The Mark Of Kane

[poliphilo]

Citizen Kane
Mahatma Kane Jeeves (a pseudonym of W.C. Fields)
Marshall Will Kane (The Gary Cooper character in High Noon)
The Caine Mutiny
Michael Caine (the screen name of the artist formerly known as Maurice Micklewhite)
Kwai-Chiang Cain (Keith Carradine's character in Kung Fu)

These are some instances. There are others.

Why does this name (in various spellings) keep cropping up in the popular culture of the mid-twentieth century?

When it occurs in "real life" Kane is usually an Americanization of "Cohen". But none of my Kanes appears to be Jewish.

My guess is that we're dealing with the romance of the Biblical Cain- the man branded and outcast by God. The name serves as a badge of mid-twentieth century alienation.

Any other suggestions?

Comments

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I didn't know the song was written for a movie.

Here are the original lyrics, written by J. Robbie Robertson

Virgil Caine is the name and I served on the Danville train
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember oh so well

The night they drove Old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove Old Dixie down and the people were singin', they went
La-la-la la-la-la, la-la-la la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me
"Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E. Lee!"
Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

The night they drove old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and all the people were singin', they went
Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na

Like my father before me, I will work the land
And like my brother before me, who took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave
But a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Turns out I'm wrong.

I went and Googled it- and I find the song has nothing to do with any film. I wonder how I came by that piece of misinformation?