Who payed the critics

Absolutely Fantastic

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

There's little question why this film earned an Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Robert Donat), Direction, and Adapted Screenplay. It's an excellent film with Robert Donat in particular providing a superb performance.Donat plays a doctor who goes to work in the coal mining area of Great Britain. He becomes frustrated when the yokels rebel against his rather tame experiments trying to prove that coal dust is what is causing most of their lung problems. As a result, he and his wife (Rosalind Russell) head for London, where the popular thinking is more modern. There he runs into Rex Harrison, a doctor who is catering to the rich set and their many imaginary illnesses. It's lucrative work, but Russell becomes discouraged over her husband's abandonment of his principles. He comes to his senses and saves a child ballet prodigy, only to be accused of assisting an unlicensed doctor. He, however, wins his case and seems to be back on track to be the responsible physician he once was.As I indicated, Robert Donat is excellent here; quite a shame that his acting career was cut short due to his illness. While important to the story, Rosalind Russell's stint here as the wife is clearly secondary; this is Donat's film from beginning to end; nevertheless, she does well. A key player here, who does not get enough screen time, is the wonderful Ralph Richardson as another small town doctor who maintains his principles throughout. Rex Harrison is just right for his part.There was really only one criticism I had of the film -- the ending. I often think films end too abruptly, and this is one of those. With just a few minutes more we could have been treated to "a year later" where he is working hard at a progressive clinic for real sick people. With something like that, I might have considered an "8" for the film, but instead I'll give it a very strong "7".

A.J. Cronin's book "The Citadel" was adapted for a 1938 film starring Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison, and Emlyn Williams, directed by King Vidor.Donat plays Andrew, a young, idealistic new doctor who goes to work in a small Welsh mining town, where he marries a pretty schoolteacher, Christine (Rosalind Russell). Many of the miners have a persistent cough, and he becomes interested in finding the cause. But the miners have little understanding of the big picture and just want the "pink medicine" the old doctor gave them, which just helped their symptoms.Thwarted at every turn, Andrew and Christine move to London, where Andrew opens a practice. Then he has a change of fortune when he runs into an old friend (Rex Harrison) who gets him on the society doctor track, where he gets big money for treating hypochondriacal patients and by merely being present while a surgery is being performed, or taking a referral.A beautiful movie with the underrated Donat turning in a wonderful performance of quiet intensity. Russell's expressions say more than her words - you know exactly how she's feeling. Ralph Richardson -- was he ever bad? - plays Andrew's old friend Denny, who notices the change in Andrew's goals.A.J. Cronin was one of the authors whose novels were often adapted for film in the old days: "The Spanish Gardener," "The Green Years,", "Keys of the Kingdom," "Bright Victory," "Vigil in the Night," and others. Some of his stories involve medicine/science and sacrifice/dedication. Those books made for some inspiring films in the '30s and '40s.

I thought Robert Donat's portrayal of Andrew Manson, a doctor at first thrilled by the act of healing and then later seduced by the easy money for caring for very wealthy - but more lonely and obsessed than sick - patients was superb. Rosalind Russell at first seemed like an unlikely choice for the female lead as Manson's wife, but she does a first-rate job and makes me believe that she is this quiet yet individualistic Welsh schoolmarm who falls for and marries the young doctor. Their courtship is touching, and the reason for the doctor's proposal to her makes for an awkward but sweet scene between the two. Ralph Richardson, in the years before he was given to largely playing various shades of scoundrel, is here the voice of medical ethics, bawdy though that voice may be.The film's larger storyline was far from original, and you can pretty much see what direction the plot is going to take at each juncture as the film is neatly subdivided into three parts. I was therefore quite surprised to discover it was Oscar-nominated for its screenplay. I'd recommend this one mainly to watch the outstanding performances of Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Richardson early in their careers as well as a very young Rex Harrison playing a rather devilish doctor in a supporting role.

Donat was never better, and the supporting cast is excellent all the way with no false notes. The period and its concerns and constraints are captured perfectly. This is the kind of philosophical statement movies that did well in the 30's and 40's but later became a lost art. This is worth seeing by young and old alike.