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'''A Man to Remember''' is an American drama film released in 1938, and directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as director.^[1] The picture was based on the novel ''The Failure'', written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by the future blacklisted author Dalton Trumbo.
Until recently, the film had not been seen for many years, because, in 1946, the rights to this film and five other RKO titles were transferred to Merian C. Cooper, former RKO executive. The deal was to settle a lawsuit filed against RKO by Cooper, who claimed that RKO still owed him money on his contract from the 1930s. According to an April 2007 Turner Classic Movies interview with a retired RKO executive, Cooper allowed the six movies to be shown in 1955-56 only in very brief runs and only in New York City.
The picture stars Anne Shirley, Edward Ellis, Lee Bowman, and others.
The movie is a remake of ''One Man's Journey'' (1933) starring Lionel Barrymore.
The story tells of a progressive humanitarian small town doctor working under difficult circumstances in a rural area somewhere in the United States after World War I.

Contents

Plot

Background

Critical reception

Cast

Footnotes

External links

Plot

The film is told in flashback from the vantage point right after Doctor John Abbott's (Edward Ellis) funeral.
After the funeral, the local banker, the newspaper editor and a store owner open Dr. Abbott's strong box at a lawyer's office hoping to be repaid money owed them and the flashbacks begin as they peruse Dr. Abbott's paperwork and show the following:
:how he arrives into Westport (at an unnamed state) with his son Dick (Lee Bowman) after World War I and, after borrowing money and signing a promisory note, he continues to practice his medical profession;
:how he helps give birth to Jean (Anne Shirley) to a mother who dies soon after and his adoption of her when her father abandons her;
:how he deals with is son, also a doctor, who is more interested in money than in helping people. This hurts him deeply, but he never shares this with his son;
:how he accepts food as payment from the poor a lot of the time;
:how he prevents a polio epidemic, which he discovered and many though was wrong, and how he performs incredibly;
:and, how he helps his patients for two decades, often without much pay. Even the wealthy do not want to pay him much and their greed is a major metaphor in the film.
Near the end of the film he's recognized for his humanitarian work by the community and his son sees the light and agrees to join Dr. Abbott in his small medical practice. This brings a sense of calmness to Dr. Abbott and his daughter.
Yet, he peacefully dies of a sudden heart attack.
The community will not forget Doctor John Abbott due to how much he's helped his family and his fellow man all of his life.

Background

The original copies of the film's negative were destroyed due to negligence.
The only surviving copy of ''A Man To Remember'' is a 35mm, original nitrate print with Dutch subtitles which was restored by Turner Classic Movies which now owns the rights and has screened the film on cable beginning in April 2007.
Originally, when TCM bought the RKO film library in 1987 ''A Man to Remember'' and five other films -- owned by Merian C. Cooper -- were not included in the sale.^[2]
In 2000 it was preserved by the Netherlands Filmmuseum.

Critical reception

The film was well received. In fact, it was named by ''The New York Times'' as one of the top ten best films of 1938.
Critic Frank S. Nugent liked the film. He wrote, "Our admiration for ''A Man to Remember'' is so ungrudgingly complete...a picture of this one's competence so looms out of all proportion to its physical size."^[3]

Cast

★ Anne Shirley as Jean

★ Edward Ellis as John Abbott

★ Lee Bowman as Dick Abbott

★ William Henry as Howard Sykes

★ Granville Bates as George Sykes

★ Harlan Briggs as Homer Ramsey

★ Frank M. Thomas as Jode Harkness

★ Charles Halton as Perkins

★ John Wray as Johnson

★ Gilbert Emery as Dr. Robinson

★ Dickie Jones as Dick Abbott, as a child

★ Carole Leete as Jean, as a child

★ Joe De Stefani as Jorgensen

Footnotes

1. ''A Man to Remember'' at the Internet Movie Database.
2. King, Susan. ''Los Angeles Times'', "Six films return to the RKO fold," April 1, 2007.
3. Nugent, Frank S. ''The New York Times'', film review, November 7, 1938.

External links

★ ''A Man to Remember'' at Turner Classic Movies. (Includes film clip.)