Citizen Kane (1941) is an enigma. Movie fans in general seem to ignore it when talking about their favorite films, yet it continually shows up as #1 or in the top five on TOP MOVIES OF ALL TIME lists. Clearly, it's not a warm and fuzzy film. But any real movie fan can't deny it is one of Orson Welles' monumental films - some say a masterpiece, others a total failure. Whatever your opinion, there's no denying it has its place in film history

The opening scene of the extravagant mansion, Xanadu, owned by multimillionaire newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, immediately sets the mood for this somber and eerie story. When Kane dies alone with one word one his lips: "Rosebud" the plot is revealed.

To discover why he utters this word, the movie unravels in a series of flashbacks from those who knew him. Reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland) discovers that while finding out about how Kane and his friend Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotton), amassed their fortunes is easy, there are few facts about his relation with Rosebud.

Money in the bank, Kane marries Emily Norton (Ruth Warrick) and has his eye set on the White House. A pretty attainable goal since Emily is the President's niece. Things are good until Kane has an affair with Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), and his world begins to crumble. At this point - still no clue about the name "Rosebud."

Speculation about Citizen Kane's plot surfaced that it was really based on publishing guru William Randolph Hearst and his mistress, Marion Davies. However, once Kane tried to stop the film from release and after facts were uncovered about his life, new speculations were the movie was based more on Welles than Hurst.

The visual images in the film of Greg Toland's cinematography are part of the fascination of the film. His ground-breaking new techniques to capture scenes and the sharp images heightened the suspense of the film superbly.

As I mentioned before, this film is not a warm and fuzzy picture but exceptional emphasis is placed on the how we look at power, wealth and position and how they can define us or ruin us.

Director: Orson Welles

Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles

Cast: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane

Rating: Unrated

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 4 our of 5 stars

Run Time: 119  

Studio: RKO Pictures

Format: Black & White

Citizen Kane is part of the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time