Based on the story Night Bell by Fannie Hurst,[1] the film concerns the rise of a Jewish physician from humble roots to the top of his profession and the social costs of losing his connection with his community, his family and with the craft of healing.

Felix '"Felixel" Klauber, a brilliant young man from a tight-knit Jewish family living in New York City's Lower East Side ghetto, becomes a physician, as he has wanted to do since childhood, eventually establishing himself as a Park Avenue doctor catering to the wealthy after working his way up from being a doctor at a Lower East Side clinic.

Felix's success causes him to become estranged from both his family and the community back in the old neighborhood, including his childhood friend Jessica, who has been disabled with a spine malady since she was young girl.

The film incorporates newsreel footage with recreations of the Lower East Side to provide a sense of verisimilitude.

Movie critic Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times gave the film a positive review: It elicits steady attention during its every second...