Originally scheduled to be the pilot of a television series, Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole introduces a woman doctor, played by Susan Hayward, in a busy Chicago borough. She's been in research for fifteen years, but after her husband dies, she seeks a change and dives headfirst into practicing medicine. With a tough-love boss, Darren McGavin, a sympathetic nurse, and a variety of patients and ailments, it had all the earmarks of being as successful as Marcus Welby, M.D.
Tragically, and more than ironically tied in with the title, Susan Hayward was discovered to have a brain tumor due to filming on a radioactive location fifteen years earlier for The Conqueror. This was her last screen performance before her death, and the studio decided, rather than replace her and continue with the television series, to just release it as a standalone film. It's very sad to watch this healthy-looking powerhouse actress playing a doctor, when she herself was seriously ill. If you love Susan Hayward as I do, you'll probably be torn between wanting to see her last film and finding the backstory too sad. I decided to watch it, because I've seen Jean Harlow's-my other favorite actress-last film Saratoga. She died during the filming and was replaced by a double to finish the film; there are some scenes where her character is coughing and in bed with a cold, but she was actually ill. If I could sit through that tragedy, I could sit through Susan Hayward's last film.
If you decide to watch it and can put the sadness out of your mind, there's a lot of great elements to the film. The acting is good, and the characters are all likable. As in hospital dramas, some people die and some people are cured, and you'll be on the edge of your seat whenever someone gets diagnosed. Susan plays in another tough, energetic, feminist role, which is a perfect end to her career, and a somewhat comforting way for her audiences to say goodbye.
