Nora Prentiss - The Singer
Then … After a long day in the clinic Dr. Talbot prepares to leave for home. Through the window the lights of the Bay Bridge trace out its upper and lower roadways as they traverse the massive concrete anchorage at the center of the span. Also prominent - the Ferry Building Clock Tower on the waterfront.
… and Now, For the above studio shot the window view was most likely a painting of the bridge as seen from an apartment building on the 1300 block of Jones Street, the only area in town where the relative lateral positions of the bridge anchorage and the Ferry Building would match the movie view. Here for example is today’s view looking down Clay Street from 1310 Jones, apt. 1201. The ferry building is behind the Embarcadero Center high-rises but a close approximation of its position is indicated by the superimposed icon.
In 1961 … This vintage photo taken from Powell Street lower down the hill on Clay Street captured a good view of the bridge anchorage and the Ferry Buiding tower, closer in but similar to the movie view before the Financial District transformation. On a trivia note, the landmark brick building on the right at 965 Clay Street, designed by Julia Morgan in 1932, was for more than 50 years the Chinese YWCA. It was shuttered and renovated following significant damage in the 1989 earthquake; the current tenant, since 2001, is the Chinese Historical Society Museum.
Then … Stepping out of his clinic he is startled by screeching brakes and a scream from across the street. Note the Mei-Ling House restaurant next door at 777 Sutter Street; had he not had a meal awaiting him at home he may well have popped in to enjoy some chop suey, the Chinese dish of choice in those days.
… and Now, 777 Sutter became the home for 57 years of the pioneering top-notch French restaurant Fleur de Lys. It has been shuttered since 2014 but a fleur de lys emblem is still emblazoned on the awning. In 2017 a developer bought the property and has filed plans to build a 26 story ‘skinny tower’ housing 36 apartments. For shame!
Then … He rushes across Sutter to help. The neon-signage of the Sutter-Jones drugstore announce its presence on the corner.
… and Now, it’s been almost 80 years but today’s view up Jones is almost completely unchanged, with one major exception: the absence of the O'Farrell, Jones & Hyde cable car tracks. The line was shut down and abandoned in 1954, seven years after this scene was filmed. The streetcar tracks crossing in the foreground along Sutter are also long gone.
Then … A van driver has hit a pedestrian - he jumps out and rushes to her. This corner location has Warner Brothers backlot written all over it!
… and Now, here’s the real-world corner with Cafe Bean at 800 Sutter Street in place of the movie’s fictitious Central Drug Co.
She isn’t too badly injured, a bruised knee, so he takes her up to his clinic where a dab of an appropriate lotion seems to do the trick. They chat, she somewhat sassy and he, to her amusement, stern and proper.
Then … She tells him her name is Norah Prentiss and she’s a nightclub singer. She lives “at the Golden Gate Apartments down the street on the other side from the clinic” so the chivalrous doctor accompanies her to make sure she arrives safely. They seem to be heading towards the brightly lit entrance opposite.
… and Now, that building is the Lucerne Apartments at 766 Sutter (there was no Golden Gate Apartments in this neighborhood).
Then … This closer look at the apartment entrance as they arrive is puzzling. What's clear is that this too is a studio backlot location. What’s not clear is why the filmmakers went to great lengths to duplicate most of the architectural details of the Lucerne Apartments entrance, even its steps, but abruptly cut off the two windows on the right side (compared to the Then image above.) What’s more, the car parked in front doesn’t match and the exterior lamp is higher up. This kind of continuity goof is unusual, even in low budget noirs.
… and Now, the entrance today. It matches the movie’s wide shot.
As they part she playfully apologizes for being “fresh” with him; by now he’s mellowed a little and doesn’t seem to mind.