Citizen Kane Quotes

Charles Foster Kane It's my duty and — I'll let you in on a little secret — it's also my pleasure to see to it that decent, hard-working people in this community aren't robbed blind by a pack of money-mad pirates, just because they haven't had anybody to look after their interests.

Charles Foster Kane We have no secrets from our readers. Mr. Thatcher is one of our most devoted readers, Mr. Bernstein. He knows what's wrong with every issue since I've taken charge.

Mr. Bernstein We never lost as much as we made.

Charles Foster Kane I don't think there's one word that can describe a man's life.

Charles Foster Kane with one purpose only, to point out and make public the dishonesty, the downright villainy of Boss Jim W. Gettys political machine, now in complete control of the government of this state. I made no campaign promises, because until a few weeks ago, I had no hope of being elected. Now however, I am something more than a hope. Jim Gettys, Jim Gettys has something less than a chance. Every straw vote, every independent poll shows that I'll be elected. Now I can afford to make some promises. The working man, the working man and the slum child know they can expect my best efforts in their interests. The nation's ordinary citizens know that I'll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed.

Charles Foster Kane If I don't look after the interests of the underprivileged, maybe somebody else will. Maybe somebody without any money or property, and that would be too bad!

Charles Foster Kane Rosebud...

Charles Foster Kane If the headline is big enough, it makes the news big enough.

Charles Foster Kane You're right. I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year! You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in 60 years.

Jedediah Leland He married for love. Love. That's why he did everything. That's why he went into politics. It seems we weren't enough, he wanted all the voters to love him too. Guess all he really wanted out of life was love. That's Charlie's story, how he lost it. You see, he just didn't have any to give. Well, he loved Charlie Kane of course, very dearly, and his mother. I guess he always loved her.

Mr. Bernstein President's niece, huh? Before Mr. Kane's through with her, she'll be a president's wife.

Mr. Bernstein Mr. Kane is finishing the review you started. He's writing a bad notice. I guess that'll show you.

Charles Foster Kane I always gagged on that silver spoon.

Charles Foster Kane You can't buy a bag of peanuts in this town without someone writing a song about you.

Charles Foster Kane The news goes on for 24 hours a day.

Jedediah Leland I can remember everything. That's my curse, young man. It's the greatest curse that's ever been inflicted on the human race: memory.

Charles Foster Kane * Opening line; his last word as he dies.

Mr. Bernstein Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Switzerland... he was thrown out of a lot of colleges.

Charles Foster Kane *Note: ranked #17 in the ] in American cinema.

Charles Foster Kane As Charles Foster Kane who owns eighty-two thousand, six hundred and thirty-four shares of public transit - you see, I do have a general idea of my holdings - I sympathize with you. Charles Foster Kane is a scoundrel. His paper should be run out of town. A committee should be formed to boycott him. You may, if you can form such a committee, put me down for a contribution of one thousand dollars.

Jedediah Leland I suppose he had some private sort of greatness, but he kept it to himself. He never gave himself away. He never gave anything away, he just left you a tip, hmm? Ha. He had a generous mind. I don't suppose anybody ever had so many opinions. But he never believed in anything except Charlie Kane. He never had a conviction except Charlie Kane in his life. I suppose he died without one. It must have been pretty unpleasant. Of course, a lot of us check out without having any special convictions about death, but we do know what we believe in, we do believe in something.

Charles Foster Kane I run a couple of newspapers. What do you do?

Newsreel Narrator Legendary was Xanadu where Kubla Khan decreed his stately pleasure dome. Today, almost as legendary is ]'s Xanadu, world's largest private pleasure ground. Here, on the deserts of the Gulf Coast, a private mountain was commissioned and successfully built. One hundred thousand trees, twenty thousand tons of marble are the ingredients of Xanadu's mountain. Contents of Xanadu's palace: paintings, pictures, statues, the very stones of many another palace — a collection of everything so big it can never be catalogued or appraised, enough for ten museums — the loot of the world. Xanadu's livestock: the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, the beast of the field and jungle. Two of each, the biggest private zoo since Noah. Like the pharaohs, Xanadu's landlord leaves many stones to mark his grave. Since the pyramids, Xanadu is the costliest monument a man has built to himself. Here in Xanadu last week, Xanadu's landlord was laid to rest: a potent figure of our century, America's Kubla Khan, Charles Foster Kane.

Jedediah Leland I'd like to keep that particular piece of paper myself. I have a hunch it might turn out to be something pretty important, a document, like the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, and my first report card at school.

Mr. Bernstein Old age. It's the only disease, Mr. Thompson, that you don't look forward to being cured of.

Charles Foster Kane Don't worry about me, Gettys. Don't worry about me. I'm Charles Foster Kane! I'm no cheap, crooked politician, trying to save himself from the consequences of his crimes! Gettys! I'm going to send you to Sing Sing! Sing Sing, Gettys! Sing Sing!

Jedediah Leland You know, when I was a young man there used to be an impression around that nurses were pretty. Well, it was no truer then than it is today.

Charles Foster Kane A toast, Jedediah, to love on my terms. Those are the only terms anybody ever knows - his own.

Charles Foster Kane I was on my way to the Western Manhattan Warehouse in search of my youth. You see, my mother died a long time ago and her things were put in storage out West. There wasn't any other place to put them. I thought I'd send for them now. Tonight, I was going to take a look at them. You know, a sort of sentimental journey.

Mr. Bernstein A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl.