Chapter 10: Orson Welles and the Modern Sound Film
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The studio where Orson Welles was first hired as a director was
a. RKO. d. Columbia.
b. MGM. e. Universal.
c. Paramount. f. none of the above
2. Welles’s studio production contract was unique in that
a. it paid him more money than any director in history.
b. it gave him control over everything except casting and final cut.
c. it gave him complete creative control over his productions.
d. it was only for a single film.
e. both c and d
f. none of the above
3. Welles’s radio production troupe was called
a. the Jupiter Players. d. the Theater of the Air.
b. Apollo Productions. e. the Orson Welles Players.
c. the Mercury Theatre. f. none of the above
4. The first film Welles attempted to make in Hollywood was
a. designed to be filmed entirely with a subjective camera.
b. abandoned due to technical problems and cost overruns.
c. based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
d. to be made at RKO.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
5. Welles reportedly watched which film forty times as his only preparation for directing Citizen Kane?
a. The Last Laugh d. Sunrise
b. The Rules of the Game e. Stagecoach
c. M f. none of the above
6. Of the following film artists, who did NOT work on Citizen Kane?
a. writer Herman Mankiewicz d. art director Perry Ferguson
b. composer Bernard Hermann e. cinematographer Gregg Toland
c. editor Robert Wise f. All of the above worked on the film.
7. Straight cuts in Citizen Kane are used largely for
a. shock effects. d. temporal transitions.
b. time transitions. e. montage effects.
c. narrative transitions. f. none of the above
8. Cinematographer Gregg Toland
a. achieved recognition in Hollywood only after Citizen Kane.
b. was known for high-key “soft” style cinematography.
c. was a pioneer of deep focus photography.
d. was known for shooting on sets built without ceilings so that they could be lit from above.
e. developed a completely different style of cinematography for Citizen Kane.
f. all of the above
9. Which of the following was characteristic of the “soft” style of photography dominant in the
Hollywood studios during the 1930s?
a. deep focus d. pan-focus photography
b. diffused lighting e. high-intensity arc lamps
c. smaller lens apertures f. all of the above
10. Which of the following is necessary for deep-focus photography?
a. slower film stocks d. wider lens apertures
b. lower intensity lighting e. large, heavy cameras
c. wide-angle lenses f. all of the above
11. Mitchell BNC is a type of
a. film stock. d. camera.
b. wide-angle lens. e. deep-focus process.
c. lighting instrument. f. none of the above
12. Orson Welles
a. was the first director ever to use deep focus.
b. figured out the techniques for achieving universal focus.
c. tended to stage action along a single focal plane.
d. used deep focus because it was easier than cutting.
e. used deep focus to create metaphors and express power relations.
f. all of the above
13. Kane’s position in the classic deep-focus boarding house shot that occurs early in the film is
a. in the foreground of the action moving from left to right.
b. in the middle ground of the shot pacing back and forth.
c. in the extreme background of the shot.
d. not visible for most of the shot.
e. sitting in another room barely visible in the frame.
f. none of the above
14. Which of the following describes one of the virtuoso shots in Citizen Kane?
a. The camera cranes up to and through a nightclub sign then descends into a skylight, eventually
settling into a two-shot of characters talking inside the nightclub.
b. The camera appears to move through the gate outside Xanadu and then in one continuous motion
approaches the house and enters Kane’s room through a window.
c. The camera starts on a stagehand in a theater before descending to the stage where a character is
singing then continuing down to the orchestra pit to reveal Kane.
d. The camera tracks across the top of a table where Kane and his wife are eating breakfast before
appearing to enter a photograph in the newspaper Kane is reading.
e. only b and c
f. all of the above
15. Which of the following is a stylistic characteristic of Citizen Kane?
a. flat, soft, and high-key lighting
b. sets with ceilings
c. predominantly eye-level camera placement
d. minimal camera movement
e. none of the above
f. all of the above
16. The “lightening mix” refers to
a. a photographic technique that uses a lighting flash as a transition.
b. an editing technique that cuts shots together based on discontinuity of sound and image.
c. a technique that uses sound continuity to bridge shots with different times and settings.
d. a lighting technique that uses multiple instruments connected to dimmer boards.
e. a technique which takes two moving camera shots and joins them through a momentary flash into
what appears to be a single shot.
f. none of the above
17. Overlapping sound montage was used by Welles in Citizen Kane to produce
a. a multi-dimensional audio space.
b. stereophonic sound.
c. a connection between shots from different times and settings.
d. a sense of realistic group conversation.
e. both a and c
f. none of the above
18. The first image in Citizen Kane is
a. a snow globe. d. animals in cages in a zoo.
b. a title reading “News on the March.” e. a sign that reads “No Trespassing.”
c. a lighted window in a mansion. f. none of the above
19. The object Kane drops as he utters his dying words is
a. a mirror. d. a piece of sculpture.
