Evening star., 1938-12-02

narrative of the obstacles which cir
cumstance, unsympathetic public
officials and leading citizens. and
professional ethics strew in his
path.
In telling the story of DR.. John
Abbott, played with extraordinary
warmth of understanding by Ed
ward Ellis, R-K-O never deviated
from the simple spirit of the truly
unselfish man. 1t presents him as
humanitarian who is lost in
world that does not understand the
type. Even the poor who are his
patients turn to him because he
never says anything about his bills,
and is willing to accept payment in
the form of pigs, corn, or whatever
form of money substitute the mo-
ment happens to provide.
AS picture in the cycle of medi-
cine men whom Hollywood appar-
emily is going to portray, "A Man
to Remember" pulls few punches.
It's criticisms of limitations which
the profession would put upon men
of DR.. Abbotts type are handled by
implication but they are no less tell
ing for that reason. The main
character is presented in his op-
position to the customs of certain
group of his fellow practitioners
not merely in his casual attitude to-
ward money, but also in his cour.
ageous single-handed battle to jeop-
ardize the success of county fair
in order to prevent an epidemic of
infantile paralysis. He risks sus-
pension of his right to practice by
this action, but his courage is re-
Warded with hard-earned victory
just at the moment when discipline
by the county medical association
impends.
In his domestic affairs, as we'll
as in his daily effort to aid man.
kind, failure is the reward of DR..
Abbott over large part of his
career. His pride in life is his son,
lad for whom he makes endless
sacrifices of energy and money in
order that he may become a
neurologist. But the boy after his
education is completed, is the victim
of the system to which the parent
never could adjust himself. The
young doctor requires experience be-
yond the example of his father to
learn that being we'll dressed, having
a new automobile and a swank
office is not indispensable to success
in fulfilling the Hippocratic oath.
The vicissitudes which beset the
elder physician are not always pa
thetic and evidences of failure. Some
of them are highly humorous. Among
them are the payment of a note at
the bank in the form of a pig and
a bag of corn, the acquisition of
hospital through a refined form of
blackmail of the towns tough
banker, and his final will and testa-
ment. The last is odd, but see for
yourself
The determination behind the de-
sire to accomplish good in the world
finally brings the doctor his Just
reward in an ending that may strike
the cynical as over r-sentimentalized
The story, however, builds logically
to such an ending.
Apart from Mr.. Ellis, others in
the cast who will be found accom-
plishing some sincerely good por-
traits of smalltoWn characters are
Ann Shirley as the waif who grew
into his beautiful, understanding
ward; Granville Bates as the skim
flint banker, Frank M. Thomas as
an equivocating editor, Lee Bowman
as the younger DR.. Abbott.
There is no occasion to regret the
absence of stars in "A Man to Re-
member" The quality of the story
and the direction of Carson Wanin
have taken excellent care of that.
The new feature is supplemented
by Walt Disney's Ferdinand, the
Bull" held over from last week and
likely to survive still longer if merit
determines such things.