Excerpt from Chapter Twelve
Mr. Hearst
Mr. Hearst
“You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”
(Cable from William Randolph Hearst to correspondent illustrator Frederic Remington,
when the artist wrote that Cuba was at peace.)
“You provide the prose poems, I’ll provide the war.”
(Charles Foster Kane’s response to Wheeler,
the Inquirer reporter who writes that he can find no war in Cuba.)
Was Charles Foster Kane a fictionalized portrayal of William Randolph Hearst?
That question has been discussed and analyzed as much as any issue in film history. For several uncertain weeks in early 1941, the question of Kane’s links to Hearst was one of vital importance to the survival of Citizen Kane.
Although Citizen Kane was ultimately saved from destruction, Hearst’s actions not only severely damaged the film’s chances for success, but derailed the grand plan by RKO president George Schaefer to produce high-quality films at his struggling studio—a step forward that could have had far-reaching ramifications in Hollywood. And Orson Welles’ future as a potentially bankable producer-director was damaged as well—a setback that altered the course of his career.
For those reasons, Kane’s relationship to Hearst continues to fascinate. However, exploring why influential people were driven to near hysterical, unethical attempts to destroy a motion picture makes an even more intriguing story…
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Chapter Thirteen: Release (here)→