Here’s an interesting item for today, back in 1941 when When Orson Welles' masterpiece Citizen Kane first hit cinemas, William Randolph Hearst was distinctly unimpressed with the similarities between himself and Welles' creation Charles Foster Kane. Hearst, the newspaper magnate of the time went out of his way to derail the film. Today, 71 years on, the family of the newspaper tycoon have seemingly forgiven Welles after agreeing to a special screening at the Hearst Castle Visitor Centre in California.
The screening which wil take place on March 9th will be part of the San Luis Obispo Film Festival, an annual festival that takes place at Hearsts former home. In 1957 the castle was donated 6 years after the mogul died and has gone on to become an important tourist attraction. Festival director Wendy Eidson told the LA Times it was likely to be the first time the Welles classic had been seen on Hearst's sprawling estate, which its owner referred to as "La Cuesta Encantada" ("The Enchanted Hill") and is visited by one million tourists each year. "I tossed out the idea of screening Citizen Kane there as a joke, and they didn't laugh," Eidson said. "I was sort of floored." However the mogul's great grandson Steve Hearst said the viewing was "a great opportunity to draw a clear distinction between WR and Orson Welles, between the medieval, gloomy-looking castle shown in Citizen Kane and the light, beautiful, architecturally superior reality".
Back in the day Hearst went to extraordinary measures to lobby against Welles’ legendary project. He had many influential friends and lobbied alongside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body which decides the Oscars, it is said this partly resulted in How Green Was My Valley winning best film in 1942 in its place
It is rumoured that FBI chief J Edgar Hoover launched a decade-long investigation into Welles as a result of Hearst's anger over the film.
Steve Hearst, who manages the family's ranches and other business interests, said there were many comparisons to be made between Kane and his great-grandfather, but also huge differences. "The character Orson Welles depicted was quite a bit more flamboyant and outgoing than WR was," he said. "He wasn't the kind of guy who would be dancing in the editorial room with his staffers."
It is said that Hearst have took particularly exception to the depiction in Welles' film of Kane's companion, Susan Alexander, an alcoholic singer who the magnate persuades to embark on a disastrous opera career. The Hearst himself was romantically involved with a successful actor, Marion Davies. Welles maintained that she was not the source of inspiration for the character. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, put it on your to do list, it’s a classic.
