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| The Citadel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | King Vidor |
| Screenplay by | Ian Dalrymple Frank Wead Elizabeth Hill |
| Based on | The Citadel 1937 novel byA. J. Cronin |
| Produced by | Victor Saville |
| Starring | Robert Donat Rosalind Russell Ralph Richardson Rex Harrison |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling |
| Edited by | Charles Frend |
| Music by | Louis Levy Charles Williams |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,012,000[2] or £222,386[3] |
| Box office | $2,598,000[2][4] |
The Citadel is a 1938 Britishdrama film based on the 1937novel of the same name byA. J. Cronin. The film was directed byKing Vidor and produced byVictor Saville forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer British atDenham Studios.[1] It starsRobert Donat andRosalind Russell. The film and book helped the creation of Britain'sNHS in 1947.[5]
Dr. Andrew Manson is an idealistic, newly qualified Scottish doctor dedicated to treating the Welsh miners suffering fromtuberculosis in the Welsh mining village of Blaenely and is an apprentice to Dr. Page. Initially, he has many lofty scientific goals, but meets local resistance in his research. After his laboratory and notes are destroyed by the miners, he moves to London, treating working-class patients in impoverished conditions. There, his purpose erodes when a chance encounter with a medical school friend, Dr. Frederick Lawford leads to his quiet seduction by an unethical medical establishment, treating richhypochondriacs. Christine, his wife, tries to set him back on the original path. Dr. Philip Denny, Manson's best friend and still working for improved working-class health, dies at the hands of an incompetent, social-climbing surgeon.
The film is based on the novel, but departs from it in certain vital respects. In the original text, the character of Christine Manson is killed off in a road accident at the point when she and her husband have begun to address problems in their relationship. The incident involving the incompetent surgeon occurs, but it is a minor character who dies. Denny survives, and the understanding (not related in the book but implied) is that he and Manson went into practice together.[6] A 1982 BBC radio adaptation[7] of the novel stays closer to the original text.
The film earned $987,000 in the US and Canada and $1,611,000 elsewhere.[2]
The film was nominated for Oscars in four categories:Best Picture,Best Actor (Robert Donat),Directing, andAdapted Screenplay.
The film won the Best Picture Award from both theNew York Film Critics Circle and theNational Board of Review. It is aNew York Times Critics' Pick and is also listed inThe New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.
A Hindi-language film,Tere Mere Sapne, based on the A.J. Cronin novel, was released in 1971.
In February 2020, the film was shown at the70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.[8]
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