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is it true that when Citizen Kane was

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being made that people actually tried to

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stop it being made and is it true that

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Randolph Hearst the newspaper tycoon

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took it to be an attack on himself and

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tried to stop it

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when it was made being shown to the

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first part of your question there was

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indeed a definite effort to stop the

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film during shooting by those elements

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in the studio who were attempting to

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seize power because in those days studio

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politics particularly RKO and indeed

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many of the big studios in Hollywood

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very much like Central American

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Republic's and there were revolutions

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and counter revolutions and I every sort

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of palace intrigue and there was a big

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effort to overthrow the then head of the

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studio who was taken to be out of his

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mind because he'd given me this contract

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which made the making of these films

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possible and stopping me or proving my

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incompetence would have won that case he

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mr. Hearst was quite a bit like Kane

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although Kane isn't really founded on

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Hearst in particular there are many many

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people sat for it so to speak but he was

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like Kane in that he wouldn't have

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stooped to such a thing but he had many

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hatchet men editors and representatives

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of this great network of newspapers all

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over the country and to get it good with

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the chief there was a good deal of very

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strong edge including an effort to frame

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me on a criminal charge which a

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policeman was good enough to tell me

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about his sensational and silly and

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dangerous and gangster ish is that was

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mr. Hearst staff absolutely wrong I mean

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when you say that it was based on that

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kind of man was he really stronger in

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your mind and just being that kind of

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man well let me ask you if you think he

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was libeled well I don't know him I

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think yes well do you think that the

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figure of Kane himself is a deeply

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unsympathetic figure in the Soviet Union

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for example the film has been forbidden

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general distribution because this

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important capitalist and newspaper

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tycoon and antisocial and crypto-fascist

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figure and cetera quote all

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slogans is too sympathetic and for that

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reason it's not shown never has been

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when you read about Citizen Kane a lot

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of the things you read suggest that it

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was a very big social document a massive

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attack on big American institutions of

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the day now I've always seen it rather

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as a story to be honest naturally any

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story I've got it implications but I've

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seen it as a story I'd like to know what

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your intentions where did you mean it as

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as a social document or as a story I

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must confess to having to I must answer

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this in a way that I love I must admit

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that it was intended consciously as a

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sort of social document as an attack on

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the acquisitive society and indeed on

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acquisition in general but I didn't

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think that up and then try to find a

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story to match the idea of course I

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think that the storytellers first duty

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is always to the story they make it all

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the more ironic doesn't it that it

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should have been stopped in the Soviet

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Union yes but of course it wasn't at all

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a communist picture or a Marxist picture

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it was an attack on property and

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acquisition of property and and the

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corruption yes and of the acquisitive

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society of a man who of real gifts and

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real charm and real humanity who

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destroys himself and everything near him

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because no tired or words Mammon and all

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that really was you know now when you

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made this film

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you were only a 25 when John I mean

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everybody knows that you had the most

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astonishing contract that Hollywood has

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ever provided here ever not financially

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speaking in terms of authority rights

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financially it wasn't extraordinary way

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at all it was extraordinary and they in

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the control it gave me over my own

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material you had total control total

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control so much so that the rushes which

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I perhaps should explain to do that are

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the pieces of film that are shown at the

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end of the day's work as I'm sure you

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understand and are always checked by

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everybody in the studio department heads

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and the bankers and distributors and

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everything long before there's a rough

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cut according to the terms of my

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contract the rushes couldn't be seen by

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anyone and indeed the film couldn't be

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seen it was ready for release

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I got that good a contract because I

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didn't really want to make a film

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well you better develop that and you

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know when you don't really want to go

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out to Hollywood at least this is true

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in the old days of the golden days of

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Hollywood when you honestly didn't want

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to go and then the deals got better and

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better in my case I didn't want money

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I wanted Authority so I asked the

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impossible hoping to be left alone and

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at the end of the years negotiations I

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got it yes only because there was no

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real vocation there my love for films

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began only when we started work what I'd

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like to know is where did you get the

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confidence from to make an earth with

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such ignorance sheer ignorance you know

