RKO 281: The OTHER Citizen Kane

Orson Welles (Liev Schreiber) & Herman Mankiewicz (John Malkovich)
toast their "success" in RKO 281. Credit: HBO Pictures.

                                     RKO 281: The OTHER Citizen Kane

                                                                by

                                                                    Jay Agan

      This is a "sequel" I watch more often than the original. Maybe 'cause it's faster moving & more amusing.

      A young Orson Welles (Liev Schreiber), following on his success/fame in the New York City show business world, goes to Hollywood & signs up with RKO Radio Pictures. After some fits & starts, he settles on doing a thinly veiled expose' of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst & his power brokering ways (This supposedly stemming from the two trading barbs at a party at the Hearst "castle". I think there had to be more to it than that.). With a treasure trove of related notes by his reluctant friend, writer Herman J. Mankiewicz (John Malkovich) he sets out to create one of cinema historys' great masterworks.

      This made for HBO film does devote some time to the making of Citizen Kane, but the main attraction is in the aftermath. Mr. Hearst was definitely not happy with the finished product & did what he could to suppress it, preassuring one & all in Hollywood. Going so far as to blackmail some of the biggest names in cinema.

      The conflict between Welles & Hearst (Two opponents not unlike one another.) is "offset" by the conflicts in front of, behind, & off camera. Melanie Griffith is great as Marion Davies counter to James Cromwells' Hearst. Schreibers' Welles is seen as a relentless prick, casually putting friends, actors & crew in danger & even resorting to violence.

      As with all "docudramas", I would not rely on this film as an historical document. The actual documentary it's based on, The Battle Over Citizen Kane would be more appropriate.

      It goes without saying, watching Citizen Kane is mandatory before seeing this film. RKO 281 is a fun watch & makes a great companion film to Kane. With this & Warners' Citizen Kane two disc special edition (With all the extras including the aforementioned documentary.), you can take an all afternoon Kaning.

      If you don't have it, grab it & put it on the shelf next to Kane.

                                     Article copyright © 7-13-2011 Jay Agan

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Drums In the Deep South, An Offbeat Little "Western"

Drums In the Deep South
Poster: RKO Radio Pictures

                             
                                Drums In the Deep South, An Off Beat Little "Western"

                                                                           by

                                                                              Jay Agan

      Not a western exactly. More of an "eastern". Drums In the Deep South (RKO 1951) is set in 1864 Georgia during The War for Southern Independence.

      James Craig leads a reduced artillery battery (four 12 pounders) on a mission to stall the Union advance. This is achieved by setting up positions on top of "Devils' Mountain" (Played by Wyomings' Devils' Tower.), a huge basalt pillar dominating the terrain over a vital rail line. The considerable elevation gives the guys in gray the advantage in range & the bluecoats end up bringing in larger naval guns to quell them. The interesting part is how the rebs get the cannon to the top. They do it through the cave system INSIDE the mountain. The union protagonist (Guy Madison), also familiar with the mountain & area about, devises a plan to blow the peak out from under.

      As with a lot of Hollywood flicks, the situation is complicated by a love triangle (A quadrangle if you count the lonely Union sargeant in.) It's not enough that Craig & Madison are in love with the same woman (Barbara Payton). Her farm also happens to be in the vicinity of the mountain & under occupation by the blue coats. It goes without saying she's loyal to the Southern cause & does what she can.

      I like this little movie in spite of the triangle slowing things down. It's at times eerie (cave scenes) & fantastic. Instead of epic up front heroics, we see a slightly grittier tale of move/countermove & intrigue.

      A few laughable scenes mar it. Gun crew standing next to the muzzles as they fire (They can be just as deadly "offside".) . A long shot of the union position has a Union cannoneer carrying a humungous cannon ball all by himself, straight up with no strain.

      All in all, not a bad little movie. Best print I've found is on a Digiview dollar disc. Check it out.

                                          Article copyright © 1-25-2011 Jay Agan

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.