On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

Part of the sting likely came from the character of Susan Alexander, Kane's second wife played by Dorothy Comingore. In the film, Kane tries to make Alexander into an opera star. In real life, Hearst financed the films of his mistress, Marion Davies. (Davies had a flair for comedy, but Hearst liked to see her in dramas, for which she was miscast.) Welles denied the link, but it didn't help. Hearst's people tried to get the film stopped, and many theaters wouldn't run it.

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

Two of Kane's closest friends in the film are Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten, left) and Bernstein (Everett Sloane, right). The latter stays with Kane through the decades. The former alienates his boss with a scathing review of Alexander. Both are interviewed by a reporter trying to bring some color to a newsreel biography of Kane's life.

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

Ruth Warrick played Kane's first wife, presidential niece Emily Norton Kane. Warrick, who later became famous as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on "All My Children," made her film debut in "Kane" and later collected "Kane" paraphernalia, including a replica of "Rosebud," the sled believed to be at the heart of the "Kane" mystery.

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

In the film, Kane goes from callow youth -- thrown out of some of the country's best universities -- to an invalid in his late 70s. As innovative as the film is, some of its staying power has to do with Welles' remarkable performance as Kane, as believable as a snide young man as he is an old tyrant.

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

Welles' future seemed boundless at the time of "Kane," but it can be argued that his movie career, though always interesting, peaked with his first film. His second, "The Magnificent Ambersons," was taken away and drastically recut; others flopped at the box office. He remained in demand as an actor, but he seldom starred in others' films. By the end of his life in 1986, he was as well-known as a commercial pitchman and talk-show guest as he was for his movies.

On the set of 'Citizen Kane'

Despite terrific reviews, "Kane" was not a box-office success in its original run, and though nominated for nine Oscars, it won just one -- for Welles' and Mankiewicz's screenplay. However, over the years it regularly topped critics' lists and is now considered a classic. You can argue about the greatest film of all time, but one thing's for certain: The conversation isn't complete without "Citizen Kane."