1942 film by Anthony Mann
Dr. Broadway is a 1942 American mystery film directed by Anthony Mann (as his directorial debut) and written by Borden Chase and Art Arthur. The film stars Macdonald Carey, Jean Phillips, Eduardo Ciannelli, Richard Lane, J. Carrol Naish, Joan Woodbury and Arthur Loft. The film was released on May 9, 1942, by Paramount Pictures.[1][2]
Plot
After foiling a phony suicide attempt by Connie Madigan, an aspiring actress seeking publicity by stepping onto a ledge, Dr. Tim Kane, who practices medicine in the Broadway district of New York City, vouches for her to keep Connie from being arrested and hires her as his assistant.
Doc is warned by his Broadway cronies about gangster Vic Telli being released from prison. Doc's testimony had put Vic behind bars. Vic turns up, but impressed by Doc's honesty, says he is dying and asks Doc to find his long-missing daughter, Margie Dove, so he can bequeath her his fortune.
Vic ends up dead with rival racketeer Jack Venner trying to get his money, assisted by a woman pretending to be Margie. In the end, Doc's life is saved by Connie going back out onto the ledge, tossing a shoe at the people below. The police nab the villain and Doc helps Connie back inside, but not before kissing her.
Production
Mann agreed to direct the film on the encouragement of Preston Sturges who worked with Mann on Sullivan's Travels. Sturges said Mann should direct any film he could if the opportunity came up. Mann later said of the film "I think it had some good things in it. I remember very warmly the cameraman, an oldtimer name of Spatkuhl, who had done many films for UFA and Lubitsch, and he was a great help. Nobody else cared a damn about the picture. They said: ‘Don’t build sets; don’t do anything. You have to get finished in i8 days and, if you don’t, the cameras are taken from you and OUT’."[3]
