Jim Donovan (Richard Dix) is a two-bit mob leader in New York during the 1920s. When another mobster, Ben Murray (Richard Alexander) is killed in a gunfight between rival gangs, Donovan takes it upon himself to raise his son, Midge Murray (Jackie Cooper). When Donovan seeks the advice of the parish priest on how to raise an adolescent boy, the priest, Father Dan (Frank Sheridan), enlists the services of his niece, Kitty Costello (Marion Shilling). When she directs Donovan to get honest work, he agrees, and she gets him a job at the ironworks where she is also employed. He is slowly transformed by the effect that both Midge and Kitty have on him. He also falls in love with Kitty.
Things are going well until the government gets involved, and Midge is taken away from Donovan and sent to a house of correction. Donovan is devastated and loses his mind, declaring war on the authorities. However, Kitty has not given up on him, and gets him to calm down, by working out a deal with the authorities (due to her own personal standing in the community) where Midge will be returned to him if he keeps his nose clean for several months.
The romance between Kitty and Donovan further blossoms over the course of the next couple of months, as Donovan looks forward to the return of Midge. However, one day as he is visiting Midge, Kitty is robbed of $5,000 which she was transporting from the ironworks to the bank. The police, suspecting the worst, arrest Donovan. He escapes from police custody and tracks down the actual culprits who perpetrated the robbery, who happen to be his old gang. He recovers the money, but in the process is seriously wounded in a gunfight.
Donovan manages to return the stolen funds to the police before collapsing. While in the hospital, he and Kitty declare their love for one another, and he is promised that Midge will join them shortly.
Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times did not enjoy the film, stating it was "a trifle too wearying for anybody more than sixteen.[4] Other reviews of the time were a bit more generous. Screenland stated it was "A potent underworld drama with Richard Dix and Jackie Cooper giving great performances.[5] The National Board of Review Magazine said the film was "Not so well directed as the silent version made years ago under the title of Big Brother, but the extraordinary acting of Jackie Cooper as the boy makes it well worth seeing."[6] The Motion Picture Herald also gave it a favorable review.[7]
International Photographer also had praise for the film especially for Dix and Cooper, of the latter saying, "... in his first screen appearance following Skippy. In the present instance the youngster's opportunities if anything are greater than in the former."[9]
