The Controversial Genius: Orson Welles' Perspective on Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane, the 1941 masterpiece directed and co-written by the multi-media wunderkind Orson Welles, remains a constantly debated and parsed film in the history of cinema. The authorship and the origin of its most famous element, the MacGuffin 'Rosebud', have sparked extensive discussions among critics and scholars.

Controversy and Evidence

The question of what Orson Welles thought about the film has been addressed in several recorded sources, including Peter Bogdanovich’s “This is Orson Welles” (1998) and Pauline Kael’s “The Citizen Kane Book” (1971). These sources provide insights into the unconventional structure of the film, particularly the significance of the term 'Rosebud'.

Welles himself claimed innocence regarding the naughty origins of 'Rosebud', depicting it as a symbol of ambiguity and motivation:

"It will probably turn out to be a very simple thing. It is suitably ambiguous, however, and provides a compelling enough motivation for the reporter to chase after it for the next hundred minutes."

In his interviews, Peter Bogdanovich noted Welles’ view on the story of 'Rosebud' with interest:

"An interesting rumor. It is derived from a pet name for Marion Davies’ private parts."

Pauline Kael's research in her book “The Citizen Kane Book” (1971), while problematic and one-sided, offers a wealth of information on script contributions. According to Jonathan Rosenbaum and Scott Eyman, both biographers of Welles, Kael's main source for the origin of 'Rosebud' might have been John Houseman. Eyman viewed Citizen Kane as an astonishing collaboration with several artists, including Gregg Toland, Robert Wise, Bernard Herrmann, and Herman J. Mankiewicz.

Eyman noted that the film's flashback structure and the meaning attributed to 'Rosebud' in the final seconds seem more like Mankiewicz's contributions rather than Welles'.

Welles' Dichotomy: Ego and Self-Promotion

Welles' career often intertwined with a combination of ego and self-promotion. He was known to claim credit for anything, especially when it benefited his career. This dual nature is evident in the way he handled the origin of 'Rosebud':

"It helped his bumpy career along you see to promote the Wunderkind, the creative force of nature who could do anything. A combination of ego and self-promotion meant he would take credit for anything if credit was offered."

Welles' ambiguous attitude towards the contributions of his colleagues, as noted by Eyman, adds to the complexity of understanding Welles' perspective on Citizen Kane:

"Welles was characteristically ambiguous about where their contributions ended and his own began. So the great man himself would be highly complimentary about "our script" which won "our Oscar."

Conclusion

Orson Welles' perspective on Citizen Kane is multifaceted, driven by both his artistic vision and his personal ambitions. The film's enduring legacy continues to be a source of scholarly debate and fascination, with the origin of 'Rosebud' being one of the central points of discussion. Whether Welles truly claimed ownership or passed off the inventive framing device, his impact on the film is undeniable, cementing Citizen Kane's place as one of the greatest works in cinema history.