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'Citizen Kane' Oscar Fails to Sell at Auction

Published December 11, 2007 at 10:57 AM EST
Orson Welles starred in his film 'Citizen Kane.' The film, budgeted at $800,000, received widespread critical praise at the time of its release, even though initially it wasn't a commercial success.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Orson Welles starred in his film 'Citizen Kane.' The film, budgeted at $800,000, received widespread critical praise at the time of its release, even though initially it wasn't a commercial success.

Orson Welles' 1941 film "Citizen Kane" is widely considered one of the greatest movies ever made. Tuesday, the original script as well as the Academy Award Welles received for his masterpiece went on auction at Sotheby's.

The auctioneer had estimated that the statuette alone would fetch between $800,000 and $1.2 million, but it did not receive a single bid high enough to be considered.

The 156-page script, complete with blue crayon markings indicating final revisions, fetched $97,000.

Peter Bogdanovich, a close friend of Welles, discusses the screenplay. 'Citizen Kane' was not Welles best film, he insists, contrary to popular opinion.

Orson Welles and Herman Mankiewicz are both credited with writing the famous script. Bogdanovich helps clear up the controversy over exactly how much each contributed.

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