Citizen Kane Spurred Some of Hollywood’s Greatest Feuds

Citizen Kane’s Screenplay

In the final cut of Citizen Kane, the screenwriting credits are attributed to both Orson Welles and Herman Mankiewicz. However, according to legend, Welles tried to remove Mankiewicz’s name and recognition, in order to take sole responsibility for the masterwork.

Orson Welles on the set of Citizen Kane.

Photo by Ernest Bachrach/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images

Many believe that Mankiewicz deserves more acknowledgment than he received for his part in screenwriting. Meanwhile, other sources claim that Welles never used Mank’s draft and rewrote the entire movie script himself. Either way, their collaboration ended with angry threats from Mank demanding credit and a lifelong grudge against Orson Welles. What actually happened behind the scenes?

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