I’ve made my feelings known about the non-existent “auteur” theory and the ridiculous concept of “one vision.” The following is my response to one film elitist who claimed that Orson Welles had his “vision” of Citizen Kane all mapped out in his head before he came on set.
As every school boy knows, as RKO records indicate, as Welles himself admitted in numerous interviews over the years– Orson didn’t have a clue what kind of film he wanted to make when he walked on the RKO lot for the first time. Further, Orson didn’t know anything about film-making beyond what he had witnessed in a darkened movie theatre. Cinematographer Gregg Toland did not help Orson make Kane a reality; it’s practically the other way around.
The third, all-important ingredient– and I do mean indispensable ingredient– to the formulation of Kane was the intricate storyline authored by Herman J. Mankiewicz. Welles was indeed a genius, an intelligent quick study with flair and imagination, but he sure as heck didn’t take on the persona of the cinematic Boy Wonder until well into production. The smartest initial move the guy made was to listen to Toland and drink in a priceless education on the rudiments of the film-making process.
Many pieces came together to make Citizen Kane a masterpiece…
The second brilliant move was to allow Mank to create that labyrinth of a plot development out of Orson’s fledgling tale of a corrupt industrialist. The twists and turns in the narrative grew out of a collaboration by Mank and Welles, with a goodly portion of the breakdown and blocking courtesy of Welles’ years in theatre and radio. Welles had a fertile imagination for exposition. You can shut your eyes and practically follow the drama of Kane like a radio show.
Citizen Kane was anything but “one man’s vision.” You can also add Robert Wise to the committee, thanks to his brilliant editing under suggestion (not orders) from Welles and Toland. Welles’ singular “genius,” as it were, would emerge during the production of The Magnificent Ambersons.
~MCH