The Silver Screen Oasis

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Just a few minutes ago I did a post about how I never warmed up to Herbert Marshall because he always played such a wet noodle, now the main reason I like this movie is because of Robert Donat.

Donat is equally a wet noodle, but I think the difference is Marshall is a big man and seems to be well built, whereas Donat is a slight fellow with barely any meat on his bones, let alone any muscle. In The Citadel he is a doctor trying to make the people, and city officials clean up the area where the miners work and live, and naturally gets laughed at for it. Roz Russell is his wife, tirelessly assisting him and working in his lab looking for the cause of the illness most of the people fall prey to. Even when Donat stands up to his detractors you can almost see him shivering in his skin. His character is very similar to that of him in Goodbye Mr. Chips, another role he excelled in.

The time he changed out of the 'wet noodle' character, he went full speed forward in Perfect Strangers, a really cute comedy with Deborah Kerr as his wife, where both of them go into the British army during WWII and return completely changed people, from ugly ducklings to beautiful swans. He was extraordinary as the Mandarin who was a friendly foe to Ingrid Bergman in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness.

I do recommend The Citadel however, if it is re-run, not because it is so great, but Donat's performance is worth watching.
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Robert Donat is great in my book. My two favorites are GOODBYE MR. CHIPS and THE CITADEL. Every month a few friends who are film buffs get together in somebody's home theater (I lust for that place, but that's another story) and we take turns picking the films. The last time it was my turn I picked those two and as they say, a great time was had by all.