Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee - Campbell Playhouse "The Citadel" (1-21-40)

The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.

THIS EPISODE:
Andrew Manson, a young, enthusiastic doctor takes his first job in a Welsh mining town, and begins to wonder at the persistent cough many of the miners have. When his attempts to prove its cause are thwarted, he moves to London. His new practice does badly. But when a friend shows him how to make a lucrative practice from rich hypochondriacs, it will take a great shock to show him what the truth of being a doctor really is. January 21, 1940. CBS net. "The Citadel". Sponsored by: Campbell's Soup. A. J. Cronin (author), Edgar Barrier, Ernest Chappell (announcer), Everett Sloane, George Coulouris, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Orson Welles (host), Ray Collins (narrator). 53 minutes.