The stifling oppression of poverty and the tragedy born from it is the subject of this mature film from King Vidor. Based on Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning play this Samuel Goldwyn-produced film starring a young Sylvia Sidney is full of insight and maturity.

Though the entire film takes place on the steps of a tenement in New York where getting out is only a dream, only the first 15 minutes or so give evidence of its stage origins. Director Vidor, one of the greats who was always innovative, uses photographer George Barnes' camera and a fine early score — very early — from Alfred Newman to give the viewer a real feel for lives being led in sometimes quiet, and sometimes not so quiet, desperation. Soon you are lost in their world and begin to understand that much of what happens is simply born of poverty and having nowhere else to turn.

Much of the film consists of dialog between neighbors living in cramped and hot quarters. There are Jews and Germans and Irish, Rice's words and Vidor's direction letting their lives unfold through the street scene in front of their building during a scorching summer. A fire hydrant may offer some relief to the small children in the street but it will take more than water to cool down others.

At the center of everything is Mrs. Murrant (Estelle Taylor) and her daughter Rose (Sylvia Sidney). Taylor gives an excellent performance as a woman reaching out for any happiness she can find in the slums. Her husband, and Rose's father, provides food and shelter but is so caught up in his own unhappiness that he has no love or tenderness left to give.

Only trying to get more from life than just looking after someone else will lead the lonely mother of Rose into the other arms. Her actions are not lost on the other women in the building, especially the snide Mrs. Jones. Neither is it lost on her son Willie's friends. When Rose's father begins to suspect, tragedy cannot be far behind.

Sylvia underplays her Rose with sincerity and maturity. She sees both sides and understands that it is their environment which is at the heart of all their problems. She herself is loved by a young Jewish boy whose mother likes Rose but knows his focus on getting out falters whenever she is near. Rose will grow up in an instant, when her life and that of her brother Willie's will change forever.

There are some quietly powerful scenes in this talky but rewarding drama from the very early days of sound film. Rose attempting to cross the street while a young newsboy tries to get her to purchase his last paper, not knowing the sensational headline touches her personally, is quite moving. It is still a powerful scene as an ambulance pulls away from Rose, taking with it her youth in these slums.

There is a rich and mature ending with Vidor's camera following Rose toward the New York skyline of the time, offering hope, and perhaps a future born from tragedy. What begins as a somewhat dated early talkie eventually becomes a moving and touching film of real substance for those with patience.

King Vidor is all-too-often neglected when the subject of great directors comes up, but his body of work, spanning silent and sound pictures, proves he was a director who could handle even the most sensitive material and create something memorable. Beware of shortened and/or censored prints of this one. ( )