Young Orson Welles had the world on a string in 1940. The wunderkind of radio, stage, and screen had already created a national stir with his all-black postmodern production of "Othello" and the 1938 "War of the Worlds" broadcast. With "Citizen Kane", he set his sights on one of the most powerful men in America: William Randolph Hearst. Little did he realize the consequences that his film would bring about. Hearst had staggering amounts of money and influence that he could bring to bear on Welles and RKO Studios. Particularly offensive to the newspaper tycoon was Welles's portrayal of his longtime paramour, Marion Davies; "Citizen Kane" showed the actress as a talentless numbskull and a lush, and painted their relationship in unflattering terms. Hearst offered huge sums of money to buy the negative of "Kane" so that he could burn it; when the studio released the film anyway, he pulled RKO advertising from all Hearst newspapers. With gossip columnist Louella Parsons as his attack dog, he threatened to publicize all sorts of suppressed scandals from over the years, and hinted that "the American public won't be happy to know the number of Jews in the movie industry."
The collision between the 19th-century Hearst and the modern genius and upstart Welles proved to be disastrous to both men for both their names and their careers. Not until years later did "Kane" receive its due as one of the greatest films ever produced, vindicating itself and Welles both. This documentary provides rare insights into the lives and legacies of Welles and Hearst, carefully framing the debate over the film in the context of the times. Commentary by directors Peter Bogdanovich and Robert Wise (who served as editor for "Kane") as well as the son of screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz helps bring home the controversy as it applied to the world of Hollywood. "--Jerry Renshaw"