- If you know anything about the 1941 movie "Citizen Kane,"
it's probably this.
- [Kane] Rosebud.
- But you might not know
that the film was a thinly-veiled biopic
of the real-life 20th century media giant
William Randolph Hearst.
"Citizen Kane" is Charles Foster Kane,
a newspaper man and politician
with incredible wealth, power, and personality,
and a big ego and messy personal life.
Kane's life looked so much like Hearst's
that Hearst himself tried to destroy the film.
But how similar is Hearst's real life
to "Citizen Kane"?
In the film, Charles Foster Kane
lives in a massive castle
with its own ZIP code,
marries a talentless opera singer,
and tries to start a war.
That all makes sense for a Hollywood blockbuster,
but what about reality?
Well, as William Randolph Hearst himself said,
"Truth is not only stranger than fiction,
it's more interesting."
Hey, I'm Ahsante Bean with AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
Let's sort the fact from the fiction
in "Citizen Kane."
(gentle inquisitive music)
Power: starting the Spanish-American War.
In the film, Charles Foster Kane
is a ruthless businessman
who expanded his newspaper empire
through yellow journalism,
a style of reporting that relies
on eye-catching headlines and juicy gossip over facts.
- If the headline is big enough,
it makes the news big enough.
- And there's no better example of that
than the time he tries to start a war for clout.
When Kane sends a journalist to Cuba
to report on the growing threat of war,
his reporter writes back with one small issue.
- Could send you prose poems about scenery,
but don't feel right spending your money, stop.
There is no war in Cuba, signed Wheeler.
Any answer?
- Yes. “Dear Wheeler, you provide the prose poems,
I'll provide the war.”
- That's a great Hollywood one-liner,
but surely William Randolph Hearst
never promised to start a war, right?
(drum roll playing)
Wrong.
In the fall of 1897, Hearst sent his journalists
to cover an unfolding revolution in Cuba.
When they arrived, they told Hearst
there was no war to cover.
According to legend, Hearst replied,
"You furnish the pictures;
I'll furnish the war."
- "You furnish the pictures;
I'll furnish the war,"
meaning just give me some pictures,
give me some illustrations,
and I'll write about the war.
- Sound familiar?
Hearst may not have said those exact words,
but he definitely capitalized on the war
for his own benefit.
Hearst's paper "The New York Journal"
thrived during the Cuban revolution,
inventing stories, embellishing facts, doctoring photos,
all to drive circulation.
And the American public ate it up.
When the US finally declared war on Spain,
Hearst's headlines read,
"How Do You Like the Journal's War?"
- Are we going to declare war on Spain
or are we not?
- [Man] "The Enquirer" already has.
- Now, William Randolph Hearst
did not singlehandedly start the Spanish-American War,
but he was certainly happy to take the credit.
And this ego and flair for the dramatic
defined his entire life,
just as it did for Charles Foster Kane.
(light showtune music)
Money: Xanadu versus Hearst Castle.
- [Announcer] Today, almost as legendary
is Florida's Xanadu,
world's largest private pleasure ground.
- That was a description
of Charles Foster Kane's massive estate Xanadu
in "Citizen Kane."
It featured a castle, a golf course,
even a private zoo,
and it was home to a massive collection
of art and antiquities.
- Say, Mr. Kane, as long as you're promising,
there's a lot of pictures and statues in Europe
you haven't bought yet.
(men laugh)
- You can't blame me, Mr. Bernstein.
They've been making statues for 2,000 years,
and I've only been buying for five.
- It may sound like a Hollywood fantasy,
but Xanadu is an obvious riff
on Hearst Castle in San Simeon.
In 1919, Hearst began building
in a remote but scenic area
along the California coast.
Hearst Castle became his lifelong passion project,
and it was every bit as extra as Xanadu,
costing more than $10 million in early 20th century money.
And just like Kane,
Hearst loved to collect, like, everything.
- Hearst had an antique shoe collection.
He had a collection of locks and keys.
He had a collection of German sleighs.
It's difficult to come up with things
which he did not collect.
- He also loves to throw parties.
Hearst Castle became a top destination
for the world's social elite.
From Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin
to Winston Churchill and Calvin Coolidge,
famous guests flocked to his estate
to attend his parties.
Just like with Kane and Xanadu,
Hearst Castle was a symbol
of Hearst's wealth and extravagance.
It was also home to his greatest romance.
Love: Susan Alexander versus Marion Davies.
Kane's love life is complicated.
- [Announcer] Twice married, twice divorced.
- In the movie, he marries the niece
of the President of the United States,
but has an affair with Susan Alexander,
a failed opera singer.
Susan Alexander is a clear stand-in
for Marion Davies, Hearst's mistress,
and the portrayal is not flattering.
- [Woman] Ms. Alexander. - No, no, no, no, no
no, no, no!
- In the film, Kane uses his wealth
to promote Alexander's failing music career.
In real life, Hearst promoted Marion Davies and her acting.
But the big difference
between the fictional Susan Alexander
and the real-life Marion Davies
is that Marion Davies was genuinely talented.
- One of the reasons why
Hearst would later
become furious
with Orson Welles and "Citizen Kane"
is that Susan Alexander,
the Welles character,
is a total failure.
Marion Davies was not a failure.
- In the film, Kane divorces the President's niece
and marries Susan Alexander.
In reality, Hearst's first and only wife
was a former showgirl named Millicent Wilson.
She and Hearst married in 1903
while he was campaigning for president.
Yeah, that happened, too.
12 years later, shortly after Millicent
gave birth to their twin sons,
Hearst met and started an affair with Marion Davies.
- [Announcer] Although she typifies glamour on the screen,
at San Simeon, she joins in the fun.
(gentle crooning music)
- Unlike Kane and Susan Alexander,
Hearst and Marion Davies stayed together
for the rest of his life.
So is Charles Foster Kane William Randolph Hearst?
Yes and no.
But sometimes fact can really be
just as strange as fiction.
Who would star in a biopic of your life?
Let us know in the comments.
And if you wanna learn more
about the real-life inspiration
for Charles Foster Kane,
check out "Citizen Hearst",
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’s documentary
about the life of William Randolph Hearst.
It's like something straight out of a movie,
or is it the other way around?