b. a puzzle piece. e. a photograph.
c. a miniature sled. f. none of the above
20. The newsreel parody in Citizen Kane is called
a. News on the March. d. The Inquirer’s March of News.
b. The March of Time. e. The News of the Times.
c. Movietone News. f. none of the above
21. The newsreel in Citizen Kane
a. first poses the mystery of Rosebud.
b. tells of all the major events shown subsequently in the film.
c. does not include the Susan Alexander scandal.
d. is approved by the executives watching at the beginning.
e. both a and c
f. none of the above
22. Including the newsreel and the reality frame, how many stories of Kane’s life are told in Citizen Kane?
a. four d. six
b. nine e. five
c. seven f. none of the above
23. In Citizen Kane, the first character or place that Thompson visits is
a. Leland. d. Susan.
b. Thatcher’s Library. e. Bernstein.
c. Xanadu. f. none of the above
24. Which of the following events are NOT described in Thatcher’s narrative in Citizen Kane?
a. Kane’s childhood
b. Kane’s taking over the New York Inquirer
c. Kane’s financial failure
d. Kane’s twenty-first birthday
e. Kane’s marriage to Susan
f. All of the above are in Thatcher’s narrative.
25. The muckraking headlines of Kane’s New York Inquirer figure prominently in which story in Citizen
Kane?
a. Leland’s d. the newsreel
b. Susan’s e. the reality frame
c. Raymond’s f. none of the above
26. In Citizen Kane, Bernstein’s story begins with
a. the first day at the New York Inquirer.
b. Kane’s childhood.
c. Kane meeting Susan Alexander.
d. Kane’s death.
e. Kane’s first marriage.
f. none of the above
27. The “Declaration of Principles” document is written in whose story in Citizen Kane?
a. Leland’s d. Raymond’s
b. Bernstein’s e. Thatcher’s
c. Susan’s f. none of the above
28. The banquet in Bernstein’s story in Citizen Kane is being held to celebrate
a. Kane’s first wedding.
b. the founding of the New York Inquirer.
c. the Inquirer’s hiring away the staff of a rival newspaper.
d. the financial success of the Inquirer.
e. the acquisition of a newspaper chain.
f. none of the above
29. Which character in Citizen Kane speculates that Rosebud was “something he lost”?
a. Leland d. Bernstein
b. Susan e. Thompson
c. Raymond f. none of the above
30. The longest dissolves in Citizen Kane that signal a struggle to remember occur during whose story?
a. Leland’s d. Thatcher’s
b. Susan’s e. Bernstein’s
c. Raymond’s f. none of the above
31. The famous breakfast-table sequence in Citizen Kane takes place during whose story?
a. Bernstein’s d. Thatcher’s
b. Susan’s e. Leland’s
c. Raymond’s f. none of the above
32. The dramatic purpose of the breakfast-table scene in Citizen Kane is
a. to demonstrate Kane’s growing estrangement from his first wife.
b. to show Kane’s great sense of dedication to journalism.
c. to reveal Kane’s growing disinterest in the Inquirer as he contemplates a political career.
d. to create tension between Kane and his original partners at the Inquirer, Bernstein and Leland.
e. to show Kane’s increasing sense of familial devotion pulling him away from the newspaper.
f. none of the above
33. Which of the following events does NOT occur in Leland’s story in Citizen Kane?
a. Kane’s conflict with Boss Jim Gettys.
b. Susan’s performance at the opera in Chicago.
c. Kane’s completion of Leland’s negative review of Susan’s performance.
d. Kane’s electoral defeat.
e. Kane’s first meeting with Susan Alexander.
f. All of the above are events from Leland’s story.
34. Which of the following events is NOT seen in Susan’s story in Citizen Kane?
a. Susan’s performance at the Chicago opera
b. Susan and Kane’s first meeting
c. Kane firing Leland for his negative review of Susan’s performance
d. Susan leaving Kane
e. Susan’s suicide attempt
f. All of the above are shown in Susan’s story.
35. Xanadu is a primary location for which character’s story in Citizen Kane?
a. Leland d. Thatcher
b. Bernstein e. both b and c
c. Susan f. none of the above
36. Kane’s tantrum wherein he destroys Susan’s bedroom is told in whose story in Citizen Kane?
a. Thatcher’s d. Susan’s
b. Bernstein’s e. Raymond’s
c. Leland’s f. none of the above
37. The prop most closely associated with Susan in Citizen Kane and which goes on to become a metaphor
for Kane’s life is
a. the snow globe.
b. the sled.
c. the Greek sculptures.
d. the jigsaw puzzle.
e. the original “Declaration of Principles.”
f. none of the above
38. In Citizen Kane the meaning of Rosebud is eventually discovered by
a. Bernstein.
b. Susan.
c. Leland.
d. Thompson.
e. the audience.
f. None of the above; the meaning of Rosebud is never revealed.
