Rosebud.
News on the March.
Legendary was the Xanadu,,,
,,,where Kubla Khan decreed his stately pleasure dome,
Today almost as legendary as Florida 's Xanadu,,,
,,,the world's largest private pleasure ground,
Here on the deserts of the Gulf Coast, a private mountain,,,
,,,was commissioned and successfully built,
One hundred thousand trees, twenty thousand tons of marble,,,
,,,are the ingredients of Xanadu's mountain,
Contents of Xanadu's palace:
Paintings, pictures, statues, various stones of other palaces,
A collection of everything,
So big it can never be catalogued or appraised,
Enough for 10 museums, the loot of the world,
Xanadu's livestock,,,
,,,the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, the beast of the field and jungle,,,
,,,two of each, the biggest private zoo since Noah,
Like the Pharaohs,,,
,,,Xanadu's landlord leaves many stones to mark his grave,
Since the Pyramids,,,
,,,Xanadu is the costliest monument,,,
,,,a man has built to himself,
Here in Xanadu last week,,,
,,,Xanadu's landlord was laid to rest,
A potent figure of our century,,,
,,,America 's Kubla Khan:
Charles Foster Kane,
Its humble beginnings, in this ramshackle building, a dying daily,
Kane's empire, in its glory,,,
,,,held dominion over 37 newspapers, two syndicates,,,
,,,a radio network, an empire upon an empire,
The first of grocery stores, paper mills,,,
,,,apartment buildings, factories, forests, ocean liners,
An empire through which for 50 years,,,
,,,flowed in an unending stream,,,
,,,the wealth of the Earth's third richest gold mine,
Famed in American legend is the origin of the Kane fortune,
How, to boarding housekeeper Mary Kane, by a defaulting boarder, in 1868,,,
,,,was left the supposedly worthless deed to an abandoned mineshaft:
The Colorado Lode,
Fifty-seven years later, before a congressional investigation,,,
,,, Walter P, Thatcher, grand old man of Wall Street,,,
,,,for years chief target of Kane papers' attacks on trusts,,,
,,,recalls a journey he made as a youth,
My firm had been appointed trustee by Mrs. Kane...
...for a large fortune she recently acquired.
It was her wish that I take charge of this boy, charles Foster Kane.
chief, is it not, that on this occasion, charles Foster Kane...
...personally attacked you after striking you in the stomach with a sled?
I shall read to the committee a prepared statement...
...which I have brought with me, and then refuse to answer questions.
Mr. charles Foster Kane, in every essence of his social beliefs...
...and by the dangerous manner he has persistently attacked...
...American traditions of private property...
...initiative and opportunity for advancement...
...is, in fact, nothing more or less than a communist.
That same month in Union Square,,,,
The words "Charles Foster Kane ",,,
,,,are a menace to every workingman in this land,
He is today what he has always been and always will be: a fascist,
And still another opinion,,,,
Kane urged his country's entry into one war,,,
,,,opposed participation in another,
Won the election to one American president at least,
Spoke for millions of Americans,
Was hated by as many more,
For 40 years appeared in Kane newsprint,,,
,,,no public issue on which Kane papers took no stand,
No public man whom Kane himself did not support or denounce,
Often support, then denounce,
Twice married, twice divorced,
First to a president's niece,,,
,,,Emily Norton, who left him in 1916,
Died 1918 in a motor accident with their son,
Sixteen years after his first marriage,,,
,,,two weeks after his first divorce,,,
,,,Kane married Susan Alexander,,,
,,,singer, at the Town Hall in Trenton, New Jersey,
For wife two, one-time opera-singing Susan Alexander,,,
,,,Kane built Chicago's Municipal Opera House,
Cost: $3 million,
Conceived for Susan Alexander Kane, half-finished before she divorced him,,,
,,,the still unfinished,,,
,,,Xanadu,
Cost: No man can say,
Kane, molder of mass opinion though he was,,,
,,,in all his life was never granted elective office,,,
,,,by the voters of his country,
But Kane papers were once strong indeed,,,
,,,and once the prize seemed almost his,
In 1916, as independent candidate for governor,,,
,,,the best elements of the state behind him,,,
,,,the White House seemingly the next easy step in a lightning political career,,,
,,,then suddenly, less than one week before election,,,
,,,defeat,
Shameful, ignominious,
Defeat that set back for 20 years the cause of reform in the U,S,,,
,,,forever cancelled political chances for Charles Foster Kane,
Then, in the first year of the Great Depression,,,
,,,a Kane paper closes,
For Kane, in four short years, collapse,
Eleven Kane papers merged, more sold, scrapped,
Is that correct?
