How creativity led to the greatest American film of all time
Looking for moments of joy during the first lockdown in 2020, I started re-watching classic films from the 1980s/90s.
In the 2021 lockdown, I decided to go back even further – and start watching those classic Hollywood films that I knew about, but had never seen.
I decided to start with the most legendary movie of all time – Citizen Kane.
Not long after I’d watched the movie, my friend George sent me an interview clip of Orson Welles from the 1970s. Watching that clip sparked my curiosity about how the film was made, and in particular the partnership between director Welles and cinematographer Gregg Toland.
Here’s what I learned…
In 1940, Orson Welles was a 24-year-old wunderkind from radio and theatre, who had achieved notoriety for his radio adaptation of War of the Worlds.
Hollywood came calling – and Welles began planning work on his first motion picture, Citizen Kane.
And he needed a cinematographer.
Gregg Toland was a celebrated veteran cinematographer, who had just won the Academy Award for his work on Wuthering Heights.
Toland had heard about Welles’ nonconforming ways and was curious. He contacted Welles and offered to sign on to Citizen Kane.
When Welles asked why such a respected cinematographer would agree to work with him, Toland replied:
“Because you’ve never made a picture. And you don’t know what cannot be done.”
After working with a steady stream of directors who “knew everything there is to know” Toland said working with an amateur would be a real pleasure.
The two men were both unconventional thinkers, who rebelled against the rules of big studio filmmaking. As Toland wrote after the film’s release:
“Welles was insistent that the story be told most effectively, letting the Hollywood conventions of movie-making go hang if need be.”
This approach suited Toland, whose dislike for conventional studio photography was legendary. He was always at the forefront of change, and the first to adopt new methods using developing technologies. Working on Citizen Kane gave Toland an opportunity to continue with a line of experimentation, testing and proving ideas that had generally been accepted as ‘radical’ in Hollywood circles.
Welles not only encouraged Toland’s experimentation and tinkering – he insisted on it.
Robert Carringer wrote in his book, The Making of Citizen Kane, about the special dynamic between Welles and Toland on set:
“Those involved say there was a kind of running game between the two, with Welles coming up with one far-fetched idea after another and challenging Toland to produce it, and Toland delivering and then counter-challenging Welles to ask for something he couldn’t produce.”
The two collaborated and tested new techniques, including Toland’s use of ‘deep-focus.’ The Hollywood Reporter noted Toland’s work in their review of the film in March 1941:
“Gregg Toland’s camera has never performed such miracles. He has caught the players from daringly unusual angles. He produced effects so novel in some scenes that they cannot be described here.”
Time magazine also recognized the “extraordinary technical novelties” noting that Welles and the “wiry, experienced little Photographer Gregg Toland have given the camera a new eloquence.”
Welles and Toland used their creative thinking to solve problems beyond camera angles and lighting. When Welles was forced to cut a third of the budget, he and Toland devised an ‘expressionistic lighting plan’ that allowed them to tell their story while also cutting enough costs so they could get the green light.
The mutual trust, respect, and admiration between Welles and Toland was evident in the way they spoke about each other after they finished Citizen Kane.
Toland delighted in the opportunity he had on Citizen Kane to “experiment free-handedly” with the “new technical and artistic possibilities.” He said that Welles was “one of the most cooperative artists with whom it has been my privilege to work.”
“Photographing Citizen Kane was indeed the most exciting professional adventure of my career,” he said.
Welles’ respect for Toland’s contribution was evident, too – and noted in Citizen Kane’s credits, where the director and cinematographer’s contributions share a title card.
Though their work was lauded by many critics, the film was surrounded by controversy, with rumors suggesting the character of Kane was modelled after wealthy publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Hearst used his power and his papers to attack the film and Welles personally – but was not able to stop the film from dazzling audiences and critics. Citizen Kane was nominated for nine Academy Awards (including nominations for Toland’s cinematography, as well as Welles’s work as director, co-writer, and lead actor).
But perhaps Hearst’s power (or Hollywood’s resentment toward Welles) prevented the film from dominating at the Academy Awards. The film took home only one statue (for Best Screenplay, shared between Herman Mankiewicz and Welles).
As Time magazine noted in their 1941 review of Kane:
“Hollywood claimed Welles would never make the grade. From the moment he arrived there its citizens resented him and his Martians and his youth and his talent…
But whatever Orson Welles did do, Hollywood was pretty sure it would break all the rules. Hollywood was right.”
The new techniques adopted by Toland and Welles changed Hollywood storytelling and filmmaking. What was once considered radical became the ‘new’ Hollywood style by the end of the 1940s.
More than 30 years after their collaboration on Citizen Kane, Welles recalled his experience with Toland fondly, calling him “the greatest cameraman who ever lived.”
And the creativity and vision they showed in Citizen Kane lives on, with the film considered one of (if not the) greatest American film of all time.
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How Can I Help?
Last week one of my clients contacted me after giving a speech and told me how “fun” it was.
She wrote: “I never thought I’d enjoy public speaking, Beth. Thanks for teaching me how to do it right. I have been avoiding these things for years - but now I finally feel like I have the skills and the confidence to do it well!”
So many people dread public speaking.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Most people haven’t been taught how to prepare - their words, their thoughts, and themselves! But public speaking is a skill that you can learn. If you know someone who is struggling, please tell them to get in touch. I’d love to help.
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Keep Smiling!
-Beth