King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, humane, and sympathetic depiction of contemporary social issues. Considered an auteur director, Vidor approached multiple genres and allowed the subject matter to determine the style, often pressing the limits of film-making conventions.
Archibald Joseph Cronin, known as A. J. Cronin, was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is The Citadel (1937), about a Scottish physician who serves in a Welsh mining village before achieving success in London, where he becomes disillusioned about the venality and incompetence of some doctors. Cronin knew both areas, as a medical inspector of mines and as a physician in Harley Street. The book exposed unfairness and malpractice in British medicine and helped to inspire the National Health Service.
The Crowd is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor and starring James Murray, Eleanor Boardman and Bert Roach. The feature film was nominated at the first Academy Award presentation in 1929 for several awards, including Unique and Artistic Production for MGM and Best Director for Vidor.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 romantic drama film starring Robert Donat, Greer Garson and directed by Sam Wood Based on the 1934 novella of the same name by James Hilton, the film is about Mr. Chipping, a beloved aged school teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school, who recalls his career and his personal life over the decades. Produced for the British division of MGM at Denham Studios, the film was dedicated to Irving Thalberg, who died on 14 September 1936. At the 12th Academy Awards, it was nominated for seven awards, including Best Picture, and Donat, for his performance as Mr. Chipping, won the award for Best Actor.
Perfect Strangers, is a 1945 British drama film made by London Films. It stars Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr as a married couple whose relationship is shaken by their service in the Second World War. The supporting cast includes Glynis Johns, Ann Todd and Roland Culver. It was produced and directed by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Clemence Dane and Anthony Pelissier based on a story by Clemence Dane. Dane won the Academy Award for Best Story. The music score was by Clifton Parker and the cinematography by Georges Périnal.
The Citadel is a novel by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1937, which was groundbreaking in its treatment of the contentious subject of medical ethics. It has been credited with laying the foundation in Britain for the introduction of the NHS a decade later.
The Citadel is a 1983 BBC television adaptation written by Don Shaw from A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel The Citadel. It was produced by Ken Riddington. The drama was directed by Peter Jefferies and Mike Vardy.
The Ghost Goes West is a 1935 British romantic comedy/fantasy film directed by René Clair and starring Robert Donat, Jean Parker, and Eugene Pallette. It was Clair's first English-language film. The story concerns an Old World ghost dealing with American materialism.
War and Peace is a 1956 epic historical drama film based on Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel of the same name. It is directed and co-written by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti for Paramount Pictures. The film stars Audrey Hepburn as Natasha, Henry Fonda as Pierre, and Mel Ferrer as Andrei, along with Vittorio Gassman, Herbert Lom, Oskar Homolka, Anita Ekberg in one of her first breakthrough roles, Helmut Dantine, Barry Jones, Anna Maria Ferrero, Milly Vitale and Jeremy Brett. The musical score was composed by Nino Rota and conducted by Franco Ferrara.
H. M. Pulham, Esq. is a 1941 American drama film directed by King Vidor and starring Hedy Lamarr, Robert Young, and Ruth Hussey. Based on the novel H. M. Pulham, Esq. by John P. Marquand, the film is about a middle-aged businessman who has lived a conservative life according to the routine conventions of society, but who still remembers the beautiful young woman who once brought him out of his shell. Vidor co-wrote the screenplay with his wife, Elizabeth Hill Vidor. The film features an early uncredited appearance by Ava Gardner. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.
Hatter's Castle is a 1942 British film noir based on the 1931 novel Hatter's Castle by A. J. Cronin, which dramatizes the ruin that befalls a Scottish hatter set on recapturing his imagined lost nobility. The film was made by Paramount British Pictures and stars Robert Newton, Deborah Kerr, James Mason, and Emlyn Williams. It is believed to be the only film that depicts the Tay Bridge disaster.
La Cittadella is a 2003 Italian miniseries based on A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel, The Citadel, and produced by Titanus. It was directed by Fabrizio Costa and stars Massimo Ghini as Dr. Manson and Barbora Bobuľová as his wife, Christine. Other television versions include an American (1960), another Italian (1964), and two British adaptations.
The Citadel is a 1960 American television film adaptation of A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel The Citadel. It was written by Dale Wasserman and directed by Paul Bogart. It starred James Donald as Dr. Manson and Ann Blyth as Christine Barlow.
Victor Saville was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954. He also produced 36 films between 1923 and 1962.
La Cittadella is a 1964 Italian miniseries based on A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel, The Citadel, and produced by Radiotelevisione Italiana. It was directed by Anton Giulio Majano and stars Alberto Lupo as Dr. Manson and Anna Maria Guarnieri as his wife, Christine. Other television versions include an American (1960), another Italian (2003), and two British adaptations, 1960 and 1983.
The Citadel was a 1960 British television adaptation of A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel, The Citadel. The series was directed by John Frankau and produced by Peter Graham Scott. It starred Eric Lander as Dr. Andrew Manson, and Zena Walker as Christine, his wife. This television adaptation is entirely missing, i.e. all nine episodes are believed to be lost.
On an Island with You is a 1948 American musical Technicolor romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalbán, Cyd Charisse, Kathryn Beaumont and Jimmy Durante.
Cynara is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film about a British lawyer who pays a heavy price for an affair. It stars Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, and Phyllis Barry. It is based on the 1928 novel An Imperfect Lover by Robert Gore-Browne. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career. A text panel at the beginning of the film explains the title: “Inspired by Ernest Dowson's immortal lines—‘I have been faithful to thee, Cynara, in my fashion.” The poem in question, Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae, was first published in 1894.
Lightning Strikes Twice is a 1951 Warner Bros-produced crime melodrama starring Ruth Roman and Richard Todd, and directed by King Vidor.
Christine of the Hungry Heart is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Florence Vidor. It was produced by Thomas H. Ince and released through First National Pictures.