Don't believe everything you hear on the radio.
-Read the Inquirer. -How were business conditions in Europe?
How did I find business conditions in Europe, Mr. Bones?
With great difficulty.
Are you glad to be back?
I'm always glad to be back. I'm an American.
Always been an American. Anything else?
When I was a reporter, we asked them quicker than that.
What do you think of the chances for war in Europe?
I talked with the responsible leaders of England, France, Germany and ltaly.
They're too intelligent to embark on a project...
...that would mean the end of civilization.
You can take my word for it, there will be no war.
Kane helped to change the world,,,
,,,but Kane's world now is history,,,
,,,and the great yellow journalist himself lived to be history,,,
,,,outlived his power to make it,
Alone in his never-finished, already decaying pleasure palace,,,
,,,aloof, seldom visited, never photographed,,,
,,,an emperor of newsprint continued to direct his failing empire,
Vainly attempted to sway, as he once did,,,
,,,the destinies of a nation that had ceased to listen to him,,,
,,,ceased to trust him,
Then last week, as it must to all men,,,
,,,death came to Charles Foster Kane,
News on the March.
That's it.
Stand by. I'll tell you if we want to run it again.
-How about it, Mr. Rawlston? -How do you like it, boys?
-Seventy years in a man's life. -That's a lot to try to get into a newsreel.
It's a good short, but what it needs is an angle.
All we saw on that screen was that charles Foster Kane is dead.
I know that. I read the papers.
It isn't enough to tell us what a man did...
...you've got to tell us who he was.
Wait a minute. What were Kane's last words?
Do you remember, boys?
What were the last words he said on Earth?
Maybe he told us about himself on his deathbed.
-Maybe he didn't. -All we saw was a big American.
How did he differ from Ford, Hearst or John Doe?
I tell you, a man's dying words--
What were they? You don't read the papers.
When charles Foster Kane died, he said one word:
"Rosebud.""
That's all he said? Tough guy.
Yes, ""Rosebud."" Just that one word.
-But who is she? -What was it?
Here's a man who could've been president...
...who was as loved, hated and talked about...
...as any man in our time, but when he dies...
...something is on his mind called Rosebud.
-What does that mean? -A racehorse he bet on once.
-That didn't come in. -But what was the race?
Rosebud.
-Thompson. -Yes.
Hold this up a week, two if you must.
Don't you think right after he's dead--
Find out about Rosebud. Get in touch with anybody who knew him...
...or knew him well.
That manager of his....
Bernstein. His second wife. She's still living.
Susan Alexander Kane.
-She runs a nightclub in Atlantic city. -That's right.
See them all. Get in touch with everybody that ever worked for him...
...whoever loved him, whoever hated his guts.
I don't mean go through the city directory of course.
I'll get on it right away.
Good. Rosebud, dead or alive.
It will probably turn out to be a very simple thing.
Miss Alexander.
This is Mr. Thompson, Miss Alexander.
I want another drink, John.
Right away. Will you have something, Mr. Thompson?
-I'll have a highball, please. -Who told you you could sit down?
I thought maybe we could have a talk.
Think again.
can't you people leave me alone?
I'm minding my own business, you mind yours.
If I could just have a talk with you, Miss Alexander. I'd--
Get out of here.
Get out!
-Sorry. -Get out.
-Maybe some other time. -Get out.
Gino.
Get her another highball.
She just won't talk to nobody, Mr. Thompson.
Okay.
-Another double? -Yeah.
Hello, I want New York city.
courtland 79970. This is Atlantic city 46827. All right.
She's....
She'll snap out of it.
Why, until he died, she'd just as soon talk about Mr. Kane as any--
-Hello. -Sooner.
This is Thompson. Let me talk to the chief.
Mr. Rawlston? She won't talk.
The second Mrs. Kane. About Rosebud or anything else.
I'm calling from Atlantic city.
Tomorrow I'll go to Philadelphia, to Thatcher Library, to see his diary.
They're expecting me.
Then I've a meeting with his general manager in New York. Bernstein.
Then I'm coming back here.
Yeah, I'll see everybody that's still alive. Goodbye.
