Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      The Citadel

      Released Nov 3, 1938 1h 52m Drama List
      89% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 72% Audience Score 250+ Ratings Andrew Manson (Robert Donat), an idealistic young doctor, takes up a new post in a Welsh mining town where his curiosity is roused by a persistent cough in his mining patients. His investigation leads him to believe the mine is contributing to the aggravation of tuberculosis among the men. When he reveals his findings and proposes treatment, he finds opposition from not only the mine's owners but the miners themselves. Sensing his inefficacy, Manson moves to London in search of a purpose. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Jun 22 Buy Now

      Where to Watch

      The Citadel

      Fandango at Home

      Rent The Citadel on Fandango at Home, or buy it on Fandango at Home.

      Critics Reviews

      View All (9) Critics Reviews
      Walter Goodman New York Times ... still has considerable punch despite the placebo of a plot. Jan 10, 2018 Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Reader Though it has Vidor's favorite theme of personal rebirth and his enduring country/city dichotomy, it lacks his usual fire. Jan 31, 2012 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Picture is studded with many brilliantly human and dramatic sequences. Jan 31, 2012 Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine Altogether, this is one of the season's most interesting films. Jul 24, 2019 Full Review TV Guide A gripping portrait of both idealism and its disillusionment. Rated: 4.5/5 Jan 31, 2012 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com With the exception of compromised ending, King Vidor's film is a good version of Cronin's novel, well acted by Robert Donat as the doctor and the the rest of the cast, including Rosalind Russell and Rex Harrison. Rated: B- Mar 7, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (25) audience reviews
      Audience Member The Citadel is a fine and inspirational film about a dedicated young doctor and the hardships he has to overcome to see his destiny and move to fulfill it. A lot of the same ground was covered before in Arrowsmith and would be covered again in Not As A Stranger and then in over a dozen or more medical drama shows on television. Stories about medicine and its practice is a genre we will never tire of. Robert Donat plays the idealistic young doctor who is assigned a number of positions in Great Britain and the story is how he deals with the various situations he encounters. Along the way he picks up a wife in the person of Rosalind Russell. For an American to review this film probably one should have a knowledge of the British health system and remember this would have been before the days of the current health system of socialized medicine. That system was put in before the post World War II Labour government changed things. One of his assignments is a coalmining area in Wales and Donat because of his own integrity and commitment manages to make a whole bunch of enemies and has to leave. His assignment is in what might be described as an HMO run by the coal miner's union. He starts doing research in a chronic cough he notices several of the miners have and upsets a whole lot of applecarts both with labor and management. He also isn't so easy with giving sick slips to malingering workers and they don't come to his defense. Not easy at times to be an idealist. For a while Donat takes an easy road in a wealthy sanitarium that caters to upper class hypochondriacs. Doctors Felix Aylmer and Rex Harrison are getting rich themselves off them. But eventually Donat finds his true calling in research. Rosalind Russell said that working with Donat was a pleasure, but the film itself wasn't. She and Director King Vidor were the only Americans in this film and she and Vidor took a lot of criticism for taking jobs away from British players. Not like she had anything to say about it, MGM loaned her out there. Still she did her job without a trace of a British accent. Besides Aylmer and Harrison other noteworthy British players in the cast are Emlyn Williams and Francis L. Sullivan. Williams is one of the local union heads and Sullivan is a blustering boorish lout of a miner who leads the opposition to Donat's research. All of them do fine jobs and Harrison got his first real notice by American audiences in his role. Because for two generations we Americans have been awash with medical dramas all these situations seem all to familiar to us. That's a jaded point of view. The Citadel is a fine drama and worth seeing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review ashley h The Citadel is a decent film. It is about an enthusiastic young doctor who happily embarks on his career. Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. King Vidor did an alright job directing. I liked this motion picture because of the drama. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review william d An excellent movie about an idealistic young doctor who loses his way, although I'll admit the plot device to get him back on track was pretty contrived. That didn't stop me from enjoying it though. Robert Donat is such a fine actor, it's a shame his health prevented him from making more movies. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Having recently read this classic British novel, I was keen to watch this movie version starring the great Robert Donat and magical Rosalind Russell. Directed by King Vidor, the story tells of a young, idealistic doctor who begins to practice medicine in a small, Welsh mining village. We follow his trials and tribulations as he battles against ignorance, tradition and ineptitude from both patients and his own professional colleagues. Gradually, he becomes disillusioned and makes the move to London where he becomes caught up in the disreputable world of high society doctors for whom image and money are more important than professionalism and scientific method. Based on the hugely influential book by AJ Cronin, which helped to inspire the formation of the NHS, the movie is a bit of a curate's egg. The first parts of the movie set in Wales stick closely to the book and whips rapidly through the key moments and incidences giving a good insight into the state of general practice in the UK in the post World War I period. However, once the action moves to London, the story departs, in some places radically, from the novel and, for me at any rate, suffers because of this. I can understand some editing of the novel would be needed for reasons of timing but the choices seem strange to me. It is also interesting from a historical point to note that a minor, but important character has her nationality changed from the German of the novel to the more acceptable Italian for the cinema audience in Britain of 1938. Clearly, at the time, any German lady running a delicatessen in London must have been a Nazi spy! Despite the quibbles over the second part of the film, this is still a worthwhile movie and has some great stalwarts of British acting including Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison, Athene Seyler, Bernard Miles and Angela Baddeley. In fact part of the attraction of an old movie like these is spotting how many faces you recognise from TV of the 1960s and 70s. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review steve d Powerful acting carries the film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Frances H Good rendering of one of my favorite A.J. Cronin books. A few differences from the novel, but films always do that and the main message is preserved in the film version. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/06/20 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      90% 81% Boys Town 100% 76% David Copperfield 82% 89% Random Harvest 40% % Camille 93% 84% Mrs. Miniver Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Photos

      View All The Citadel photos

      The Citadel

      The Citadel (1938) The Citadel (1938) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Andrew Manson (Robert Donat), an idealistic young doctor, takes up a new post in a Welsh mining town where his curiosity is roused by a persistent cough in his mining patients. His investigation leads him to believe the mine is contributing to the aggravation of tuberculosis among the men. When he reveals his findings and proposes treatment, he finds opposition from not only the mine's owners but the miners themselves. Sensing his inefficacy, Manson moves to London in search of a purpose.
      Director
      King Vidor
      Screenwriter
      A.J. Cronin
      Distributor
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Production Co
      Metro Goldwyn Mayer
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Nov 3, 1938, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jun 22, 2009
      Runtime
      1h 52m
      Most Popular at Home Now