A Man to Remember (1938)

This is a great story that unfortunately many have not seen or even aware of its existence. When you view this movie remember it was made in 1938 in the middle of the great depression. how a person is willing to sacrifice for others and not expect much if anything in return. It is not so reflective of our modern times and thinking. The script is not unusual but the acting in my opinion is so honest. It is sad that the only version is a copy from the Netherlands. I do not see this movie listed in any rating for 1938. Is this because it was lost or am I just wrong. If you get a chance please watch and enjoy this great story of compassion.

I recently saw this on TCM and it was the first time I had seen this film. The only surviving print of this film was discovered in a vault in the Netherlands and was preserved by the Netherlands Film Museum so it is in it's original English language form but with Dutch subtitles. the credits are in Dutch also as are notes and letters shown in the film and the credits and notes and letters appear to be of the same age of the film so it appears that the studio added them themselves for Dutch distribution when the film first was released in 1938. There are no subtitles in English however for the notes and letters pertaining to the story that appear frequently during the film that the preservationists would have needed to add for English-speaking audiences. This is based on the Katherine Havilland-Taylor story "Failure" that was made into the the 1933 film "One Man's journey" with Lionell Barrymore in the lead role. In this version for it's Dutch audience it is translated as The Country Doctor. Garson Kanin who enjoyed a long career as a writer and director and was nominated three times for an Oscar for his screenplays makes his debut as director here. Although best-known for his screenplays, he didn't adapt this story for film. Instead, Dalton Trumbo who became one of the blacklisted "Hollywood 10" along with Kanin's brother Michael, turned in the screenplay. Proliffic B-Movie cinematographer J. Roy Hunt did a great job photographing this film. It has an all-B-Movie cast with Edward Ellis as Dr. John Abbot, Lee Bowman as his son Dick Abbott and Anne Shirley as Dr. Abbott's adopted daughter Jean in the principal roles. Dr. Abbott is a small town doctor whose patients are poor farmers, factory workers the the indigent and in his life he gets little respect from the more respected medical community and wealthier townspeople until late in his career when he saves the towns children from an infantile polio epidemic the would soon sweep the neighboring counties. It's a sentimental story and kind of sappy at times but it has its charm and Ellis is wonderful in the title role. A mildly disturbing sub story to the film is a developing romantic relationship between Dr. Abbott's son Dick who himself has gone on to become a doctor and Dick's adopted sister Jean that really doesn't seem to be necessary or even make sense to the film. It's strange and only seems to imply that they may have had a relationship back before they became adults. It's a fairly good film however and a slice of small town Americana of the 30's and worth a look. I would give it a 7.0 out of 10.

The movie of which this is a remake didn't impress me much. The remake is about even with the original, though maybe slightly better. We feel for the title character. He is a doctor who's down on his luck and tries to go home again. He gets home but the citizens toss him scraps. He becomes an essentially unpaid, under-appreciated doctor to the poor.The acting is pretty good. It held my attention. (Though, I must say, the Dutch titles, subtitles, and translations of every sign and letter were bizarre.) OK, now I wasn't there: However, Garson Kanin? Direxcting rural melodrama? I guess every director has to get a start. But this is light years away from his Hepburn and Tracy movies and from what he and wife Ruth Gordon wrote.The actor playing the doctor is kind of blank. I prefer his approach to the original film's actor's (naming no names.) But could a less congenial director have possibly been found than that bon vivant, Gason Kanin?

This is one of the great unheralded films...called movies in those days...of the century. I saw it the age of 10 and it remained clearly in my mind for 50 years. Now that IMDB has refreshed my memory with the names of the director (Garson Kanin) and screenwriter (Dalton Trumbo), I understand why it remains one of my favorites in the entire history of the cinema.