-Hey.... -John.
You just might be able to help me.
When she used to talk about Mr. Kane, did she ever mention Rosebud?
""Rosebud""?
Thank you, Mr. Thompson, thanks.
As a matter of fact, just the other day, when the papers were full of it...
...I asked her.
She never heard of Rosebud.
The directors of the Thatcher Memorial Library have asked me to remind you...
...about the conditions under which you may...
...inspect certain portions of Mr. Thatcher's unpublished memoirs.
-I remember them. -Yes, Jennings, I'll bring him in.
-All I want is an hour-- -Under no circumstances...
...are direct quotes from his manuscript to be used by you. You may follow me.
That's all right. I'm just looking for--
Jennings.
Thank you, Jennings.
You will be required to leave this room at 4:30 promptly.
You will confine yourself, it is our understanding...
...to the chapters in Mr. Thatcher's manuscript regarding Mr. Kane.
That's all I'm interested in.
Thank you.
Pages 83 to 142.
come on, boys.
Be careful, charles.
Mrs. Kane.
Pull your muffler around your neck, charles.
Mrs. Kane, I think we'll have to tell him now.
Yes, I'll sign those papers now, Mr. Thatcher.
You people seem to forget that I'm the boy's father.
It's going to be done exactly the way I've told Mr. Thatcher.
There's nothing wrong with colorado. I don't see why we can't raise our son...
...just 'cause we came into money.
If I want to, I can go to court. A father has a right to.
A boarder that beats his bill and leaves worthless stock behind....
That property is as much my property as anybody's...
...now that it's valuable. And if Fred Graves had any idea...
...this would happen, he'd have made out the certificates in both our names.
-But they're made out to Mrs. Kane. -He owed the money to both of us.
-""The bank's decision in all matters--"" -I don't hold with giving charles to a bank--
-Stop this nonsense. -We're a bit uneducated--
""The bank's decision concerning his education...
""...his places of residence, is to be final.""
-The idea of a bank being the guardian-- -Stop this nonsense, Jim.
""We will assume full management of the colorado Lode""...
...which I repeat, Mrs. Kane, you are the sole owner.
-Where do I sign, Mr. Thatcher? -Right here.
Mary, I'm asking you for the last time.
You'd think I hadn't been a good husband or father--
The sum of $50,000 a year...
...is to be paid to you and Mr. Kane as long as you both live...
...and thereafter to the survivor.
-Let's hope it's all for the best. -lt is.
Why I can't raise my own boy is more than I can understand.
Go on, Mr. Thatcher.
Everything else, the principal, as well as all monies earned...
...is to be administered by the bank in trust for your son, charles Foster Kane...
...until he reaches his 25th birthday, at which time...
...he is to come into complete possession.
charles!
Go on, Mr. Thatcher.
It's almost 5:00. Don't you think I'd better meet the boy?
I've got his trunk all packed.
I've had it packed for a week now.
I've arranged for a tutor to meet us in chicago.
I'd have brought him here with me, but....
-charles. -Look, Mom.
You'd better come inside.
-That's quite a snowman. -I took the pipe out of his mouth.
Did you make it yourself?
Maybe I'll make some teeth and whiskers.
This is Mr. Thatcher, charles.
-Hello. -How do you do, charles?
He comes from the East.
-Pa. -Hello, charlie.
charles.
Yes, Mommy.
Mr. Thatcher is going to take you on a trip with him tonight.
You'll be leaving on number 10.
That's the train with all the lights on it.
You going, Mom?
No. Your mother won't be going right away, but she'll....
Where am I going?
You're going to see chicago and New York and Washington, maybe. Ain't he?
He certainly is.
I wish I were a boy going on a trip like that for the first time.
-Why aren't you coming with us, Mom? -We have to stay here, charles.
You're gonna live with Mr. Thatcher from now on, charlie.
You're gonna be rich. Your ma figures, well, that is...
...me and her decided this ain't the place for you to grow up in.
You'll probably be the richest man someday...
-...and you ought to get-- -You won't be lonely.
Lonely, of course not. We're going to have fine times together, we are.
Let's shake hands. come. I'm not that frightening, am l?
-What do you say? Let's shake. -Why, charles.
-Why, you almost hurt me. -charlie!
Sleds aren't to hit people, but to sleigh with.
Mom!
-You got to go. -Jim!
