A Doctor's Diary is told through the eyes of Dr. Dan Norris (John Trent), resident physician in a private hospital. In his search for a cure for spinal meningitis, Norris recklessly runs roughshod over the feelings of his colleagues. The doctor's older, wiser supervisor, Dr. Clem Driscoll (George Bancroft), tries to curb Norris' impatience, pointing out that nothing takes place overnight. Angrily, Norris accuses Driscoll of malpractice and is forced to resign from the clinic -- just when a meningitis epidemic breaks out.

A father leaves his native Ireland and travels to America to visit the son he hasn't heard from in many years.

Dr. MacAuley, a kindly, beloved country doctor, is sent to Fillmore Prison. His crime was for removing a bullet from a young man who was escaping from the police.

A woman screenwriter lives in a shabby bungalow in order to be near her husband, a 39-year-old newspaper editor who has just joined the army.

A gangster takes a doctor and his family hostage.

Anne Crandall is the mayor of a small town in Vermont. Her deceased husband had been the mayor for years and when he died, she was left to carry on and to raise his daughter from his first marriage. She lives with the daughter, her father-in-law and a housekeeper. In the town square, there was a statue of her late husband and every year since his death, they have an anniversary celebration there. This year during a thunderstorm, the statue is hit by lightning and the head falls off. The daughter insists that a new statue be erected instead of patching the old one. Mayor Crandall is sent to New York to interview the prospective sculptor, George Corday.