HOLLYWOOD - "Rosebud," the little wooden sled that was the answer to the riddle at the core of Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane, turns 67 this year but shows no signs of slowing down. Film buffs know that in Kane's final scene, "Rosebud" is tossed into a furnace and appears to be incinerated. But it is one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets that when the cameras stopped turning, director/star Orson Welles salvaged "Rosebud" and soon thereafter directors began sneaking it into their films in one form or another, hoping that a morsel of Welles' genius would rub off on their work.
Among many others, the hunk of wood popped up in the 1952 classic western High Noon as the swinging saloon doors:
Cecil B. CeMille used "Rosebud" as the centerpiece of one of his well-known Biblical epics:
Stanley Kubrick also made it the metaphorical core of his epic 2001: A Space Odyssey:
Alas, times have changed and many modern directors have never even heard of Citizen Kane, much less seen it. To them, "Rosebud" is just another prop, and they afford it no special reverance. Director Wes Anderson is typcial: "It's just a piece of wood. What do I care that Orson-Whoever used it in Citizen What?" Alas, Anderson has reduced "Rosebud" to its lowest depths. He's using it as a surfboard in a lewd teenage comedy, She's All Wet:
