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The Citadel (film)
Encyclopedia
The Citadel is a 1938 film based on the novel of the same name
by A. J. Cronin
, first published in 1937. The film was directed by King Vidor
and produced by Victor Saville
.
stars as the idealistic newly-qualified Scottish doctor, Andrew Manson, who is dedicated to treating Welsh miners suffering from tuberculosis
. Initially, he is full of lofty scientific goals, though his purpose erodes when he later moves to London to treat rich hypochondriacs. Rosalind Russell
stars as Christine, his wife, who tries to set him back on the original path. Ralph Richardson
plays Manson's best friend, Dr. Philip Denny, and Rex Harrison
acts in his first notable screen role as Freddie Hampton.
, Best Actor
(Robert Donat), Direction
, and Adapted Screenplay
.
The film won the Best Picture Award from both the New York Film Critics Circle
and the National Board of Review
. It is a New York Times Critics' Pick and is also listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.
film, Bad for Each Other, starring Charlton Heston
and Lizabeth Scott
. In the 1953 film, Heston plays a doctor who forgoes treating miners in Coalsville, Pennsylvania in order to become a highly-paid society doctor in Pittsburgh. The mine-rescue sequence in Bad for Each Other is near-identical to the equivalent sequence in The Citadel.
The Citadel (novel)
The Citadel is a novel by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1937, which was groundbreaking with its treatment of the contentious theme of medical ethics. It is credited with laying the foundation in Great Britain for the introduction of the NHS a decade later...
by A. J. Cronin
A. J. Cronin
Archibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...
, first published in 1937. The film was directed by King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
and produced by Victor Saville
Victor Saville
Victor Saville was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954...
.
Plot
Robert DonatRobert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
stars as the idealistic newly-qualified Scottish doctor, Andrew Manson, who is dedicated to treating Welsh miners suffering from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Initially, he is full of lofty scientific goals, though his purpose erodes when he later moves to London to treat rich hypochondriacs. Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
stars as Christine, his wife, who tries to set him back on the original path. Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
plays Manson's best friend, Dr. Philip Denny, and Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
acts in his first notable screen role as Freddie Hampton.
Awards
The film was nominated for Oscars in 4 categories: Best PictureAcademy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Robert Donat), Direction
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
, and Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
.
The film won the Best Picture Award from both the New York Film Critics Circle
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
New York Film Critics' Circle Awards are given annually to honor excellence in cinema worldwide by an organization of film reviewers from New York City-based publications. It is considered one of the most important precursors to the Academy Awards....
and the National Board of Review
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.'s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. The mayor believed that the new medium...
. It is a New York Times Critics' Pick and is also listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.
Miscellaneous
The plot of The Citadel was reshuffled and simplified for the 1953 Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
film, Bad for Each Other, starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
and Lizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Scott is an American actress and singer widely known for her film noir roles.-Early life:She was born Emma Matzo in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of six children, to Ruthenian parents who had emigrated from Uzhgorod, in what is now Ukraine...
. In the 1953 film, Heston plays a doctor who forgoes treating miners in Coalsville, Pennsylvania in order to become a highly-paid society doctor in Pittsburgh. The mine-rescue sequence in Bad for Each Other is near-identical to the equivalent sequence in The Citadel.
Cast
- Robert DonatRobert DonatRobert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
as Dr. Andrew Manson - Rosalind RussellRosalind RussellRosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
as Christine Barlow - Ralph RichardsonRalph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
as Dr. Philip Denny - Rex HarrisonRex HarrisonSir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
as Freddie Hampton - Emlyn WilliamsEmlyn WilliamsGeorge Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
as Mr. Owen - Penelope Dudley WardPenelope Dudley WardPenelope Ann Rachel, Lady Reed , known as Penelope Dudley-Ward, was an English actress.Born Penelope Anne Rachel Dudley Ward in London, she was the elder daughter of The Right Honourable William Dudley Ward and the leading socialite Freda Dudley Ward, most well-known for being the long-time...
as Toppy LeRoy - Francis L. SullivanFrancis L. SullivanFrancis Loftus Sullivan was an English film and stage actor. He attended Stonyhurst, the Jesuit public school in Lancashire, England whose alumni include Charles Laughton and Arthur Conan Doyle.A heavily built man with a striking double-chin and a deep voice, Sullivan made his acting debut at the...
as Ben Chenkin - Mary ClareMary ClareMary Clare was a British actress who performed in films, on the stage, and later on television.-Biography:...
as Mrs. Orlando - Cecil ParkerCecil ParkerCecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
as Charles Every - Percy Parsons as Richard Stillman
- Basil Gill as Dr. Edward Page
- Dilys Davis as Blodwen Page
- Joss Ambler as Dr. Llewellyn
- Nora SwinburneNora SwinburneNora Swinburne was a British actress, born Leonora Mary Johnson in Bath, Somerset, daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson and his wife Leonora Tamar ....
as Mrs. Thornton - Edward ChapmanEdward Chapman (actor)Edward Chapman was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. Wilfred Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s.Chapman was born in...
as Joe Morgan - Athene SeylerAthene SeylerAthene Seyler, CBE was an English actress.Although better known as a stage actress, she first appeared on the stage in 1909 and made her film debut in 1921, and became known for playing slightly dotty old ladies....
as Lady Raebank - Felix AylmerFelix AylmerSir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
as Mr. Boon - Elliott Mason as District Nurse
- Joyce Bland as Nurse Sharp
- Eliot MakehamEliot MakehamEliot Makeham , sometimes credited as Eliott Makeham or Elliot Makeham, was an English film and television actor.-Early life and education:He was born Harold Elliott Makeham in 1882, in London, England....
as Dai Jenkins - D.J. Williams as Old Thomas