First half is pretty good with well paced, sharply observed scenes, courtesy of scenarist Lawrence Hazard and director Frank Borzage, of lower middle class tenement life and an unhappy marriage. But then the marriage falls apart and the movie has nowhere to go but into a dull relationship with the wife and a tug boat tycoon, plus a lot of union baiting that, while characteristic of MGM at the time, is not exactly guaranteed to light up the screen. Acting's ok, with the subsidiary players, in my opinion, outshining the two famous leads, especially Alan Curtis as the self pitying, resentful husband, Elizabeth Risdon as a beaten down house drudge and Leo Gorcey as the mother of all annoying Irish kid brothers. Give it a C plus. PS...Always thought Hester Street was Jewish, not Irish. Live and learn.