reads the rival Chronicle newspaper at breakfast.
Kane opposes US entry into World War I.
As his popularity increases, Kane, who regards himself and is widely seen as a future President, runs as a "fighting liberal" for
The night of Kane's loss, a drunk and disillusioned Leland asks him for a transfer to the Chicago paper. He accuses Kane of treating "the working man" he claims to fight for as a possession, and says that, for all his talk of helping the less fortunate, the only person Kane really cares about is himself. Kane allows him to transfer to Chicago, effectively ending their friendship.
Emily divorces Kane shortly afterward, and dies two years later, along with their son, in a car accident.
Later life
Two weeks after his first divorce, Kane marries Susan in a small ceremony at the City Hall in Trenton, New Jersey. He forces her into a doomed and humiliating career as an opera singer, building an opera house in Chicago[f] specially for her. Leland, now a drama critic for the Chicago Inquirer, refuses to toe the company line by praising Alexander's performances. Leland becomes too drunk at the difficult task of writing a truthful review against Kane's wishes, and falls into a stupor. Kane visits the paper's newsroom and finishes the review with Leland's negative tone intact, intending to prove that he still has integrity; he then fires Leland. In retaliation, Leland refuses his severance package and mails back the torn-up check with the original copy of Kane's "declaration of principles", which Kane angrily destroys.
After Susan attempts
Kane continues to travel and meet with world leaders. He returns from an aeroplane trip to Europe in 1935, declaring that he has met with the leaders of "England, France, Germany and Italy" and that "there will be no war". He initially supports Adolf Hitler, with whom he appears on a balcony, but later denounces him. He also meets with but denounces Francisco Franco.
Death
Kane eventually becomes a recluse at Xanadu, living alone and estranged from all his friends and no longer wielding much influence over politics. Most of his giant estate is now overgrown, with most of the animals gone from its zoos. He dies alone in his bedroom one night in 1941, after uttering his last word, "Rosebud."
The death of the "Great Yellow Journalist" is a national news event and is the lead story in many newspapers. His own Inquirer chain devotes the entire front page to him, praising him for his "lifetime of service" and stating that the "entire nation mourns". The rival Chronicle is less complimentary, recalling his "stormy career" and stating that "few … will mourn" him. The Chicago Globe also mentions his "stormy career" and denounces him as "US Fascist No 1"; the last two papers run unflattering photographs of him. The Minneapolis Record Herald praises him as the "Sponsor of Democracy", the Detroit Star as "Leader of [the] News World" and a "Man of Destiny", but the El Paso Journal accuses him of having "Instigated War for Profit". His death is also covered in the French, Japanese and Russian press.
Reporter Jerry Thompson is assigned to find out what "Rosebud" means. Despite interviewing all of Kane's living acquaintances, he never finds out what it is. After the reporters depart, his staff start burning in an
Relationships
Susan Alexander
Susan Alexander Kane (
Susan was an aspiring opera singer when she and Kane first met, but is not particularly talented. Despite this, Kane tried to force her into a career as an opera singer, even building an
Jedediah Leland
Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten) was a close friend of Kane, having met him in college. According to Mr. Bernstein, he came from a wealthy family that lost all their money. He is generally acknowledged to represent the morality and idealism Kane himself loses as the film progresses. During Kane's campaign for Governor, he is seen addressing a small audience in the street shortly before Kane's speech. In disgust at Kane's throwing away of the election, he moves to Chicago to work as drama critic for the Inquirer in that city; by the time he writes his bad review of Susan Alexander's operatic debut, he and Kane have not spoken in a number of years. In 1941 Jedediah lives in a nursing home in Manhattan, where Jerry Thompson interviews him.
Walter Thatcher
Walter Parks Thatcher (
Mr. Bernstein
Mr. Bernstein (
Wealth and empire
Apart from the New York Inquirer, Kane publishes similar Inquirer newspapers in
The mansion contains Kane's vast collection of classical sculptures and art, and the newsreel states that portions of Xanadu were taken from other famous palaces overseas.
Notes
- ^ The closing credits state that Kane is aged eight at his first appearance in 1871.
- ^ Some reviewers[who?] refer to the name of Kane's newspaper as The New York Enquirer, but the name of the newspaper in the film itself is titled the New York Daily Inquirer.
- ^ We are not told whether this is Roosevelt's re-election in 1904 or his unsuccessful bid for a third term in 1912.
- ^ Kane refers to the President as his wife's "Uncle John" and describes him as "a well-meaning fathead who is letting a gang of high-pressure crooks run his administration", and mentions that there is an "oil scandal" taking place. In reality there was not a President of that name at the time.
- ^ Identified in a newspaper headline in the opening newsreel.
- Chicago Civic Opera House was actually built by Samuel Insull, a tycoon of the era.
- ^ We are not told whether Thatcher takes an ownership stake or makes a large loan with stringent conditions, although he tells Kane that he might yet die richer than him (ie. Kane must still have considerable assets). Bernstein insists that they simply have cashflow problems rather than being formally bankrupt.
- ^ We are not told exactly when. Years clearly pass with them living at Xanadu, and when she leaves him Kane is an elderly man who walks stiffly, similar to his appearance in the balcony scene with Hitler. When she is interviewed in 1941 the reporter tells her "the last ten years have been hard on a lot of people" - so presumably she left him some time in the early to mid 1930s.
- ^ At their first meeting, she plays the piano and sings for Kane in the parlour of her boarding house; when Kane applauds her at the end, she is more expensively dressed and in a more luxurious room than when she started.
References
- Little Salem, Colorado. Welles, Orson, director. Citizen Kane: 75th Anniversary. Warner Brothers, 2016. DVD. Timestamp: 01:48:16 "One stove from the estate of Mary Kane, Little Salem, Colorado. Value: $2."