Citizen Kane Page #6

A short pause.

A MAN'S VOICE

It's a tough thing to do in a

newsreel. Seventy years of a man's

life -

Murmur of highly salaried assent at this. Rawlston walks toward

camera and out of the picture. Others are rising. Camera

during all of this, apparently does its best to follow action

and pick up faces, but fails. Actually, all set-ups are to be

planned very carefully to exclude the element of personality

from this scene; which is expressed entirely by voices, shadows,

sillhouettes and the big, bright image of Kane himself on the

screen.

A VOICE:

See what Arthur Ellis wrote about

him in the American review?

THIRD MAN:

I read it.

THE VOICE:

(its owner is already

leaning across the

table, holding a

piece of paper

under the desk

light and reading

from it)

Listen:
Kane is dead. He

contributed to the journalism of

his day - the talent of a

mountebank, the morals of a

bootlegger, and the manners of a

pasha. He and his kind have almost

succeeded in transforming a once

noble profession into a seven

percent security - no longer secure.

ANOTHER VOICE:

That's what Arthur Ellis is writing

now. Thirty years ago, when Kane

gave him his chance to clean up

Detroit and Chicago and St. Louis,

Kane was the greatest guy in the

world. If you ask me -

ANOTHER VOICE:

Charles Foster Kane was a...

Then observations are made almost simultaneous.

RAWLSTON'S VOICE

Just a minute!

Camera moves to take in his bulk outlined against the glow

from the projection room.

RAWLSTON:

What were Kane's last words?

A silence greets this.

RAWLSTON:

What were the last words he said

on earth? Thompson, you've made

us a good short, but it needs

character -

SOMEBODY'S VOICE

Motivation -

RAWLSTON:

That's it - motivation. What made

Kane what he was? And, for that

matter, what was he? What we've

just seen are the outlines of a

career - what's behind the career?

What's the man? Was he good or

bad? Strong or foolish? Tragic

or silly? Why did he do all those

things? What was he after?

(then, appreciating

his point)

Maybe he told us on his death bed.

THOMPSON:

Yes, and maybe he didn't.

RAWLSTON:

Ask the question anyway, Thompson!

Build the picture around the

question, even if you can't answer

it.

THOMPSON:

I know, but -

RAWLSTON:

(riding over him

like any other

producer)

All we saw on that screen was a

big American -

A VOICE:

One of the biggest.

RAWLSTON:

(without pausing

for this)

But how is he different from Ford?

Or Hearst for that matter? Or

Rockefeller - or John Doe?

A VOICE:

I know people worked for Kane will

tell you - not only in the newspaper

business - look how he raised

salaries. You don't want to forget -

ANOTHER VOICE:

You take his labor record alone,

they ought to hang him up like a

dog.

RAWLSTON:

I tell you, Thompson - a man's

dying words -

SOMEBODY'S VOICE

What were they?

Silence.

SOMEBODY'S VOICE

(hesitant)

Yes, Mr. Rawlston, what were Kane's

dying words?

RAWLSTON:

(with disgust)

Rosebud!

A little ripple of laughter at this, which is promptly silenced

by Rawlston.

RAWLSTON:

That's right.

A VOICE:

Tough guy, huh?

(derisively)

Dies calling for Rosebud!

RAWLSTON:

Here's a man who might have been

President. He's been loved and

hated and talked about as much as

any man in our time - but when he

comes to die, he's got something

on his mind called "Rosebud."

What does that mean?

ANOTHER VOICE:

A racehorse he bet on once,

probably, that didn't come in -

Rosebud!

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