I'm sorry, Mr. Thatcher.
What the kid needs is a good thrashing.
-That's what you think, is it? -Yes.
That's why he's going to be brought up where you can't get at him.
Well, charles...
-...Merry christmas. -Merry christmas.
And a happy New Year.
In closing...
...may I remind you your 25th birthday, which is now approaching...
...marks your complete independence from the firm...
...of Thatcher & company, as well as acquiring the full responsibility...
...for the world's sixth largest private fortune.
-Got that? -""The world's sixth largest private fortune.""
I don't think you realize the full importance of the position you are to occupy.
I am therefore enclosing for your consideration...
...a list of your holdings, extensively cross-indexed.
-""Dear Mr. Thatcher."" -It's from Mr. Kane.
-Go on. -""Sorry, I'm not interested in gold mines...
""...oil wells, shipping or real estate.""
Not interested?
""One item on your list intrigues me: The New York Inquirer.
""A little newspaper we acquired in a foreclosure proceeding.
""Don't sell it. I am coming back to take charge.
""l think it would be fun to run a newspaper.
""l think it would be fun to run a newspaper.""
""Traction Trust exposed.""
""Traction Trust bleeds public white.""
""Traction Trust smashed by Inquirer.""
""Landlords refuse to clear slums.""
""Inquirer wins slum fight.""
""Wall Street backs copper swindle.""
""copper robbers indicted.""
""Galleons of Spain off Jersey coast.""
Is that really your idea of how to run a newspaper?
I don't know how to run a newspaper. I try everything I can think of.
You know there's not the slightest proof this...
-...Armada's off the Jersey coast. -Hello, Mr. Bernstein.
can you prove it isn't?
Mr. Bernstein, I'd like you to meet Mr. Thatcher.
-Mr. Leland. -Hello.
Mr. Thatcher, my ex-guardian.
We have no secrets from our readers. Thatcher is one of our devoted readers.
He knows what's wrong with every copy of the Inquirer since I took over. Read.
""Girls delightful in cuba. Stop. could send you prose poems...
""...about scenery but don't feel right spending your money. Stop.
""There is no war in cuba."" Signed ""Wheeler."" Any answer?
Yes. Dear Wheeler: You provide the prose poems, I'll provide the war.
-That's fine. -I like it myself. Send it right away.
I came to see you about this campaign of yours.
The Inquirer's campaign against the Public Transit company.
Do you know anything we can use against them?
You're still the college boy, eh?
I was expelled from college, a lot of colleges, you remember? I remember.
I think I should remind you of a fact you have forgotten.
You're one of the largest stockholders in the Public Transit company.
The trouble is, you don't realize you're talking to two people.
As charles Foster Kane who owns 82,364 shares...
...of Public Transit Preferred. See, I do have a general idea of my holdings.
I sympathize with you. Kane is a scoundrel...
...his paper should be closed, a committee formed to boycott him.
If you can form such a committee, put me down for a contribution of $1,000.
On the other hand, I am the publisher of the Inquirer.
As such it's my duty, I'll let you in on a little secret. It is also my pleasure...
...to see that the working people of this community aren't robbed by a pack...
...of money-mad pirates, just because...
...they have no one to look after their interests.
I'll let you in on another little secret, Mr. Thatcher:
I think I'm the man to do it. You see, I have money and property.
If I don't look after the interests of the underprivileged, somebody else will.
Maybe somebody without money or property.
That would be too bad.
I saw your financial statement today.
-Oh, did you? -Tell me, honestly...
...don't you think it's rather unwise to continue this philanthropic enterprise...
...this Inquirer, that is costing you $1 million a year?
Yes. I did lose $1 million last year. I expect to lose $1 million this year.
I expect to lose $1 million next year.
At the rate of $1 million a year...
...I'll have to close this place in 60 years.
""With respect to the said newspapers...
""...the said charles Foster Kane...
""...hereby relinquishes all control thereof...
""...and of the syndicates pertaining thereto...
""...and any and all other newspaper, press and publishing properties of any kind...
""...and agrees to abandon all claim thereto--""
-Which means we're bust all right. -Well, out of cash.
All right, Mr. Bernstein.
I've read it, Mr. Thatcher, just let me sign it and go home.
You're too old to call me Mr. Thatcher, charles.
You're too old to be called anything else.
You were always too old.
""ln consideration thereof, Thatcher & company agrees...
