The Times We Had: Life with William Randolph Hearst (illustrated) by Marion Davies
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Overview: She was the unofficial empress of Hollywood and she spent a lifetime as the mistress of one of America’s richest men. Gathered from tapes recroded a decade before Marion Davie’s death, read, in her own words, the story of a fantastic and glittering life, as never told before.
Introduction by Orson Welles
Orson Welles (1915–1985) was the director and star of Citizen Kane, considered by many to be the greatest film of all time.
Actress Marion Davies plays a prominent role in Mank, so what happened to her after the events depicted in the 2020 Netflix film? In real life, she had an affair with business mogul William Randolph Hearst, which has long been rumored to have inspired part of the narrative in Citizen Kane. Davies is portrayed by American actress Amanda Seyfried in Mank.
In pop culture, Davies is best known for starring in late ’20s movies such as Show People and Quality Street, and for being one of the most glamorous actresses of her time. The Mank storyline shifts between 1934 and 1940 as screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) navigates his way through Hollywood while battling alcoholism and attempting to secure new work. Davies initially meets "Mank" on a movie set, and subsequently introduces him to Hearst, portrayed by Charles Dance. The actress eventually discovers that Citizen Kane is loosely based on her experiences, and she unsuccessfully attempts to have the script changed.
Given the cultural impact of Citizen Kane, the rumors naturally affected Davies’ reputation at the time of release and through the years. According to writer Gay Talese (via The New York Review of Books), the "rosebud" that Kane speaks of before his death in Welles’ film is the same word that Hearst used for a specific part of Davies’ sexual anatomy. As for Mank, Fincher’s storyline underlines the inherent power dynamics of ’30s Hollywood and how someone like Davies could be blackballed by insiders, for one reason or another. Twenty-one years after Davies’ death, Welles expressed regret (via YouTube) about his treatment of the actress in Citizen Kane:
— “It seemed to me to be something of a dirty trick – and still strikes me as something of a dirty trick – what we did to her.”
Genre: Non-fiction | Biographies & Memoirs
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