SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish “Citizen Kane.”
SPOILERS AHEAD
Mank Video Summary
Mank Plot Summary and Synopsis
In 1940, Orson Welles is given complete creative freedom for his next project by RKO. For the screenplay, Welles recruits Herman J. Mankiewicz, who is in Victorville, California recovering from a broken leg he sustained in a car accident. Herman dictates the script to his secretary, Rita Alexander, who notices similarities between the main character and William Randolph Hearst. Producer John Houseman is concerned about Herman’s dense, nonlinear screenplay, while Herman’s brother Joseph worries that it may anger the powerful Hearst.
In 1930, Herman visits an MGM location where he and the female lead, Marion Davies, recognize each other. She introduces him to Hearst, her benefactor and lover, who takes a liking to Herman. In 1933, Herman and his wife Sara attend Louis B. Mayer’s birthday party at Hearst Castle with many Hollywood bigwigs. They discuss the rise of Nazi Germany and the upcoming gubernatorial election, in particular candidate Upton Sinclair. Herman and Marion go for a stroll, where they bond over discussions on politics and the film industry.
In 1940, Houseman grows impatient over Herman’s lack of progress. Rita is also concerned with the timing of the writing, as well as Herman’s alcoholism. Herman eventually finishes the screenplay in time. Houseman is impressed but reminds Herman that he will receive no credit for his work.
In 1934, Herman and Joseph begin working at MGM under Mayer. Studio executives, including Irving Thalberg, actively work against Sinclair’s gubernatorial campaign. The studio produces propaganda films for a smear campaign, funded by Hearst, against Sinclair. Herman approaches Marion to get the films pulled, but is unsuccessful as she has already left the studio for Warner Brothers. Herman and Sara later attend an election night watch party at the Trocadero Nightclub, where Mayer announces the winner, Frank Merriam. Herman’s colleague, director Shelly Metcalf, shoots and kills himself after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and guilt-ridden over his role in the smear campaign, in spite of personally supporting Sinclair.
In 1940, Charles Lederer picks up the screenplay from Herman to deliver to the studio. Joseph visits Herman after reading the screenplay and warns him of Hearst’s reaction and how it might affect Marion. He does, however, believe that it’s the finest thing Herman has ever written. Marion also visits and does her best to persuade Herman to change the screenplay but to no avail. She tells Herman she will try to stop the picture from getting made.
In 1937, Herman crashes a party at Hearst Castle, where he drunkenly pitches the idea for the film he will go on to write in 1940, offending everyone present including Hearst, Mayer and Marion. An enraged Mayer reveals that Herman is on Hearst’s payroll and calls him a court jester. Hearst tells him an allegory about a monkey and an organ grinder and sees him out.
In 1940, despite pressure from Hearst, Welles is determined to make the film and intends to do a re-write without Herman. He visits Herman and offers him a buyout from the studio. However, reneging on the terms of his contract, Herman requests credit for the script, declaring it his greatest work. An upset Welles tells Herman that he has gone to bat for him, before leaving angrily.
The Ending
Herman ultimately receives joint credit with Welles, and the two win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film two years later.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).