citizen kane scene

[gazza]

An Unanswered Question: Citizen Kane; The newsreel projection room scene; Is that Joseph Cotton, with a hat on, sitting up in the top left corner ?? It has puzzled me for years. It sure looks like him. Does anyone know ?

[Roger Ryan]

Yes, it is.

You might also notice that Erskine Sanford (who plays the sputtering Inquirer managing editor Carter) is seated next to Cotten and Gus Schilling (who will play the nightclub headwaiter in the very next scene) is seated to the far right.

The reason for this is that the projection room scene was one of two or three short scenes surreptitiously filmed as "tests" when Welles was worried he would not get the "green light" from R.K.O. to being shooting in earnest. As only a test, Welles was either restricted from hiring extras to populate the projection room or didn't wish to draw attention to the fact that he was shooting, so he simply filled the seats with his Mercury players he already had on the payroll.

Originally, the scene was meant to be dark enough that the viewer would not be able to clearly see these faces, but the ultra-clean and overly-brightened DVD version makes it easy to identify them.

[etimh]

Originally, the scene was meant to be dark enough that the viewer would not be able to clearly see these faces, but the ultra-clean and overly-brightened DVD version makes it easy to identify them.

Yes, if you (OP) ever get the chance to see Kane projected on real film, you will see that the scene is really quite dark. The brightened DVD completely changes the whole mood, and meaning, of the scene. I saw Kane projected at UCLA and I think it is a nitrate print, though I may be mistaken about that. Regardless, it was an amazing experience--deep, deep blacks and shimmering whites.

Tim

[RayKelly]

I really hope they don't make the same mistake with the Blu-ray

[gazza]

Thank you for the information. I love that scene. As i love good black and white. Too bad more movies today are not filmed in black and white. It's a loss. But i guess the studios don't think so.