ST. JAMES THEATRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24828, 30 January 1942, Page 3

ST. JAMES THEATRE

AN AMAZING DRAMA An eagerly-awaited film, Orson Welles's initial R.K.O. Radio vehicle, "Citizen Kane," will open a season at the St. James Theatre to-day. It is an exciting piece of screen entertainment. As the followers of this 25-year-old genius would naturally expect, Welles threw overboard much film tradition and convention in making his first picture. He planned and employed throughout a new technique that serves brilliantly to get the effect he intended, and has emerged with a remarkable offering. " Citizen Kane " is the story of an American money king. Born in a Colorado town, Charles Foster Kane, after he inherits a fortune, leaves college resolved to become the most powerful man in the country. He builds a great chain of enterprises as the foundation of his one-man kingdom, and strides Colossus-like toward his ambition. Welles himself plays the title role from Kane's eager beginning in the world of activity at the age of 25 to his end at the age of 75, at which stage in his career from his fantastic Florida palace he surveys the decay of his once formidable empire. Welles makes his creation convincing.