Welles's Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2001)

Orson Welles really put one over on RKO executives through clever distraction and manipulation in the making of "Citizen Kane." He made history by creating a true art film by using the Hollywood system.
The trouble was, "Kane" was simply over the heads of the mass audience at the time, and the film didn't make the profit the studio expected. The total result severely injured Welles' reputation, and inhibited his future ability to work freely and without inhibition--necessary requirements of the true artist.
The real-life scenario of Welles' being beckoned to South America to create a US "propoganda movie," was undoubtedly a pay-back to private funders, who had granted Welles the addditional monies needed to finish "Kane," but which place Welles in a vulnerable position of future obligation.
With the debacle of "It's All True," the Pan-American project, which was parallel to the unauthorized studio hacking of "The Magnificent Ambersons," the dye of destiny was cast: it would be an uphill career struggle for this artist through the rest of his life.
Nowhere in the annals of film history is there so great a tragic figure as that of Orson Welles, whose genius deserved as fine a working environment as possible. Alas, the distored values of the motion picture industry is the culprit; likewise, the blame is extended to big business in general, with its primary objective being almost perversely profit-oriented.
As the years pass, the great work of Welles will undoubtedly escalate in appreciation. Come to think of it, isn't that the case with so many genuine artists of history and their creations?
In the meantime, let us continue to discover and uncover the subtleties of a great artwork, "Kane."