Orson Welles‘ ’Citizen Kane’ Oscar Sells for Nearly $900,000
- Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:43pm by
Becket Adams
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The Oscar statuette given to Orson Welles 70 years ago for his critically acclaimed movie “Citizen Kane” has sold at auction for nearly $900,000, organizers said.
“Welles received this award for best original screenplay, which was, incredibly, the only Oscar that either ‘Citizen Kane’ or Orson Welles received,” said auctioneer Nate Sanders.
Magician (or “illusionist,” whichever you prefer) David Copperfield was among those clamoring for the golden trophy, but he was the runner-up bidder for the Oscar, which sold to an undisclosed buyer for $861,542, Los Angeles auctioneer Nate Sanders said.
This is the second time the Oscar has been put up for auction. When the “Kane” statuette was put up for auction in New York back in 2007, it failed to find a buyer (amazingly enough). At that time, it was expected to sell for around $1 million.
“This is a testament to the popularity of Orson Welles and his magnum opus ‘Citizen Kane.‘ I’m proud to have represented this fantastic award to the cinema collecting community,” Sanders said in a statement late Tuesday.
The slightly tarnished Oscar for 1941 best screenplay is one of just a handful of illustrious Academy Award statues to sell for near the million-dollar mark. Several pre-1950s Oscars have been auctioned off for vast amounts, including the best picture Oscar for the 1939 film “Gone with the Wind,” which was sold for a record $1.54 million in 1999 to Michael Jackson.
Perhaps increasing its value, the history of the “Kane” statuette is marked with “hazy spells” and intrigue. Reuters reports:
Welles had lost it, but it resurfaced after his 1985 death when it was put up for auction in 1994 by a cinematographer, who claimed Welles had given it to him as a form of payment.
Welles’s daughter Beatrice sued and won back ownership of the statue, but she was sued in turn by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the awards, when she tried to auction it in 2003.
After a legal battle, Beatrice Welles was given the right to dispose of the Oscar. She sold it to a California non-profit organization called the Dax Foundation, who tried unsuccessfully to auction it in 2007.
In 2002 when Beatrice Welles won a legal case against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences giving her the right to sell it, the statuette was valued at $1 million, Sanders said.
This story is starting to sound vaguely familiar.
When the statuette failed to sell in New York four years ago, the Oscar was being sold by a U.S. charitable foundation, which acquired it from the Welles estate.
The “Kane” Oscar—12 inches tall, and weighing 7 pounds and 5 ounces—is now being sold from a private collection, Sanders said this month adding that the winning bidder would be given a complete chain of ownership record.
But the statuette itself isn’t very valuable. It’s the the aura that surrounds the film and its continuing legacy that makes Welles’ Oscar a prized item among “cinema collectors.”
“Citizen Kane” was Welles’ first feature, made when he was just 25 years old. Considered a masterpiece of cinema, it has been voted the top film of all time by both the American and British Film Institutes.
The black-and-white movie—which did poorly at the box office and failed to win a nomination for best picture—tells the story of a newspaper magnate bent on supremacy and is thought to be based on U.S. press baron William Randolph Hearst.
Who, among other things, apparently really hated posing for photos.
Although “Citizen Kane” received Oscar nominations for best screenplay, best director and best leading actor, the writing award was the only Oscar that Welles won throughout his life.
Who knows? This may have been the unofficial start of the academy’s annual tradition of snubbing well-written and stylistic films (e.g. “China Town,” “Breaking Away” and “The Mission”) in favor of ones that are more “shocking/edgy” (e.g. “Midnight Cowboy,“ ”American Beauty“ and ”The Silence of the Lambs”) or “popular” (e.g. “Titanic,“ ”Chicago“ and ”Shakespeare in Love”).
The “Citizen Kane” statuette’s worth can probably attributed to the fact that the script it honors continues to resonate with both audiences and critics alike, which, considering the state of modern cinema, is somewhat of a Herculean accomplishment.
Exit question: Is it worth pointing out that an award for a screenplay about lost innocence and the shallow, limited happiness of material goods was fought over by wealthy Los Angeles socialites and sold for almost $1 million?
