We're Takin' 'Em to Court! And You'll Investigate!
Congratulations! You have just been hired as chief investigators for the
law firm of Dewey, Cheatem and Howe,* attorneys for William Randolph Hearst.
Mr. Hearst has just seen the film Citizen Kane which was directed by Orson
Welles. He is, to say the least, outraged by this blatant attempt to put
a slur on his character and on the characters of people close to him. Mr.
Hearst has tried in many ways to put a stop to the release of the film
(as you will discover in your investigations), but he has, ultimately,
been unsuccessful. He now wants to take Mr. Welles to court for libel.
As we have tried to tell Mr. Hearst, it is very difficult to prove libel
unless we can prove malice. Since Mr. Hearst is a prominent public figure,
he is open to public attack and even ridicule. This is the price we pay
for noteriety. Mr. Hearst does not care. He wishes to attack Mr. Welles
in court in any way he can. Frankly, he has the money to carry this case
along even if he can't win. You are not the only team of investigators
he has hired, so do your job well. You have competition.
Your job and the job of your team of investigators is to find evidence
that the attorneys can use that the character created by Orson Welles and
Herman J. Mankiewicz, Charles Foster Kane, is really indeed William Randolph
Hearst. Find similarities in their backgrounds. Find correlations in their
biographies and in the biographies of their friends. You have seen the
movie (a transcript of the movie will be provided in the proposed list
of sources). Find as many similarities between the fictional character
and the real person as you can. Because we are using this information in
court, of course you must document your findings. Please make sure you
use the most credible sources.
Really we only expect you to find similarities between Kane and Hearst
and some of the other characters in the movie and real people in Mr. Hearst's
life. Are the parents similar? Are their any differences that our attorneys
should be aware of? Make us as fully prepared as is possible. Be sure to
check the girlfriend in the movie, Susan Alexander. Confidentially, Mr.
Hearst has a relationship with a woman, not his wife, by the name of Marion
Davies. While this is fairly common knowledge, Mr. Hearst has been known
to be very sensitive, even violent, where it comes to Miss Davies, so please
be discreet.
Divide your team up to explore the following areas of our interest:
-
Check Hearst's childhood and youth. Did any of the things
that happened to Kane happen to Hearst? Are their any significant differences?
Please highlight any information that stands out as a help or hindrance
to our case.
-
Hearst's publishing style. Kane is described as a man
who would create the news if he couldn't find any. Does this sound like
Hearst? Kane also investigated big business and brought about the ruin
some of the country's biggest business people. Does this sound like Hearst?
Kane is also portrayed as single-handedly causing America to begin the
Spanish-American War. Any truth to that for Hearst?
-
Hearst's personal life. In the movie, Kane was married
twice and divorced twice. He also had a scandalous affair with Susan Alexander
(who became the second Mrs. Hearst). How does this compare or contrast
to our client, Mr. Hearst? Were there scandals that are similar to those
portrayed in the movie? Was the first wife related to a president of the
United States like the character in the movie? Was she killed in a car
crash? Were there any children? Again, what similarities do you find and
what differences? Give it all to us in your report.
-
Hearst's power. Just how rich is Hearst anyway? What does
he own at any one time? What is his influence? Could he, like Kane, get
a president elected? Could he ruin a person? Did Hearst ever run for political
office as Kane did? Dig! Get all the facts you can and line them up, whether
it helps us or not.
-
Hearst's palace. Okay, it is a given that Hearst has a
palatial home called San Simeon, but was it as lavish as the one described
in Citizen Kane, Xanadu? What are the comparisons? What can you find out
about Hearst's home?
Each person on your team should take one of the above areas. Don't worry
if your team has less than five people. One of the other teams of investigators
will take up the slack. The important thing is to do a thorough job on
the area you have chosen.
Each member of your team should prepare a report of approximately 400-600
words, thoroughly describing the similarities and the differences between
Hearst and Kane. Each person should also prepare a presentation to make
to the firm, either on poster board or on Power Point. The presentation
should accentuate the highlights of your findings. Illustrations and pictures
of the principal people and places you mention are essential.
To aid you in your investigation, we have prepared a list of sights that
have been helpful in the past. Click on the link to those sights below:
*Apologies to Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers