“This is unquestionably one of the most intelligent films to appear for many years. No one who is really interested in the cinema can afford to miss it. Even those who go to the cinema simply for a few hours' entertainment, and who even perhaps profess to be bored by intelligence, will find themselves curiously spellbound by this spirited attempt to break with most of the formulas which Hollywood holds so dear. “Citizen Kane is refreshingly new, from its theme, which has a maturity which one has almost despaired of finding on the screen, right down to its cast, everyone of which acts superlatively well and none of which has ever appeared in films before. Orson Welles's innovations of style will almost certainly influence current film-making, although the question whether he has made any significant contribution to film technique is not likely to be apparent until the film has taken its place in history. Meanwhile the fact that it should even give rise to the question is a measure of the film's stature.” Reviewed by ‘E.H.L.’ in Sight and Sound’s sister publication Monthly Film Bulletin, December 1941