""...to pay to charles Foster Kane, as long as he lives--""
My allowance.
""You will continue to maintain over your newspapers a large...
""...measure of control. Measure of control.""
And we shall seek your advice.
This depression is temporary.
There's always the chance that you'll die richer than I will.
It's a cinch I'll die richer than I was born.
We never lost as much as we made.
Yes, yes, but your methods. You know, charles...
...you never made a single investment. You always used money to....
To buy things.
My mother should have chosen a less reliable banker.
I always gagged on that silver spoon.
You know, Mr. Bernstein...
...if I hadn't been very rich...
...I might have been a really great man.
Don't you think you are?
I think I did pretty well under the circumstances.
What would you like to have been?
Everything you hate.
I beg your pardon, sir? What did you say?
-It's 4:30. Isn't it, Jennings? -Yes, ma'am.
You have enjoyed a very rare privilege, young man.
-Did you find what you were looking for? -No.
-You're not Rosebud, are you? -What?
Rosebud, and your name is Jennings, isn't it?
Goodbye, everybody. Thanks for the use of the hall.
Who's a busy man, me? I'm chairman of the board.
I got nothing but time. What do you want to know?
We thought maybe.... If we could find out what he meant by his last words...
-...as he was dying. -That ""Rosebud""?
Maybe some girl?
There were a lot of them in the early days.
It's hardly likely that Mr. Kane could have met someone casually...
...and then 50 years later, on his deathbed--
Well, you're pretty young, Mr. Thompson.
A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember.
You take me.
One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry...
...and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in...
...and on it there was a girl waiting to get off.
A white dress she had on.
She was carrying a white parasol.
I only saw her for one second.
She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since...
...that I haven't thought of that girl.
-Who else have you been to see? -Well, I went down to Atlantic city.
Susie?
Thank you.
I called her myself the day after he died.
I thought maybe somebody ought to.
-She couldn't even come to the phone. -I'll be seeing her again in a couple of days.
About Rosebud, Mr. Bernstein.
If you'd talk about anything connected with Mr. Kane that you can remember.
You were with him from the beginning.
From before the beginning, young fellow. And now it's after the end.
Have you tried to see anybody except Susie?
I haven't seen anybody else, but I've been through Walter Thatcher's journal.
-That man was the biggest fool I ever met. -He made an awful lot of money.
Well, it's no trick to make a lot of money...
...if all you want is to make a lot of money.
You take Mr. Kane. It wasn't money he wanted.
Thatcher never did figure him out. Sometimes even I couldn't.
You know who you ought to see? Mr. Leland.
He was Mr. Kane's closest friend. They went to school together.
Harvard?
Oh, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, cornell, Switzerland.
He was thrown out of a lot of colleges.
Mr. Leland never had a nickel.
One of those families where the father is worth $10 million...
...then one day he shoots himself, and it turns out there's nothing but debts.
He was with Mr. Kane and me...
...the first day Mr. Kane took over the Inquirer.
Take a good look at it, Jedediah.
It's going to look a lot different one of these days. come on.
There ain't no bedrooms in this joint. That's a newspaper building.
You're getting paid, mister, for opinions or for hauling?
-Jedediah. -After you, Mr. Kane.
Excuse me, sir, but l....
Welcome, Mr. Kane.
Welcome to the Inquirer, Mr. Kane.
I am Herbert carter, the editor-in-chief.
-Thank you, Mr. carter. This is Mr. Leland-- -How do you do, Mr. Leland?
Our new dramatic critic. I hope I haven't made a mistake.
-lt is dramatic critic, right? -That's right.
-Are they standing for me? -You? Oh, Mr. Kane.
Standing?
-How do you do? -How do you do?
I thought it would be a nice little gesture.
-Ask them to sit down, will you, please. -The new publisher.
-You may resume your duties, gentlemen. -Thank you.
-I didn't know your plans. -I don't know my plans myself.
-Matter of fact, I haven't got any plans. -No?
Except to get out a newspaper.
-Mr. Bernstein. -Yes, Mr. Kane.
Mr. carter, this is Mr. Bernstein.
-Mr. Bernstein is my general manager. -How do you do, Mr. carter?
-Mr. carter. -How do you do?
-Yes, Mr. Bernstein. -Stein.
-Kane. -Mr. carter, is this your office?
My little private sanctum is at your disposal.
-Excuse me. -But I don't think I understand.
Mr. carter, I'm going to live right here in your office as long as I have to.
Live here? Yes?
-Excuse me. -But a morning newspaper, after all--
Excuse me.
We're practically closed for 1 2 hours a day.
That's one of the things that's going to have to be changed here.
-The news goes on for 24 hours a day. -24?
-That's right. -Excuse me.
It's impossible....
I've drawn that cartoon. I'm no good as a cartoonist.
You certainly aren't.
You're the dramatic critic, Leland.
-You still eating? -I'm still hungry.
Here's a front-page story in the Chronicle...
...about a Mrs. Harry Silverstone in Brooklyn who's missing.
She's probably murdered. Why isn't there something about it in the Inquirer?
We're running a newspaper...
-I'm absolutely starving to death. -...not a scandal sheet.
That's all right.
Mr. carter, here is a three-column headline in the Chronicle.
Why hasn't the Inquirer a three-column headline?
The news wasn't big enough.
Mr. carter, if the headline is big enough, it makes the news big enough.
-That's right! -The murder of Mrs. Harry Silverstone--
There's no proof that she was murdered, or dead.
It says she's missing. The neighbors are getting suspicious.
It's not our function to report the gossip of housewives.
If we were interested in that kind of thing, we could fill the paper twice over, daily.
That's the kind of thing we are going to be interested in from now on.
I want you to send your best man to see Mr. Silverstone.
Have him tell Mr. Silverstone if he doesn't produce his wife, Mrs. Silverstone...
...the Inquirer will have him arrested.
Tell Mr. Silverstone he's a detective from....
-central Office. -The central Office.
If Mr. Silverstone gets suspicious and asks to see your man's badge...
...your man is to get indignant and call Mr. Silverstone an anarchist.
Loudly, so the neighbors can hear. You ready for dinner, Jedediah?
I can't see that the function of a respectable newspaper--
Thank you so much, Mr. carter. Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Paper! Read all about it!
Read all about it in the early morning Chronicle.
The mystery of the lady that vanished in Brooklyn.
Read all about it in the early morning Chronicle.
We'll be on the street soon, charlie, another 10 minutes.
Three hours and 50 minutes late, but we did it.
-Tired? -A tough day.
-A wasted day. -Wasted?
You only made the paper over four times tonight, that's all.
I've changed the front page a little, Mr. Bernstein. That's not enough.
There's something I've got to get into this paper besides pictures and print.
I've got to make the New York Inquirer as important to New York...
...as the gas in that light.
What are you going to do, charlie?
My Declaration of Principles. Don't smile, Jedediah.
I've got it all written out here.
You don't want to make any promises you don't want to keep.
These'll be kept.
""I'll provide the people of this city...
""...with a daily paper that will tell all the news honestly.
-""l will also provide--"" -That's two sentences starting with ""l.""
People will know who's responsible...
...and they'll get the truth in the Inquirer, quickly, simply and entertainingly.
No special interests will be allowed to interfere with that truth.
""l will also provide them with a fighting and tireless champion of their rights...
""...as citizens and as human beings.""
Signed:
""charles Foster Kane.""
-can I have that, charlie? -I'm going to print it.
Solly!
Yes, Mr. Kane?
I want you to run this editorial in a box on the front page.
This morning's front page?
That's right, Solly, that means we'll have to remake again.
-Yes. -Go down and tell them.
All right.
When you're through with that, I'd like to have it back.
I'd like to keep that particular piece of paper myself.
I have a hunch it might turn out to be something pretty important.
-A document... -Sure.
...Iike the Declaration of lndependence and the constitution...
...and my first report card at school.
I know you're tired, gentlemen, but I brought you here for a reason.
-This little pilgrimage will do us good. -The Chronicle's a good newspaper.
Chronicle's a good idea for a newspaper. Notice the circulation.
495,000. But look who's working for the Chronicle.
-With them, it's no trick to get circulation. -You're right.
You know how long it took the Chronicle to get that staff together?
-Twenty years. -Twenty years?
Six years ago, I looked at a picture of the world's greatest newspaper men.
I felt like a kid in front of a candy store.
Tonight, six years later, I got my candy, all of it.
Welcome, gentlemen, to the Inquirer,
Make an extra copy of that picture and mail it to the Chronicle.
It'll make you all happy to learn that our circulation this morning...
