johno-21 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.

Michael_Elliott Man to Remember, A (1938) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Remake of One Man's Journey, which I watched a few days ago. This time Edward Ellis plays a country doctor who grows old and poor because of his kind heart, which won't allow him to turn away sick people even if they don't have the money to pay him. Garson Kanin directed the screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and it's pretty faithful to the original movie. The fact that it's too faithful is the only real problem with the picture because if you've seen the original then you know everything that's going to happen here. Other than that I'd say this version is somewhat better as the story is better laid out and there's a new opening and closing, which suits the story very well. Ellis is terrific in his role and brings a lot of class and warmth to his character.

MartinHafer RKO, Warner Brothers and several other studios remade many films during the 1930s--often less than a decade later. As a result, when watching one of these films, it's common to have a strong sense of déjà vu--realizing after a few minutes that you'd seen this before, but with different actors. As for me, I almost always score the remakes lower as they rarely improved upon the original idea and lack originality.This film is a remake of ONE MAN'S JOURNEY--which was also made by RKO just a few years earlier in 1933. I scored the original film a 7 on IMDb, as it was an exceptional film with fine acting by Lionel Barrymore and May Robson in the leads. This remake, while good, wasn't all that different and starred the relatively unknown actor, Edward Ellis. While Ellis was very good and seemed like a real doctor, he was hamstrung by the fact that Lionel Barrymore was such a wonderful and exceptional performer in the original--it just wasn't possible for him to outdo Barrymore. The biggest names in the film are Anne Shirley and Lee Bowman--neither which were exactly household names! They all did a competent job, but once again you can't help but compare them to the originals.There were a few plot changes, though nothing major. Ms. Shirley's role was expanded in this film and she did NOT return to live with her biological father like in the original and May Robson's wonderful part was eliminated (this was a BIG mistake). Additionally, Garson Kanin and Dalton Trumbo gave the film a strong Populist and anti-big business slant that was NOT in the original film. In the original, ALL the people of the small town tended to take the poor old doctor for granted, whereas here the average common man DID but the evil business men did not. Considering that both director Kanin and writer Trumbo were both later blacklisted in the 1950s for their leftist sentiments, this isn't all that surprising that they'd give this slant. This isn't criticism of their politics--just how flavored this screenplay. This slant didn't hurt the film much at all, but it did tend to portray the rich in a rather one-dimensional manner. On one hand, this made the film more important as a political and social statement, but on the other it totally changed the meaning behind the original film and lacked the sentimentality as well. Still, all in all, this is an entertaining little B-movie that is well worth your time. BUT, if you only want to see one version, I do recommend you see ONE MAN'S JOURNEY--it's just a bit better.A couple final notes. First, the only known surviving copy of the film was in a Dutch archive and has Dutch language subtitles. This isn't usually a problem and you soon don't notice this--except when letters are shown on the screen--they are in Dutch and TCM did NOT provide an interpretation of the writing! Second, a very odd and kind of creepy aspect of this film I didn't mention above is the relationship between Bowman and Shirley. They are step-brother and sister and late in the film, they seem VERY attracted towards each other. While this isn't technically incest, some might be creeped out by this!

Mike-764 Opening at the funeral of John Abbott, doctor of the small town, three men that Abbott owed money to are eager to wait for Abbott's assets to be distributed so they can reclaim their money. Abbott's effects however are a series of notes each with their own story to tell, such as a remittance for a doctor's fee for the birth of a baby girl, Jean, whom Abbott adopts, paid bills where the doctor provided everything he could for sacks of potatoes or a couple of dollars, as well as other memories of Abbott helping the town get their hospital, stopping a polio epidemic, sacrificing an advanced career in a more prosperous city, watching his son, Dick, following in his dad's footsteps, eventually taking over his practice, and more which make the men think that Dr. Abbott has paid his debts many times over. The film is a great slice of small town Americana that is very moving and brilliantly presented (by first time director Kanin). Edward Ellis in probably his only leading role is perfect even surpassing Lionel Barrymore's understated performance in an earlier version, One Man's Journey. Shirley and Bowman also lend fine support and a great mix of character actors play up the sentimentality of the film. Sad thing is the only surviving print is a Dutch subtitled version, but it is in good quality and it is a rare treat to watch. Rating, 9