I was just reading Eberts latest Movie Answer Man column and ran across the following story.
It seems that the fellow who co-wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane knew the mistress of William Randolph Hearst. You know, the guy after whom the film is modeled. From her he found out that apparently Hearst’s nickname for his --er-- willy was (you see this coming, don’t you?) “Rosebud”.
I’ll never see that movie the same way again.
It’s not his willy, it’s her clit.
The usual story is that “Rosebud” was Hearst’s nickname for his mistress;’ clitoris. That makes a bit more sense.
Is it true? Who knows? We’ve debated it on the SDMB more than once (check the archives).
I do know that the thought of a gradually more and more enraged Hearst watching the film to see how much Welles will reveal is a heart-warming one.
(In my version of Citizen Kane, his last words are “Flexible Flyer”.)
D’oh!!! :smack: I must have read it wrong. Still, a funny story nonetheless!!
Well the symbolism is right on since his sled’s name is Rosebud. Eyes closed he clutches it tight and takes a wild ride.
But it only lasts a few seconds and comes to a screeching halt, and now where are you? At the bottom of a freakin hill, god damn you! Damn you lord! Rosebud!
In my interpetation when he is saying Rosebud, he is saying, “Damn you lord!.”
muhahaha
Heh. The good ol’ Flexy Flier. Or, the California Toboggan, as my mom used to call it. I’ve still got mine hanging on the wall in my garage.
I’ve said this here before, so skip it if you’ve already heard this.
In my opinion, Herman Mankiewicz was the kay player in the battle over Citizen Kane. Mankiewicz and Welles co-wrote the script. But Mankiewicz was the ultimate Hollywood insider; a close confidante of Marion Davies and well aware of Hearst’s power in the film business. Welles was an outsider; he had become famous on the East Coast working on stage and in radio. It was Mankiewicz, not Welles, who knew how deeply Hearst would be angered by the attack on his mistress and it was Mankiewicz again who knew about “rosebud”.
Mankiewicz, as even his family and friends admit, was a self-destructive man. He wrote a script that he knew would enrage a man who had the power to destroy his career. And then Mankiewicz send copies of the shooting script to people he knew would send them on to Hearst. There’s no way Mankiewicz couldn’t have seen the outcome of what he had done.
But he missed one thing; Orson Welles’ ego. Welles dominated the making of Citizen Kane to such an extent that he eclipsed everyone else involved, including Mankiewicz. Welles made himself the target of an attack he hadn’t initiated and didn’t foresee the size of. Mankiewicz ironically went on to win the only Oscar Citizen Kane won and ruined his life by other means.
Would a Rosebud by any other fame still smell as sweet?
[Animaniacs]
Rosebud.
Yes, Rosebud Frozen Peas. Filled with country goodness and green peaness. Wait, that’s terrible. I’m leaving. I’ll just take a few for the road.
Oh, look! There’s a french fry in my beard!
[/Animaniacs]
Lord Ashtar: Wasn’t that from The Critic?
You know what? You’re right. I guess I got confused because it’s the same guy who does the voice of Brain. My bad.
The rumor I’d heard about Hearst’s willy was that it was nicknamed “Little Nemo” which was also the name of a well-known comic strip at the time. Whether one was supposed to have been influenced by the other I don’t know.