Citizen Kane trailer
| Citizen Kane trailer | |
|---|---|
Ending title card
|
|
| Directed by | Orson Welles |
| Produced by | Orson Welles |
| Written by | Orson Welles |
| Starring |
Ray Collins Joseph Cotten Everett Sloane |
| Narrated by | Orson Welles |
| Cinematography | Harry J. Wild |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
|
Release date
|
1940 |
|
Running time
|
4 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Citizen Kane trailer was a four-minute, self-contained, "making of" promotional featurette by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre, released in 1940 to promote the film Citizen Kane. Unlike other standard theatrical trailers of the era, it did not feature a single second of footage of the actual film itself, but was a wholly original pseudo-documentary piece. It is considered by numerous film scholars such as Simon Callow, Joseph McBride and Jonathan Rosenbaum to be a standalone short film, rather than a conventional "trailer", and to represent an important stage in the development of Welles's directorial style.
How do you do, ladies and gentlemen? This is Orson Welles. I am speaking for the Mercury Theatre, and what follows is supposed to advertise our first motion picture.
The film takes the form of a tour around the film set, while the precise nature of the film is kept under wraps, in keeping with the secrecy built up around the Mercury Theatre's debut feature. This was partly born out of necessity, to prevent William Randolph Hearst from knowing in advance that the film was a satire on his life.
The film's producer, director, co-writer and star Orson Welles—who was then an established radio star—does not appear in person, but serves as the unseen narrator, introducing members of the cast.
There are several specially filmed excerpts of the film in rehearsal, with each member of the principal cast out of costume, reciting a signature line of their character, and stressing that the film's title character prompts extreme reactions from different people. Welles's narration alternately describes the film's title character as "a hero, a scoundrel, a no-account, a swell guy, a great lover, a great American citizen, and a dirty dog."
The trailer also contains a number of trick shots, including one of Everett Sloane appearing at first to be running into the camera. Sloane actually runs into the reflection of the camera in a mirror.
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Wikipedia