Hearts of Humanity (1932)

Genial Irish NYC policeman Tom O'Hara is looking forward to the arrival of his wife and their young son, Shandy from Ireland. Several days before the ship is to dock, O'Hara gets a ... See full summary »

Director:

Christy Cabanne

Writers:

Edward T. Lowe Jr. (additional story, adaptation and dialogue), Olga Printzlau (story)

Stars:

Jean Hersholt, Jackie Searl, J. Farrell MacDonald

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean Hersholt	...	Sol Bloom
Jackie Searl	...	Shandy O'Hara
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Tom O'Hara
Claudia Dell	...	Ruth Sneider
Charles Delaney	...	Tom Varney
Lucille La Verne	...	Mrs. Sneider
Richard Wallace	...	Joey Bloom (as Dick Wallace)
George Humbert	...	Tony
Betty Jane Graham	...	Hilda
John Vosburgh	...	Dave Haller
Tom McGuire	...	Mr. Wells

Storyline

Genial Irish NYC policeman Tom O'Hara is looking forward to the arrival of his wife and their young son, Shandy from Ireland. Several days before the ship is to dock, O'Hara gets a radiogram informing him that his wife has died at sea. That night a burglar breaks into the Antigue & Second Hand Shop ran by Sol Bloom, directly below O'Hara's flat. The burglar shoots O'Hara, who has rushed to his friend's aid, and, with his last breath he asks Sol to take care of Shandy. When Shandy arrives, Sol immediately makes him a member of the family, which also consists of a very mischievous motherless boy named Joey Bloom, whose pursuits consist of stealing oranges from fruit-dealer Tony, and playing hookey from school. Tom Varney, the young beat cop, is in love with Ruth Sneider, whose mother runs a Cleaning and Dyeling establishment. Ruth, however, is momentarily dazed with worthless Dave Haller, whose flashy clothes and snappy car indicates easy money. Shandy likes to visit Dave's apartment ...

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Plot Keywords:

burglar | money | radio | irish | policeman | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Umanità

Company Credits

Production Co:

Majestic Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

56 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Thought provoking low budget tolerance about tolerance and understanding.

You find kindness in strange places, and for orphaned Irish lad Jackie Searle it's with a Jewish antique dealer (Jean Hersholt). A very religious man who practices what he has learned through much study, Hersholt is a friend of the Irish cop who is killed when Hersholt's shop is robbed. He must then break the news to young Searle who is then taken in by him. At first, Hersholt's own son wants nothing to do with his adopted brother and even steals from him, but Searle refuses to snitch on him. He even goes as far as to take the blame from taking money from the till to protect him. The adopted brother sells Searle's prized harp, which Searle steals so he can enter a talent contest to win $10 to put back in the till. Afterwards, Searle turns himself into the police for stealing the harp back, then faints with pneumonia. The ending is a moral tale for all three people involved and is presented directly without maudlin emotions.

This is a rare example of a poverty row studio film (Majestic Pictures) that is surprisingly good. Some of the sequences appear to be actually on location in New York, with the photography seeming to be more real than stock footage used in similar films. Hersholt is really good, playing a man whom, like himself, was a great humanitarian and looked in men's souls, not their religious background. Searle's accent is a little off-putting and unlike any Irish accent I've ever heard. J. Farrell MacDonald is really good in the small role of Searle's dad, while Richard Wallace is a precursor to the Bowery Boys as Hersholt's son who will obviously head down a wrong path unless he realizes the error of his ways. Lucille La Verne is instantly recognizable as one of the locals. Fortunately, this has been released on DVD through the major distributor of public domain films (Oldies Video) and is listed as having been on VHS.