39. By the end of Citizen Kane, Rosebud
a. becomes a symbol for Kane’s lost love and innocence.
b. remains a mystery, the identity of which is never known by the audience.
c. becomes an emblem of Kane’s great personal and professional achievements.
d. explains everything about the character of Kane.
e. both c and d
f. none of the above
40. Citizen Kane
a. was withdrawn from release quickly and not seen again until the 1970s.
b. was withdrawn from circulation until the mid-1950s when it played the art house circuit.
c. was prevented from getting a commercial release by William Randolph Hearst.
d. was not affected at all by Hearst’s attempts to suppress the film.
e. was not recognized by American critics for being ahead of its time.
f. all of the above
41. Citizen Kane
a. was extremely successful in its initial release.
b. was immediately influential on filmmakers in the United States and in Europe.
c. has been voted “Best Film of All Time” in five successive international polls.
d. until recently had only a minimal impact on the work of directors in the United States and Europe.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
42. Orson Welles is widely regarded
a. as the master of montage editing.
b. as the founder of an entire movement in art direction.
c. as an innovator in the field of special effects.
d. as the master of the new long-take aesthetic.
e. as the author of the first nonlinear narrative in Hollywood history.
f. all of the above
43. Citizen Kane is considered the first modern sound film because
a. it attempted to reproduce the actual experience of hearing rather than isolate separate sounds.
b. it had more naturalistic dialogue.
c. it utilized brand-new innovations in multitrack sound.
d. it manipulated the audio space in the same dramatic way the camera manipulates visual space.
e. Both a and d are true.
f. All of the above are true.
44. Citizen Kane
a. was only the first of many films on which Welles had complete creative control.
b. constructed an enormous jungle set which was then only used in a few scenes.
c. was, in its time, one of the most expensive films ever made.
d. made Welles one of the most widely respected and highly in-demand directors in Hollywood.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
45. Welles’s second film for RKO was
a. radically re-edited without his approval.
b. It’s All True.
c. a noir murder-mystery.
d. a Shakespearean adaptation.
e. made on an even lower budget than Citizen Kane.
f. none of the above
46. The Magnificent Ambersons
a. was originally released with Welles’s ending intact before being pulled from circulation.
b. was adapted from a well-known novel.
c. was shot by Gregg Toland.
d. has been restored to the form initially intended by Welles.
e. abandons the long-take aesthetic for a more montage-oriented approach.
f. all of the above
47. Of the following, who did NOT direct some part of The Magnificent Ambersons?
a. Orson Welles
b. editor Robert Wise
c. production manager Freddie Fleck
d. Mercury Theater business manager Jack Moss
e. cinematographer Stanley Cortez
f. Only Welles directed The Magnificent Ambersons.
48. The Orson Welles film that suggests the detrimental effects the automobile would eventually have on
the quality of American life is
a. The Stranger. d. It’s All True.
b. Journey Into Fear. e. Chimes at Midnight.
c. The Magnificent Ambersons. f. none of the above
49. The Magnificent Ambersons is like Citizen Kane in all of the following ways EXCEPT
a. its use of deep focus.
b. it was produced for RKO.
c. it starred Welles in the lead role.
d. featured a scene shot by Mercury Theater business manager Jack Moss.
e. it was a box-office disappointment.
f. All of the above are similarities.
50. Journey Into Fear
a. does not feature the Mercury Players.
b. was not produced by RKO.
c. was not a box-office failure.
d. does not credit Welles as the director of the film.
e. was never completed.
f. none of the above
51. The only film Orson Welles ever directed in Hollywood that was a commercial success was
a. The Stranger.
b. Citizen Kane.
c. The Magnificent Ambersons.
d. The Lady from Shanghai.
e. Jane Eyre.
f. Welles never made a profitable film in Hollywood.
52. Which of the following is NOT a well-known sequence from The Lady from Shanghai?
a. the love scene in the aquarium
b. the camera following a bomb placed in the trunk of a car and crossing the Mexican border in a
single crane shot
c. the chase in the Chinese theater
d. the shootout in the Hall of Mirrors
e. All of the above are sequences from The Lady from Shanghai.
f. None of the above sequences are in the film.
