A Man to Remember
Encyclopedia
A Man to Remember is a 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 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
.
) 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.
(TCM) premiered six films produced by Merian C. Cooper
at RKO which had been out of distribution for more than 50 years. (A retired RKO executive stated in an interview used as a promo on TCM for the premiere that Cooper did allow the films to be shown in 1955-1956 in a limited re-release and only in New York City
.) According to TCM host Robert Osborne
, Cooper agreed to a legal settlement in 1946, after accusing RKO of not giving him all the money due him from his producer's contract in the 1930s. The settlement gave Cooper complete ownership of six titles: Rafter Romance
(1933), Double Harness
(1933), The Right to Romance (1933), One Man's Journey
(1933), Living on Love (1937), and this film. When TCM bought the RKO film library in 1987, the six films were not included and the rights had to be purchased separately.
The original copies of the film's negative were destroyed due to negligence. The only known surviving copy is a 35mm, original nitrate print
with Dutch
subtitles, which was restored by TCM.
In 2000, it was preserved by the Netherlands Film Museum.
as one of the top ten best films of 1938. Times film critic Frank S. Nugent 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."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin was a prolific American writer and director of plays and films.-Film and stage career:...
, 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 Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
. The story tells of a saintly small town doctor working under difficult circumstances somewhere in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The movie is a remake of One Man's Journey
One Man's Journey
One Man's Journey was a 2005 documentary series on PBS, featuring the canoe travels of naturalist and filmmaker Robert Perkins.-References:-External links:...
(1933) starring Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
.
Plot
Under the grieving eyes of most of a town, the funeral procession of Doctor John Abbott (Edward EllisEdward Ellis (actor)
Edward Mayne Ellis was an American film actor. He is best known for playing the title role in The Thin Man, as well as in A Man to Remember.-Early life:...
) 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
Frank M. Thomas
Frank Marion Thomas , was an American actor on the stage, screen and television.Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Jesse and Virginia Thomas, he first appeared on Broadway in 1914. Thomas also played many supporting roles in films from the 1930s through the 1970s...
) 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
Lee Bowman
Lee Bowman was an American film and television actor.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bowman graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1936 and began his film career playing a bit part in Swing High, Swing Low .His many film appearances include A Man to Remember , Love Affair , Third...
) after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. 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
William Henry (actor)
William Albert Henry was an American actor working in Hollywood movies. He started as a child actor, then was a hero in B-movies , and ended his career as a character actor. He also appeared in various roles on episodes of many TV series. He was a member of the John Ford Stock Company and...
) 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
Gilbert Emery
Gilbert Emery was the stage name of Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle, an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945.- Early years :...
) 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
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
(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.
Cast
- Anne Shirley as Jean
- Edward Ellis as John Abbott
- Lee BowmanLee BowmanLee Bowman was an American film and television actor.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bowman graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1936 and began his film career playing a bit part in Swing High, Swing Low .His many film appearances include A Man to Remember , Love Affair , Third...
as Dick Abbott - William HenryWilliam Henry (actor)William Albert Henry was an American actor working in Hollywood movies. He started as a child actor, then was a hero in B-movies , and ended his career as a character actor. He also appeared in various roles on episodes of many TV series. He was a member of the John Ford Stock Company and...
as Howard Sykes - Granville Bates as George Sykes
- Harlan Briggs as Homer Ramsey
- Frank M. ThomasFrank M. ThomasFrank Marion Thomas , was an American actor on the stage, screen and television.Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Jesse and Virginia Thomas, he first appeared on Broadway in 1914. Thomas also played many supporting roles in films from the 1930s through the 1970s...
as Jode Harkness - Charles Halton as Perkins
- John Wray as Johnson
- Gilbert EmeryGilbert EmeryGilbert Emery was the stage name of Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle, an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945.- Early years :...
as Dr. Robinson - Dickie Jones as Dick Abbott, as a child
- Carole Leete as Jean, as a child
- Joe De Stefani as Jorgensen
Background
In April 2007, Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
(TCM) premiered six films produced by Merian C. Cooper
Merian C. Cooper
Merian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, and film director and producer. His most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong.-Early life:...
at RKO which had been out of distribution for more than 50 years. (A retired RKO executive stated in an interview used as a promo on TCM for the premiere that Cooper did allow the films to be shown in 1955-1956 in a limited re-release and only in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.) According to TCM host Robert Osborne
Robert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
, Cooper agreed to a legal settlement in 1946, after accusing RKO of not giving him all the money due him from his producer's contract in the 1930s. The settlement gave Cooper complete ownership of six titles: Rafter Romance
Rafter Romance
Rafter Romance is a 1933 RKO romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter. The film, which was based on the novel of the same name by John Wells, stars Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster and features George Sidney, Laura Hope Crews, Guinn Williams and Robert Benchley.-Plot:Mary Carroll is a...
(1933), Double Harness
Double Harness
Double Harness is a film starring Ann Harding and William Powell. It was based on the play of the same name by Edward Poor Montgomery. A young woman maneuvers a lazy playboy into marrying her....
(1933), The Right to Romance (1933), One Man's Journey
One Man's Journey
One Man's Journey was a 2005 documentary series on PBS, featuring the canoe travels of naturalist and filmmaker Robert Perkins.-References:-External links:...
(1933), Living on Love (1937), and this film. When TCM bought the RKO film library in 1987, the six films were not included and the rights had to be purchased separately.
The original copies of the film's negative were destroyed due to negligence. The only known surviving copy is a 35mm, original nitrate print
Nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it is also known as guncotton...
with Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
subtitles, which was restored by TCM.
In 2000, it was preserved by the Netherlands Film Museum.
Critical reception
The film was well received. In fact, it was named by The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as one of the top ten best films of 1938. Times film critic Frank S. Nugent 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."
External links
- A Man to Remember film clips at Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...