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Tough Sledding

May 2, 2013

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Profile America -- Thursday, May 2nd. One of the most influential motion pictures ever made was released this week 72 years ago --"Citizen Kane," starring and directed by Orson Welles. He was already renowned for his 1938 Halloween radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds," when he was just 23 years old. But his lasting legacy is "Citizen Kane," which did not do well financially, although it was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning for best screen play. Many critics now consider it the best American film of all time. When "Citizen Kane" was first screened, 6-out-of-10 Americans went to the movies every week. Today, Americans on average attend 4.3 movies annually. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Historical Statistics of the Untied States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 10, 400
Stistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1243
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/arts_recreation_travel/recreation_and_leisure_activities.html