Built on an immense "private mountain" located on the "deserts of the Gulf Coast" in Florida, Xanadu is described as being the world's largest private estate; "Cost: no man can say," according to the newsreel at the beginning of the film.

Welles signed his contract with RKO on August 21, 1939. This legendary contract stipulated that RKO executives would not be allowed to see any footage until Welles chose to show it to them, and that no cuts could be made to the film without Welles' approval.

On his deathbed, Kane uttered a single word: "Rosebud".

At the age of 25, he takes control of the New York Inquirer and embarks on a career of yellow journalism.

Despite interviewing all of Kane's living acquaintances, Thompson never discovers the truth.

Having no real cinematic experience, Welles turned for inspiration to one of the most acclaimed films of his day: John Ford's iconic Western, Stagecoach. He once claimed that he watched the film "every night for a month" in an effort to dissect the craft behind its production.

As his popularity and fortune increases, Kane runs for Governor of New York against reputedly corrupt boss James "Jim" W. Gettys. An election victory is almost certain until Gettys reveals evidence of Kane's affair with a young singer named Susan Alexander.

Hearst's vast newspaper empire banned all advertising of the film, and numerous theaters refused to show it, contributing to its original failure at the box office.

While Orson Welles and cinematographer Gregg Toland did not invent any of these techniques, Citizen Kane put them all together for the first time and perfected the experimental medium in one single film.

As the film ends, the camera reveals that "Rosebud" is the trade name of the sled on which the eight-year-old Kane was playing on the day that he was taken from his home in Colorado. Thought to be junk by Xanadu's staff, the sled is burned in a furnace.