Citizen Kane is a "talkie" written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles, and directed by Orson Welles. Charles Foster Kane was given to Mammon by his mother so that he would have a more promising life; a life that would provide him with more opportunities to make something of himself. When Charles has grown into a man he decides to join a newspaper, simply because he thinks it "would be fun". A wealthy and eccentric young man, he is always looking for more and more opportunities to prove himself. After his death, a newspaper reporter looks deep into Kane's past in an attempt to uncover the true meaning of Kane's last word: "Rosebud". The origin of Kane's infamous last word is in Kane's childhood. The separation he experienced with his mother manifested itself in the metaphorical embodiment of Kane's boyhood Sleigh, having also been taken away from him at the same moment his mother was taken from him.
Mary Kane was Charlie Kane's mother. Mary wanted the best for her son; the best being that he was far, far away from his abusive father. Mary Kane was magnificently played by Agnes Moorehead. Mary Kane is a real-to-life female role. So many women have had to go through life, abused at the hands of domineering husbands. Although she is only in the film for all but a few minutes in the beginning of the film, Mary Kane makes her mark as a strong, sacrificing woman. In earlier "talkies", this kind of role was inconceivable. Silent films before and around The General, could not have portrayed women with any sort of truth or realness. Mary Kane is deeply impactful to the plot of Citizen Kane even though she is only present for the first few scenes. Just to think--we've gone from Annabelle Lee in The General to Mary Kane, a woman of depth and the capacity to steer the destiny of the leading male lead in the film Citizen Kane.
-Agnes Moorehead in Citizen Kane
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