HATTER'S CASTLE

James Mason

HATTER'S CASTLE (aka A, J. Cronin's Hatter's Castle/1942). Director: Lance Comfort.

James Brodie (Robert Newton of Obsession) owns a hat shop in a small British township and not only has pretensions but an alleged connection to the peerage. The huge house he has built and can hardly afford to keep is called "Hatter's Castle" by the townspeople. Brodie takes out his anger on his dying wife (Beatrice Varley) and pretty daughter, Mary (Deborah Kerr of The Night of the Iguana), but reserves his only affection for his young son, Angus (Tony Bateman), on whom he pins his hopes. The hypocritical Brodie turns his daughter out when she becomes pregnant by his slimy clerk, Dennis (Emlyn Williams), but keeps a mistress, Nancy (Enid Stamp-Taylor), in town, whom he later hires as his housekeeper! This is Newton's picture -- James Mason [Caught] has a relatively small role as a doctor who ministers to Mrs. Brodie and falls in love with Mary despite everything that happens. Mason is excellent, as is everyone else in the cast, with Newton giving an especially strong and flavorful performance (although one could argue that at times Newton threatens to turn into a caricature of a palm-rubbing silent movie villain  -- and the movie certainly has elements of silent melodrama). Based on a novel by A. J. Cronin, Hatter's Castle is an absorbing film full of dramatic and moving incident; it moves fast and plays very well.

Verdict: Superior British melodrama with a gripping Newton, lovely Kerr and stalwart Mason. ***.

THE CITADEL

THE CITADEL. (1938) Director: King Vidor.

A doctor tries to do the noble, idealistic thing and help his patients -- poor coal miners who have developed tuberculosis from dust in the mines, among others -- but when his efforts are angrily rejected (to put it mildly) he eventually settles for ministering to wealthy, neurotic hypochondriacs until a tragedy sets him back on course. A glossy, professional, well-acted, workmanlike effort that gets across the basic ideas of the original novel by A.J. Cronin, but to 21st century eyes presents a somewhat artificial elucidation of its theme. It ends on a rather abrupt note after an excellent closing speech by Donat. King Vidor's direction is solid, Donat is strong, Russell, fortunately, more subdued than usual -- it's all just a little pat and superficial. Still, there are some very well-handled scenes, such as when Donat saves a baby's life, and breezily and dismissively chit chats with a kindly restaurant owner who is trying desperately to interest him in the illness of her beloved daughter.

Verdict: Not great but not without interest. **1/2.