The Citadel

Idealistic young Dr. Andrew Manson (Robert Donat) is just beginning his career. He is looking for a balance between fair working conditions and being able to properly take care of his patients. After quitting his initial job in Wales as an assistant to Dr. Page (Basil Gill) due to the unfair working conditions set by Dr. Page's tyrannical wife (Dylis Davies), Manson gets a job working as the doctor for the local mine. Quickly, Manson notices that many of the miners have a persistent cough which had been treated by the previous doctor with "pink medicine". Suspecting that the cough has something to do with the mining conditions, Manson decides to investigate. Without the support of the local hospital, Manson, with the urging and support of his equally idealistic schoolteacher wife, Christine (Rosalind Russell), opens a research facility in their home. Their research does determine that the silica dust from the mine is causing the miners' tuberculosis. However, many of the miners and the miner's board question the need for the research and want Manson to go back to solely prescribing the pink medicine for the cough. Disillusioned, Manson hastily quits and opens a practice in London. After an initial struggle, Manson, with advice from an old colleague, learns that a lucrative career can be had by treating the wealthy whose only medical problems are the want for attention. Money changes Manson's outlook, an outlook not supported by Christine. But a personal tragedy close to the Mansons caused by medical incompetence makes Manson reexamine the path he's chosen in London.