53. The Lady from Shanghai
a. was Welles’s last film for RKO.
b. was Welles’s first great Hollywood success.
c. starred Rita Hayworth.
d. led to a long-term directing contract for Welles at another studio.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
54. Macbeth
a. was one of the most expensive films Welles ever made.
b. represents Welles’s triumphant return to Hollywood studio filmmaking.
c. was originally released in the version approved by Welles.
d. was shot on papier-mâché and cardboard sets.
e. was the first film Welles directed that he did not star in.
f. none of the above
55. The visual style most evident in Welles’s Macbeth is
a. French Impressionism. d. Italian Superspectacle.
b. German Expressionism. e. French Poetic Realism.
c. Soviet Montage. f. none of the above
56. Orson Welles’s first European film was
a. Othello. d. Mr. Arkadin.
b. Macbeth. e. Chimes at Midnight.
c. The Trial. f. none of the above
57. Orson Welles’s Othello
a. is a dark, gloomy film like Macbeth and The Lady from Shanghai.
b. won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1952.
c. was shot in twenty-three days on cardboard sets.
d. was financed by Republic Pictures.
e. was shot entirely on sound stages in Europe.
f. none of the above
58. Mr. Arkadin
a. was Welles’s return to Hollywood filmmaking.
b. was a virtual remake of The Lady from Shanghai.
c. has almost all the characters’ voices dubbed by Welles.
d. takes place in a single location.
e. was one of Welles’s most commercially successful films.
f. all of the above
59. Welles returned to Hollywood from Europe to make
a. Mr. Arkadin. d. Touch of Evil.
b. Othello. e. Chimes at Midnight.
c. The Trial. f. none of the above
60. Welles was asked to direct Touch of Evil
a. because of the commercial success of his previous film.
b. because of the producer’s admiration for Citizen Kane.
c. because of Welles’s growing reputation as a cinematic genius.
d. because Welles refused to star in the film if he couldn’t direct.
e. because star Charlton Heston insisted that Welles direct.
f. none of the above
61. The Orson Welles film that opens with a two-and-a-half-minute long crane shot that starts on a
close-up of a bomb and ends with the explosion is
a. Touch of Evil. d. The Lady from Shanghai.
b. Mr. Arkadin. e. The Trial.
c. Journey Into Fear. f. none of the above
62. Which of the following Welles films is NOT about the immorality of a grotesque and powerful yet
somehow sympathetic individual?
a. Citizen Kane
b. Macbeth
c. Mr. Arkadin
d. Touch of Evil
e. Chimes at Midnight
f. All of the above films share this theme.
63. Touch of Evil
a. was restored by Universal to Welles’s original form in 1976.
b. was restored by Walter Murch to Welles’s original form in 1998.
c. was originally released in the form Welles intended and so did not need restoration.
d. has never been restored, so only critics and the original audiences saw Welles’s version.
e. has never been seen in anything approaching Welles’s original version.
f. is lost forever since so much of the material has been destroyed, and it is impossible to determine
Welles’s plan for the film.
64. Touch of Evil
a. was so successful it reinvigorated Welles’s Hollywood career.
b. did well enough so that Welles was asked to make another film for Universal.
c. failed so badly that it was the last film Welles would ever make in Hollywood.
d. made Welles a highly in-demand actor in Hollywood.
e. has never been considered one of Welles’s most important films.
f. none of the above
65. The only film since Citizen Kane over which Welles exerted total creative control was
a. Touch of Evil. d. The Trial.
b. Macbeth. e. The Stranger.
c. The Magnificent Ambersons. f. none of the above
66. The Shakespeare character on whose exploits Chimes at Midnight is based is
a. Prince Hal. d. Hamlet.
b. Iago. e. Falstaff.
c. Macbeth. f. none of the above
67. Chimes at Midnight
a. is Welles’s last completed dramatic feature-length film.
b. is about nostalgia and loss.
c. combines sections of several Shakespeare plays.
d. was shot over the course of several years.
e. only b and c
f. all of the above
68. The Orson Welles film that features a battle sequence edited with an Eisensteinian sense of montage is
a. Chimes at Midnight. d. Macbeth.
b. The Other Side of the Wind. e. Journey Into Fear.
c. Mr. Arkadin. f. none of the above
69. Welles’s The Merchant of Venice
a. is considered his last great film.
b. is a short film made for French television.
c. was never released due to the theft of its negative.
d. was never released because the quality was deemed too poor.
e. was a success in Europe but never released in the United States.
f. none of the above
70. Welles’s first completed color film was
a. The Trial. d. Othello.
b. The Lady from Shanghai. e. The Immortal Story.
c. The Other Side of the Wind. f. none of the above
71. F for Fake
a. was never completed.
b. is a thriller based on the novel Dead Calm.
c. is a documentary about the making of Othello.
d. is a film about Welles made by another director.
e. is a three-hour-long color film about a director played by Welles that is 98 percent finished and
could soon be released.
f. none of the above
72. Which of the following is NOT a classic Welles theme?
a. the corrupting nature of ambition
b. the importance of professionalism
c. the importance of maintaining a sense of the past
d. the destructive power of obsession
e. the disparity between social and psychological reality
f. All of the above are Welles themes.
73. Which of the following is an incomplete Welles film?
a. Don Quixote
b. The Trial
c. Othello
d. Mr. Arkadin
e. The Immortal Story
f. All of the above are incomplete Welles films.