His People

Directed by Edward Sloman and produced by Carl Laemmle at Universal, this silent drama tells the story of a poor Russian-Jewish pushcart peddler on New York's Lower East Side and his two sons. The elder son, Morris, ashamed of his immigrant roots, wants to become a lawyer and assimilate into American society. The younger son, Sammy, secretly becomes a prizefighter under the name "Battling Rooney" to help support the family. When the father falls ill and Morris denies his own parent at an engagement party, Sammy denounces his brother and drags him home. The film was praised for its sympathetic and detailed portrayal of Jewish immigrant life, and was a major commercial success, reportedly grossing $3 million. As a work published before 1930, the film is in the public domain in the United States.