...was the greatest in New York: 684,000.
684,132.
Right.
I hope you'll forgive my rudeness in taking leave of you.
I'm going abroad next week for a vacation.
I've promised my doctor for sometime that I would leave when I could.
I now realize I can't.
Say, Mr. Kane, as long as you're promising...
...there's a lot of pictures and statues in Europe you ain't bought yet.
You can't blame me, Mr. Bernstein.
They've been making statues for 2,000 years.
And I've only been buying for five.
-Promise me, Mr. Kane. -I promise, Mr. Bernstein.
-Thank you. -Mr. Bernstein?
You don't expect me to keep any of those promises, do you?
And now, gentlemen!
Your complete attention, if you please.
Are we going to declare war on Spain?
Oh, mama, here they come. Shoot me while I'm happy.
I said, ""Are we going to declare war on Spain, or are we not?""
The Inquirer already has.
You long-faced, overdressed anarchist.
I'm not overdressed.
You are, too. Mr. Bernstein, look at his necktie.
Let's have the song about charlie.
-ls there a song about charlie? -ls there a song about you, Mr. Kane?
You buy a bag of peanuts in this town, you get a song written about you.
I've seen that fellow. He's good.
Good evening, Mr. Kane.
""There is a man, a certain man
""And for the poor you may be sure that he'll do all he can
""Who is this one? This favorite son
""Just by his action has the traction magnates on the run
""Who loves to smoke, enjoys a joke
""Who wouldn't get a bit upset if he were really broke
""With wealth and fame he's still the same
""I'll bet you $5 you're not alive if you don't know his name
""What is his name?
""It's charlie Kane, it's Mister Kane!
""He doesn't like that Mister He likes good old charlie Kane""
-lsn't it wonderful? Such a party. -Yes.
What's the matter?
""Who says a miss was made to kiss
""And when he meets one always tries to do exactly this
""Who buys the food, who buys the drinks
""Who thinks that dough was made to spend and acts the way he thinks
""Now is it, Joe, no, no, no""
Bernstein, these men who are now with the Inquirer...
...who were with the Chronicle until yesterday--
Oh, mama, please.
-Give me that. -What? The blonde?
-No, the brunette. -Where did you learn that, charlie?
Bernstein, these men who were with the Chronicle...
...weren't they just as devoted to the Chronicle policy...
...as they are now to our policies?
Sure, they're just like anybody else.
They got work to do, they do it.
Only they happen to be the best men in the business.
Do we stand for the same things the Chronicle stands for?
certainly not.
Listen, Mr. Kane, he'll have them changed to his kind of newspapermen in a week.
There's always a chance, of course, that they'll change Mr. Kane.
Without his knowing it.
Mr. Leland, I got a cable from Mr. Kane!
-I got a cable here from Mr. Kane. -What?
-From Paris, France. -What?
-From Paris, France. -come on in.
""Who by his action has the traction magnates on the run""
It's a good thing he promised not to send back any more statues.
Look, he wants to buy the world's biggest diamond.
Why didn't you go to Europe with him? He wanted you to.
I wanted charlie to have fun, with me along....
Bernstein, am I a stuffed shirt?
Am I a horse-faced hypocrite? Am I a New England schoolmarm?
Yes.
If you thought I'd answer you different from what Mr. Kane tells you, I wouldn't.
""World's biggest diamond.""
I didn't know charlie was collecting diamonds.
He ain't.
He's collecting somebody that's collecting diamonds.
Anyway, he ain't only collecting statues.
""Welcome home, Mr. Kane...
""...from 467 employees of the New York Inquirer.""
Here he comes!
Welcome, Mr. Kane.
-I know I've a moustache. -lt looks awful.
Have we got a society editor?
-Right here, Mr. Kane. -Miss Townsend is the society editor.
Miss Townsend, this is Mr. charles Foster Kane.
Miss Townsend, I've been away so long. I don't know your routine.
I got a little social announcement.
I wish you wouldn't treat this any differently than you would any other...
...social announcement.
Mr. Kane, on behalf of all the employees of the Inquirer--
Mr. Bernstein, thank you very much, everybody, l....
I'm sorry, I can't accept it now.
Goodbye.
Say, he was in an awful hurry.
Hey, everybody, look out here.
Let's go to the window.
-Mr. Leland! Mr. Bernstein! -Yes, Ms. Townsend?
