Orson Welles and His Masterpiece: Born in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research is on the fourth floor of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and is accessible to anyone. The collection houses papers from celebrities like director John Ford, Groucho Marx, and Alan Alda, among others. In addition to these, it has some holdings related to Orson Welles, a Wisconsin native born in Kenosha on May 6^th, 1915, well known for his work in radio and film. In 1938, Welles did a radio production of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, which was so convincing that it caused a national “panic” where people believed that Martian invasion was actually happening. In 1941, Welles wrote and directed a screenplay of the film Citizen Kane. Other notable films include The Third Man and Touch of Evil. He died in 1985.

When I visited the Wisconsin Historical Society, I knew I needed to take a look at the final draft of the Citizen Kane script. I am a film buff, and reading that draft was a defining moment for me. I only read a portion, but I gained a deeper understanding of the film. Citizen Kane is about the life and last word (Rosebud) of Newspaper mogul, Charles Foster Kane. The film is loosely based on the life of Randolph Hearst, a media mogul.

Reading the final draft allowed me to understand the locations and plot of the film better. Xanadu, the famed estate of Charles Kane, is located in Florida. The nightclub scene with the last wife of Citizen Kane was incredibly written; the nightclub is located in Atlantic City, and Orson described the wife as “cheap.” When I saw the film, I didn’t notice her appearance as cheap, rather the dingy nightclub as sad. Orson’s description in the script was very accurate.

In the beginning of Citizen Kane, after the death of Charles Foster is announced, five newspapers are shown. Orson Welles notes in the script that he wants four newspapers from the United States, and one international paper to flash across the screen. This minor detail demonstrates Orson Welles’s masterful use of imagery; Charles Kane’s death is seen as an international event and this gives insight into the persona of Kane. By examining the script, which archives like the Wisconsin Historical Society allows us to do, we can more intimately understand the scope of the film in ways that aren’t always as obvious to the casual movie-goer. These archives help us not only to touch the past, but to think about it in new ways.

[Post written by Katherine Stotis.]