Citizen Kane: The Sound Track

Abstract A Part From A Dialogue Track that had mainly been recorded live on the set, the sound of Citizen Kane was pieced together in a studio. It cannot be attributed to any single contributor because its function was progressively determined during various stages of the film ‘s creation and production. The role played by sound in the transitions from one scene to another was defined during the development of the screenplay (although several of the most striking transitions do not appear in the final shooting script) and took specific form during editing. Most of the dialogue was recorded on the set, whereas sound effects that give atmosphere and dramatic impact to each sequence were added at various points during editing and mixing. Co screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, production mixer Bailey Fesler, editor Robert Wise, and the sound-effects engineers each contributed suggestions at one time or another, as did composer Bernard Herrmann, whose music occasionally acts as a substitute for sound effects.1 Chief among these collaborators was dubbing mixer James G. Stewart, who had been with RKO since 1931 and Citizen Kane enjoyed a spectacular critical reception. American novelist John O ‘Hara, writing for Time magazine, said quite simply that it was the best motion picture he had ever seen. ‘ Other serious reviewers in this country didn ‘t debate whether or not it was unusually good, but whether or not it was a great, even revolutionary, achievement. Meanwhile, Kane was the subject of considerable controversy in Hollywood; it was nominated for nine Academy Awards but received only one, for best original screenplay by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles, who were booed by detractors at the award ceremony.