Orson Welles: The Battle Over Citizen Kane

What if you heard of a child genius at three who then grew up to be a ‘has been’ at age 25? Would you believe them? Doesn’t make much sense, however Orson Welles was the creative brilliance in acting, directing, writing, and producing his own work in theatre, radio, and film.

Welles early life as a young adulthood after being orphaned at an early age included attending Todd School in Woodstock, Illinois, where Orson discovered his passion for the theater. Following the Todd School, Welles left for Dublin, Ireland, paying his way with a small inheritance he 'd received. There, he captivated audiences in a production of Jew Suss at the Gate Theatre. Welles convinced the producers in Dublin he was a confident Broadway Star, the young actor made his Broadway debut with his role as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. His performance caught the attention of director John Houseman, who cast Welles in his Federal Theatre Project.

Welles and John Houseman built sort of a ‘Dynamic Duo’ creating a version of Macbeth, at the Mercury Theatre. Its first official production, an adaption of Julius Caesar in contemporary form, was a huge success. Several more acclaimed stage productions followed before the Mercury moved into radio and began producing a weekly program, "The Mercury Theatre on the Air.” War of the Worlds was a program

The film was largely based on Hearst’s life. The battle was because Hearst was angry that the film was created in spite of himself and made fun of Marion Davies. He refused to allow mention of the movie in any of his newspapers, and helped drive down the film 's disappointing box-office numbers. But Citizen Kane was as revolutionary as it was revolutionary and earned Welles a 1941 Oscar for best screenplay. It 's now considered one of the greatest films ever