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there's no confidence to equal it it's

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only when you know something about a

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profession I think that you're timid or

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careful or is it going to show itself I

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thought you could do anything with a

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camera that the I could do or the

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imagination could do and if you come up

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from the bottom in the film business

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you're taught all the things that the

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cameraman doesn't want to attempt for

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Theory will be criticized for having

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failed yes and in this case I had a

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cameraman who didn't care if he was

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criticized if he failed and I didn't

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know that there were things you couldn't

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do so are anything I could think up in

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my dreams I attempted to photograph you

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got away with enormous technical

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advances to ensure simply by not knowing

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that they were impossible or

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theoretically impossible yeah and of

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course again I had a great advantage not

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only in the real genius of my cameraman

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but in the fact that he like all great

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men I think who are masters of a craft

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told me right at the outset that there

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was nothing about camera work that I

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couldn't run in half a day that any

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intelligent person couldn't run in half

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a day and he was right truly awful lot

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of things of all you know there of every

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other you know that the great mystery

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that requires 20 years doesn't exist in

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any field and certainly not in a camera

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what I'd like to ask you about that it's

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rather a technical question in a way

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when you were making that sort of scene

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and making that sort of shot did you

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ever feel nervous that maybe you've gone

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too far

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I put myself in your shoes you see if

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I'd made that I'd be I'd be terrified

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that I was just on the point of toppling

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over in too fast that I'd made the room

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too large did you have this little

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anxiety no because the room is that big

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what room is that egg awfully pompous

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answer his room yes

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pompous question reps no not at all

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you're quite right and I should have had

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that fear but I do feel that a man like

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Cain is very close to fast and break and

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very close to parody very close to

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burlesque and that's why I tried every

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sort of thing from sentimental tricks to

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an attempt to genuine humanity to keep

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him always counterbalance but of course

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anybody who could build a place of that

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kind yes you know is very close to a

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little comedy course here sure when

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eventually Cain was made it was an

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enormous success as all the world knows

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it's gone on being a success and it's a

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long time ago now have you ever

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regretted that so greater success came

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so early

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well I've regretted our early successes

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in many fields but I don't regret that

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in Cain because it was the only chance I

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ever had of that kind I'm glad I had it

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at any time in my life I wish I had it

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more often I wish I had you know chance

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like that every year that b18 pictures

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yes

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not just oneness to Ambus to accept

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Ambersons the end of it there's a very

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serious piece of surgery involved there

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change which wasn't done by you know

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theirs they're two short scenes in it I

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didn't write or direct and over three

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reels were taken out in their entirety

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and they were in my view the reason for

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making the film not simply good reels

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but the whole film is a preparation for

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those reels which were to toughen to

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in those days too hard-boiled for the

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exhibitors tastes and by the time I

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returned from South America that's a

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long struggle go into to supervise the

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release of Ambersons our key had fallen

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into the hands of the counter

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revolutionary forces and I no longer was

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invited into the cutting room you've

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been denied the cutting room before

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they're released on the constant a Touch

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of Evil yes that's happened really quite

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often - - extremely the individual

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filmmakers I'm not saying I isn't a

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qualitative thing it's a it's a style

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and there's a certain kind of filmmaker

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who really wants to make the film

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entirely on his own and that sort of

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fellow is the sworn enemy of the system

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so the system and the system is at great

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pains to denigrate such a person not

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only myself with many people like myself

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in and that's happened in Russia as well

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as he America it's happened in England

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it happens everywhere in varying degrees

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seeing what this whole thing happens

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they rightly regard the artist is the

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enemy of their profession you say what

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do you think of Hollywood awesome I'm

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not at all against Hollywood not at all

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it's a it's a I think a remarkable

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community with a great history and a

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very entertaining place to work in the

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obvious things against it are so obvious

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there's really no need to list them over

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again anything you can say about

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Hollywood is true good and bad

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there's no extreme statement and doesn't

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apply I think I have heard it suggested

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that Citizen Kane is in some sort of

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sense autobiographical the notion that

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Kane himself is some sort of version of

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myself where I really fail to recognize