and development The screenplay was adapted from Scalpel, an unpublished novel by Horace McCoy, to which Hal Wallis bought the rights for Paramount Pictures for $100,000 in 1951, by McCoy and Irving Wallace after Columbia acquired the rights in 1953. It mirrored the plot of the 1938 British film The Citadel closely enough for one reference work to call it "the poor man's version" of that film. The film's trailer promoted it as an exposé of "ghost surgeons" in the contemporary medical profession, the practice of a doctor misrepresenting himself to a patient and taking credit for surgery performed by someone else. The practice was a topic much discussed and condemned at the time. The American College of Surgeons condemned the practice in 1951. Reception Writing in The New York Times, Howard Thompson called the film "erratic" and recapped its plot as a "romanticized endorsement of the Hippocratic Oath, as opposed to cash in the bank". He nevertheless allowed that the film had merits: "the lacquered, carefully engineered proceedings have their persuasive aspects". He singled out "bits and snatches" of the dialogue and the acting of all but the two leads. He preferred the plot of the doctor's career choice dilemma to the romance of the title: "The hero's liaison with the tippling, muddle-headed Miss Scott takes up a good, pointless third of the footage." TV Guide calls it a "real bore" that "may be dangerous to your health", says Heston "has never been stiffer or more self-righteous", but that "[s]ome excellent character actors are totally wasted in this film". Others have complained that the film's title misrepresents it. Turner Classic Movies calls it "obscure and forgotten". References External links 1953 films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Irving Rapper Films set in Pittsburgh Columbia Pictures films 1953 romantic drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films