Nora Prentiss - The Doctor
Then … Doctor Talbot lived in an upscale neighborhood with splendid views of the nearby Golden Gate Bridge. This is Seacliff at the northwest corner of San Francisco. The movie doesn’t make clear which specific house is his but the center one facing us below is 55 25th Avenue; above it Baker Beach stretches towards the bridge alongside the Golden Gate strait that separates San Francisco and the Marin headlands.
… and Now, 80 years later mature trees line the street but the houses are mostly unchanged.
Then … he never tires of admiring his view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The interior house scenes were filmed on a sound stage at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California; for this shot a rear projection was used to set the location.
… and Now, here’s that view today, taken at Baker Beach a short walk from the Seacliff homes.
Talbot and his family live a privileged life including the services of a maid. They don’t know it yet but their world will soon be turned upside down.
Then … The next morning he heads to work down Jones Street in Nob Hill behind the wheel of a swanky Buick Super Eight sedan. The store on the corner is the Sutter-Jones Pharmacy at 798 Sutter Street.
… and Now, The buildings along this block of Jones haven’t changed since the movie was filmed. The corner store is now a church providing a meeting place and religious services for Christian Scientists.
Here’s a recently-for-sale vintage 1941 Buick Eight Sedan, an elegant automobile most fitting for a successful professional like Doctor Talbot. Compare it to his in the Then images above and below, the only difference being the cool art deco flares at each end of the bumpers, absent on the movie car.
Then … He turns into Sutter Street, pulling over in front of his clinic. A much larger high-rise medical building can be seen way down Sutter on the left side - the 1929 art deco beauty at 450 Sutter.
… and Now, the Marriot Hotel was built next to it in 1972 and partially blocks 450 Sutter from here but the rear section can still be seen. It continues to be a prime address for medical, surgical and dental professionals.
Then … He enters the building housing his clinic.
… and Now, this is the Belgravia Apartments at 795 Sutter on the corner of Jones - in the real world there was no clinic here. (The next time the street cleaners pass by they would do well to clean their sign).
Here’s a 2023 photo of the Belgravia in all its stately grandeur.
Then … In the clinic Talbot examines Walter Bailey, a patient with a heart condition who later will figure prominently in the doctor’s unraveling.