Movie

The Citadel

1938 · 110 min

A sincere, slow-burning moral drama that traces a doctor's compromises with quiet tension and emotional weight.

Directed by: King Vidor
Genres: Drama, Romance
Starring: Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson

Tagline: Secrets of a doctor as told by a doctor!
Overview: Young, idealistic, newly qualified Scottish doctor Andrew Manson arrives in Wales and takes his first job in a mining town, and begins to wonder at the persistent cough many of the miners have. When his attempts to prove its cause are thwarted, he moves to London. His new practice does poorly, but when a friend shows him how to make a lucrative practice from rich hypochondriacs, it will take a great shock to show him what the truth of being a doctor really is.

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Directed by: King Vidor
Genres: Drama, Romance
Starring: Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: earneststrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 1 of 3
romanticstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: morality
ambition
corruption
class
redemption
Places: small town
big city
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: None
Content intensity: Gore none
Language none
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	2
Horror	1
Humour	2
Realism	8
Romance	4
Tension	4
Darkness	5
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	7

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Where to watch in the UK

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Details

Genres: drama, romance
Directed by: King Vidor
Written by: Frank Wead, Elizabeth Hill, Ian Dalrymple
Starring: Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison, Emlyn Williams, Penelope Dudley-Ward, Francis L. Sullivan, Mary Clare
Music: Louis Levy
Cinematography: Harry Stradling Sr.
Runtime: 110 min
Country: United Kingdom
Languages: English

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The Citadel

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