I thought Robert Donat's portrayal of Andrew Manson, a doctor at first thrilled by the act of healing and then later seduced by the easy money for caring for very wealthy - but more lonely and obsessed than sick - patients was superb. Rosalind Russell at first seemed like an unlikely choice for the female lead as Manson's wife, but she does a first-rate job and makes me believe that she is this quiet yet individualistic Welsh schoolmarm who falls for and marries the young doctor. Their courtship is touching, and the reason for the doctor's proposal to her makes for an awkward but sweet scene between the two. Ralph Richardson, in the years before he was given to largely playing various shades of scoundrel, is here the voice of medical ethics, bawdy though that voice may be.
The film's larger storyline was far from original, and you can pretty much see what direction the plot is going to take at each juncture as the film is neatly subdivided into three parts. I was therefore quite surprised to discover it was Oscar-nominated for its screenplay. I'd recommend this one mainly to watch the outstanding performances of Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Richardson early in their careers as well as a very young Rex Harrison playing a rather devilish doctor in a supporting role.
The film's larger storyline was far from original, and you can pretty much see what direction the plot is going to take at each juncture as the film is neatly subdivided into three parts. I was therefore quite surprised to discover it was Oscar-nominated for its screenplay. I'd recommend this one mainly to watch the outstanding performances of Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Richardson early in their careers as well as a very young Rex Harrison playing a rather devilish doctor in a supporting role.