This announcement: ""Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Monroe Norton...
""...announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily Monroe Norton...
""...to Mr. charles Foster Kane.""
come on.
Emily Monroe Norton, she's the niece of the President of the United States.
President's niece?
Before he's through, she'll be a president's wife.
The way things turned out, I don't need to tell you.
Miss Emily Norton was no rosebud.
It didn't end very well, did it?
It ended.
Then there was Susie. That ended, too.
You know, Mr. Thompson, I was thinking...
...this Rosebud you're trying to find out about....
Yes?
Maybe that was something he lost.
Mr. Kane was a man who lost almost everything he had.
You ought to see Jed Leland.
Of course, he and Mr. Kane didn't exactly see eye to eye.
You take the Spanish-American war.
I guess Mr. Leland was right. That was Mr. Kane's war.
We didn't really have anything to fight about.
Do you think if it hadn't been for that war of Mr. Kane's...
...we'd have the Panama canal?
I wish I knew where Mr. Leland was.
A lot of the time now they don't tell me these things.
Maybe even he's dead.
In case you'd like to know...
...he's at the Huntington Memorial Hospital on 180th Street.
You don't say. I had--
Nothing particular the matter with him, they tell me, just....
Just old age.
It's the only disease that you don't look forward to being cured of.
I can remember absolutely everything, young man.
That's my curse.
That's one of the greatest curses ever inflicted on the human race: memory.
I was his oldest friend, and as far as I was concerned, he behaved like a swine.
Not that charlie was ever brutal. He just did brutal things.
Maybe I wasn't his friend, but if I wasn't, he never had one.
Maybe I was what you nowadays call a stooge.
You were about to say something about Rosebud.
Do you happen to have a good cigar?
I've got a young physician here who thinks I'm going to give up smoking.
No, I'm afraid I haven't. Sorry.
I changed the subject, didn't l?
What a disagreeable old man I have become.
You're a reporter and you want to know what I think about charlie Kane.
I suppose he had some private sort of greatness.
But he kept it to himself.
He never gave himself away. He never gave anything away.
He just left you a tip.
He had a generous mind.
I don't suppose anybody ever had so many opinions.
But he never believed in anything except charlie Kane.
He never had a conviction except charlie Kane in his life.
I suppose he died without one.
That must have been pretty unpleasant.
Of course, a lot of us check out without having any special convictions about death.
But we do know what we're leaving. We do believe in something.
Are you absolutely sure you haven't got a cigar?
-Sorry, Mr. Leland. -Never mind.
-What do you know about Rosebud? -""Rosebud""?
His dying words: ""Rosebud.""
I saw that in the Inquirer.
I never believed anything I saw in the Inquirer.
Anything else?
I can tell you about Emily. I went to dancing school with Emily.
I was very graceful.
-We were talking about the first Mrs. Kane. -What was she like?
She was like all the girls I knew in dancing school.
Very nice girl. Emily was a little nicer.
After the first couple of months...
...she and charlie didn't see much of each other except at breakfast.
It was a marriage just like any other marriage.
-You're beautiful. -I can't be.
Yes, you are. You're very beautiful.
I've never been to six parties in one night before.
-I've never been up this late. -It's a matter of habit.
-What will the servants think? -That we enjoyed ourselves.
Why do you have to go straight off to the newspaper?
You never should've married a newspaperman, they're worse than sailors.
I absolutely adore you.
charles, even newspapermen have to sleep.
I'll call Mr. Bernstein and have him put off my appointments till noon.
What time is it?
I don't know. It's late.
It's early.
charles....
Do you know how long you kept me waiting last night...
...when you went to the newspaper for 10 minutes?
What do you do in a newspaper in the middle of the night?
My dear, your only correspondent is the Inquirer.
Sometimes I think I'd prefer a rival of flesh and blood.
I don't spend that much time on the newspaper.
It isn't just the time. It's what you print, attacking the President.
-You mean Uncle John. -I mean the President of the United States.
He's still Uncle John and a well-meaning fathead...
...who's letting a pack of high-pressure crooks run his administration.
-This whole oil scandal-- -He happens to be the President, not you.
That's a mistake that will be corrected one of these days.
Your Mr. Bernstein sent Junior the most incredible atrocity yesterday.
I simply can't have it in the nursery.
Mr. Bernstein is apt to pay a visit to the nursery now and then.
Does he have to?
Yes.