MASTERPIECE THEATRE: THE CITADEL, EPISODE 8 (TV)
Summary
One in this ongoing series of dramas presented under the title of "Masterpiece Theatre," hosted by Alistair Cooke. This is the eighth of ten episodes in this television adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel set in Great Britain during the 1920s. In this episode, Dr. Manson's principles are lost in a haze of easy money and illicit sex. Manson meets with the experimental American scientist Robert Stillman to discuss the physicist's unorthodox treatments for lung disorders. Manson is intrigued and happy to hear Stillman's plans for opening a sanitarium in London, but this enthusiasm stands in marked contrast to the the doctor's current attitude. Freddy Hamson has initiated Manson into a cozy fee-splitting arrangement with himself and doctors Deedman and Ivory, and Manson takes on a lucrative consulting practice in the fashionable West End, dispensing placebos to wealthy hypochondriacs. Christine is dismayed by her husband's transformation into a social-climbing conspicuous consumer, and she retreats to her home village to examine her feelings. In her absence, Manson begins an affair with the posh Frances Lawrence. Meanwhile, Con Boland visits Manson with news of his daughter's tuberculosis, and Manson promises to help his old friend. Manson ends things with Frances after Christine's return, but he is still irritable with his wife, and becomes furious when he discovers she has consulted Dr. Denny about their marital problems. When Manson refers a man to Dr. Ivory for a cyst operation, the surgeon proves grossly incompetent, killing the patient with pathetic bungling. Manson is shocked into a realization about the kind of doctor he now associates with and the kind of doctor he has become.
This program contains a segment titled "Masterpiece Foot Notes: Charleston," a dance routine featuring Gary and Lori Pierce. The Pierces dance in period costumes.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1997.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WGBH Boston, MA
- DATE: January 8, 1984 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:55:26
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T86:1275
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Dance; Drama; Medicine - Drama; Physicians - Drama
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1971-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- For "The Citadel":
- Joan Wilson … Producer, For "Masterpiece Theatre"
- Ken Riddington … Producer
- Alan Charlesworth … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Ian Brindle … Production (Misc.), Production Associate
- Mike Vardy … Director
- A. J. Cronin … Writer, Based on the novel by
- Don Shaw … Writer, Dramatised by
- Michael Stuckey … Composer
- Alistair Cooke … Host
- Ben Cross … Cast, Andrew Manson
- Clare Higgins … Cast, Christine Manson
- Gareth Thomas … Cast, Philip Denny
- Du Sautoy, Carmen … Cast, Frances Lawrence
- Michael Cochrane … Cast, Freddy Hamson
- David Gwillim … Cast, David Hope
- John Nettleton … Cast, Charles Ivory
- Don Fellows … Cast, Robert Stillman, Cast, Con Boland
- Nicholas Day … Cast, Paul Deedman
- Avril Elgar … Cast, Nurse Sharp
- Elizabeth Bradley … Cast, Mrs. Vidler
- Susan Porrett … Cast, Mrs. Cramb
- Joan Scott … Cast, Miss Basden
- For "Masterpiece Foot Notes: Charleston"
- Aida Moreno … Producer
- Philip Gay … Director
- Gary Pierce … Dancer
- Lori Pierce … Dancer