Arthur O'Connell is a lawyer who can't get a case because he doesn't have experience having cases. So he joins the probation department and becomes an advocate for keeping kids out of the system. This annoys everyone in the department, and judges, but his compassionate stance works and wins him a promotion.
With success comes something to lose, and when his daughter -- played by Nancy Malone -- is making her boyfriend -- played by Fred Beir -- wait, he braces O'Connell for a business loan. O'Connell says it's too much money, and he doesn't understand, so Beir goes elsewhere, and eventually indulges in a pyramid scheme.
It's a feature based on the book and radio by Israel Beckhardt about the emigration system, and it's a heartfelt and well-meaning movie, with O'Connell quite believable as a Jew. Unfortunately, whoever did the screenplay (Ernest Pendrell?) seems to have never met a Jew in his life, and the direction is awful. Miss Malone plays her role by alternating whining and shouting, and the dramatic tension in the situations seem a bit off.
