A Man to Remember
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| A Man to Remember | |
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 Title-screen |
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| Directed by | Garson Kanin |
| Produced by | Robert Sisk |
| Written by | Dalton Trumbo Katharine Haviland-Taylor (story) |
| Starring | Anne Shirley Edward Ellis Lee Bowman |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Cinematography | J. Roy Hunt |
| Editing by | Jack Hively |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 14, 1938 |
| Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $120,000 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
A Man to Remember is a (1938) American drama film directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as a director. The picture was based on the novel The Failure, written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by the future blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo. The story tells of a saintly small town doctor working under difficult circumstances somewhere in the United States after World War I. The movie is a remake of One Man's Journey (1933) starring Lionel Barrymore.[1]
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.
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[edit] Plot
Under the grieving eyes of most of a town, the funeral procession of Doctor John Abbott (Edward Ellis) passes a lawyer's office. The lawyer opens Abbott's strongbox for the deceased man's impatient creditors, local banker George Sykes (Granville Bates), newspaper editor Jode Harkness (Frank M. Thomas) and store owner Homer Ramsey (Harlan Briggs). Flashbacks begin as they peruse Dr. Abbott's papers.
Widow Dr. Abbott arrives in Westport with his son Dick (Lee Bowman) after World War I. He borrows money in order to set up his medical practice. He delivers a healthy baby, Jean (Anne Shirley), but the mother dies. When her father does not want her, the doctor adopts the child.
Later, Ramsey tries to collect what he is owed from Abbott, only to find that Abbott has a hefty $100 bill for him for a life-saving operation. When Ramsey complains about the amount, the good-natured doctor settles for a mere $2.
As time goes on, Dr. Abbott seeks to convince the town leaders of the need for a hospital. Sykes, Harkness, and Ramsey refuse to consider it. However, when Sykes's son Howard (William Henry) accidentally shoots Jean in the arm, the doctor informs Sykes that he is required by law to report all gunshot wounds. Sykes is blackmailed into building the hospital and donating it to the town to avoid the legal problems. However, Dr. Abbott finds that Sykes has spitefully stipulated that only doctors who have had graduate studies within the last twenty years can register, and he is turned away.
Meanwhile, Dick goes to Paris to train to become a doctor. When he graduates and returns to Westport, he tells his father that he is going into partnership with Dr. Robinson (Gilbert Emery) because he is more interested in making money than in helping people. This hurts the father deeply, but he never shares this with his son.
When Abbott fears that an outbreak of infantile paralysis (polio) among the children is imminent, he tries to get an upcoming county fair canceled. However, Sykes and Ramsey refuse his request. They phone Jode Harkness to get him to refuse to publish Abbott's urgent warning. Undaunted, the doctor has handbills printed and distributed by some young boys. He and Jean then visit all the children in Westport. This is brought to the attention of the county medical association, which votes to suspend him. Dick defends his father and resigns in protest. Then, Abbott is proved right. An epidemic erupts everywhere...except Westport. The association reverses itself and elects him its president.
Abbott is finally recognized for his humanitarian work by the community. His son sees the light and agrees to join Abbott's small medical practice. However, after Dick and Jean leave, he dies peacefully in his sleep. Returning to the present, Harkness, Sykes, and Ramsey finally acknowledge the goodness of the man who had been a thorn in their sides for so long.
[edit] 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 Film Museum.
[edit] 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
[edit] 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]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Hal Erickson. A Man to Remember Plot Synopsis. All Movie Guide. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
- ^ King, Susan. Los Angeles Times, "Six films return to the RKO fold," April 1, 2007.
- ^ Nugent, Frank S. The New York Times, film review, November 7, 1938.
[edit] External links
- A Man to Remember at the Internet Movie Database
- A Man to Remember at Allmovie
- A Man to Remember at the TCM Movie Database
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