A lot happens in this film, and that's a good thing. Though there are a few slower character-driven moments, most of it moves at a quick pace and there isn't much time to get bored. Not that we could ever get bored watching Ginger Rogers on screen. During this early phase of her career at RKO, the studio would put her into romantic comedy-dramas without her usual dancing partner Fred Astaire which helped broaden her appeal across genres and develop Rogers' versatility as an actress.
The story begins with top-billed Francis Lederer as a Czech immigrant who arrives at Ellis Island but is denied entry because he doesn't have enough money. Officials put him on a steamship back to Holland, where he will be rerouted to Prague...but as he glimpses the Statue of Liberty across the water, he decides that he can't leave. He dives off the side of the vessel, and is rescued by some men who pull him to safety along the shore. He loses what money he does have and winds up walking the streets, looking for food and shelter. This is when he crosses paths with Miss Rogers.
They have a low-key but memorable first encounter when she catches him stealing donuts and coffee in an outdoor area where she and a bunch of chorus girls are practicing their routines. She feels sorry for him and says maybe her brother (Jimmy Butler) can find him a job.
The brother is only 11, and he's a hard-working newsboy who often skips school. This causes trouble with social workers (Helen Ware and Eily Malyon) who get reports about the kid's truancy. We find out that Rogers is only 19 herself and is raising her brother, since both parents have died.
The brother bonds with Lederer and helps him get a job, and at the same time, we have Rogers hiding Lederer on the rooftop where he sleeps with a blanket and no modern conveniences. When it rains, he sneaks back inside and usually has his meals and showers at Rogers' apartment. It is the beginning of a solid friendship that gradually develops into more.
Most of the film concerns itself with the hardships faced by the three main characters and how they are occasionally helped by a friendly police officer (J. Farrell MacDonald). We see Rogers lose her job as a chorus girl; and we see Lederer take on work as a taxi cab driver, then face a setback when the cabbies go on strike. They seem to have difficulty getting ahead financially. Dialogue indicates just how severely the Depression is affecting them and their prospects for the future.
There is another huge setback when the social workers return and tell Rogers they've learned she has a man staying with her without the benefit of marriage. This leads to a court hearing where a judge (Oscar Apfel) decides it is in the boy's best interest to go to an orphans' asylum. The only way he'd be able to remain with Rogers, who is still unemployed, would be for her to marry a man who has a job.
Lederer is spurred into action. He returns to driving taxi, by going against the strike, which results in a violent altercation. He also speaks to MacDonald about what it would take to get a marriage license. And of course, he proposes to Rogers who says yes, she will marry him even though there is much uncertainty in their lives. One thing she's sure about is that she loves him as much as he loves her.
Of course, the writers are not quite ready to give us a happy ending...because Lederer is still an illegal immigrant and his naturalization process needs to be finished. The last part of the story involves a crooked lawyer (Arthur Hohl) who betrays Lederer and reports him to the authorities for deportation.
However, MacDonald and a desk sergeant (Sidney Toler) rally to the couple's aid with other men on the force, to help speed up the process of legalizing Lederer's stay in the country. There are amusing moments at the precinct where MacDonald calls in favors with higher-ups; the shyster lawyer is detained on exaggerated charges; a doctor arrives to vaccinate Lederer; a minister is summoned; and the couple is finally wed.
An interesting footnote here is that actor Francis Lederer would become an American citizen five years after this film was made.
The story begins with top-billed Francis Lederer as a Czech immigrant who arrives at Ellis Island but is denied entry because he doesn't have enough money. Officials put him on a steamship back to Holland, where he will be rerouted to Prague...but as he glimpses the Statue of Liberty across the water, he decides that he can't leave. He dives off the side of the vessel, and is rescued by some men who pull him to safety along the shore. He loses what money he does have and winds up walking the streets, looking for food and shelter. This is when he crosses paths with Miss Rogers.
They have a low-key but memorable first encounter when she catches him stealing donuts and coffee in an outdoor area where she and a bunch of chorus girls are practicing their routines. She feels sorry for him and says maybe her brother (Jimmy Butler) can find him a job.
The brother is only 11, and he's a hard-working newsboy who often skips school. This causes trouble with social workers (Helen Ware and Eily Malyon) who get reports about the kid's truancy. We find out that Rogers is only 19 herself and is raising her brother, since both parents have died.
The brother bonds with Lederer and helps him get a job, and at the same time, we have Rogers hiding Lederer on the rooftop where he sleeps with a blanket and no modern conveniences. When it rains, he sneaks back inside and usually has his meals and showers at Rogers' apartment. It is the beginning of a solid friendship that gradually develops into more.
Most of the film concerns itself with the hardships faced by the three main characters and how they are occasionally helped by a friendly police officer (J. Farrell MacDonald). We see Rogers lose her job as a chorus girl; and we see Lederer take on work as a taxi cab driver, then face a setback when the cabbies go on strike. They seem to have difficulty getting ahead financially. Dialogue indicates just how severely the Depression is affecting them and their prospects for the future.
There is another huge setback when the social workers return and tell Rogers they've learned she has a man staying with her without the benefit of marriage. This leads to a court hearing where a judge (Oscar Apfel) decides it is in the boy's best interest to go to an orphans' asylum. The only way he'd be able to remain with Rogers, who is still unemployed, would be for her to marry a man who has a job.
Lederer is spurred into action. He returns to driving taxi, by going against the strike, which results in a violent altercation. He also speaks to MacDonald about what it would take to get a marriage license. And of course, he proposes to Rogers who says yes, she will marry him even though there is much uncertainty in their lives. One thing she's sure about is that she loves him as much as he loves her.
Of course, the writers are not quite ready to give us a happy ending...because Lederer is still an illegal immigrant and his naturalization process needs to be finished. The last part of the story involves a crooked lawyer (Arthur Hohl) who betrays Lederer and reports him to the authorities for deportation.
However, MacDonald and a desk sergeant (Sidney Toler) rally to the couple's aid with other men on the force, to help speed up the process of legalizing Lederer's stay in the country. There are amusing moments at the precinct where MacDonald calls in favors with higher-ups; the shyster lawyer is detained on exaggerated charges; a doctor arrives to vaccinate Lederer; a minister is summoned; and the couple is finally wed.
An interesting footnote here is that actor Francis Lederer would become an American citizen five years after this film was made.