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Kenitra
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 1:37pmThings to watch/listen for in this movie. Long continuous tracking shots, long takes of unbroken dialog, extreme depth of field (focus) with fine detail in the back and foregrounds simultaneously, extreme low angle shots (holes were actually cut into the floors of sets to get the camera at floor level), sets with ceilings, editing in space and time that is still ahead of its time (think Lost), voices talking over voices the way natural conversations are, sound that seems to move from the background to the foreground or from left to right across the screen (this was before stereo) and much, much more. You really need to study film a little to appreciate just how innovative and influential this film is.
Report Post »Greg Toland, the cinematographer of Kane probably deserves as much credit as Wells. Two other Wells masterpieces that are a must see: “The Lady From Shanghai” and “A Touch Of Evil”. Wells was/is a national treasure.
Reconstructed leftist
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:36amWorlds Boringest Movie.
Report Post »VoteJoel
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 2:12amThe best movie ever and way before it’s time.
Report Post »Mr.Fitnah
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 10:17pmI pretty sure Mr Beck is the new owner.
Report Post »NC
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:23pmCitizen Kane is one of the classics that I wonder why it gets a four star rating. If you don’t watch the final minute, the movie makes even less sense.
In the first minute Citizen Kane (Orsen Welles) is dying and his final word is “Rosebud”. You spend the next two hours hoping to find the meaning of the word only to have it revealed in the last seconds of the film. Blink and you miss it.
NC (loves watching the ‘classics’)
Report Post »Anti_Spock
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 7:02pmIt gets a 4 star rating from the younger generation who had no idea how well this movie was shot. It was 40 years ahead of its time. People who see it today compare it to Avatar. I like to think of it as the the first manned flight at Kitty Hawk… seconds of manned flight that would lead to much greater feats of aviation. Orson was ahead of his time.
Report Post »robert
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 9:54pmAcademy awards is an excellent example of radical leftist dregs honoring each other for mediocrity.
And they can’t do that without showing blatant bias.
And, Citizen Kane, the movie? Somebody is going to have to explain to me why it was so great, because I think it is about as interesting as watching the grocery truck unload.
Report Post »nelbert
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 7:15amThen don’t blink.
This is the film that showed that film could stand on its own as art. It well deserves its reputation as being the best film of all time.
Report Post »SolidusRaccoon
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:01pmJust saw this movie for the first time. It was very enjoyable.
Report Post »historyforgotten
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:03pmOrson Welles is Glenn Becks Idol.
Report Post »BOTH had Mothers that Died early. BOTH became Alcholics and stopped working. BOTH are fasinated with Ventriliquism and Magic. BOTH use the Radio to instill FEAR into their audience. BOTH were fasinated with the Symbolism, of the Roman God, Mercury. BOTH consider themselves Entertainers. BOTH Orson Welles and Glenn Beck, are tied to Mormons. Orson Wells considered himself a God, AFTER the Public reaction he recieved from ‘War of the Worlds’. Glenn Beck continues to work for his Mormon ‘Godhood’.
gw78
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:57pmdork
Report Post »Locked
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:42pmIt’s consistently voted one of the best movies in history, although I don’t have the knowledge in film to explain why that is. I‘ll fully admit I didn’t really “get” Citizen Kane when I saw it. Part of it could be the time period of the movie, but most of it was probably because I was 17 at the time and didn’t really care much.
Report Post »Happy Killmore
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 3:23amI first it as a teen and, like you, didn’t get it. Watch again in your thirties and it will resonate. It is a landmark film because it was the first of its kind. It is told in a nonlinear fashion at a time when movies moved from beginning to end in a straight line. This was the first to jump around in time as a narrative device and audiences at the time hated it. It’s commonplace now. Many films considered classics now were flops in their day. “The Wizard of Oz” & “It’s a Wonderful Life” both flopped and only gained favor after being shown on TV.
Report Post »knighttemplar999
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:16pmThat seems like a good price to me. I still wish I could have bid on one of Robert Crumbs most politically incorrect comic stories original art that sold for a mere $18,000 a few years ago.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:09pmHmmmmmm… I know Glenn Beck idolizes Wells. I wonder if HE bought it.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:00pmA Great film from a Great director.
Report Post »Happy Killmore
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 3:26amBy your name I’m guessing you might be a George Lucas fan. Did you know that at one time “Rosebud” hung behind his desk at Skywalker Ranch? It may still be there.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:48pmSucker!
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