City Streets

Little Tommy Francis Devlin accidentally hit baseball through the window of "Uncle" Joe Carmine, a beloved retailer in New York City's lower class. When the girl of the neighborhood girl Winnie Brady dies, Joe convinces Ryan's father to let him adopt her informally. Joe and Winnie live together with Tommy and his grandmother, Mrs. Devlin, and a dog that Winnie calls Muriel. Winnie is confined to a wheelchair, so Joe takes her to Dr. Thompson who says only Dr. Ferenc Waller, a recent European emigrant, can help her. Waller, however, will only work for a fee of $ 3,000, so Joe sells his store to enable the operation. Dr. Waller is affected by only a small change in her condition, and Winnie can't stand for more than a few moments. Meanwhile, Joe tries to sell fruit on the street corner, and one night during a storm he goes to buy Winnie a birthday cake. During his absence, a welfare investigator takes Winnie away and places her in an orphanage. Joe becomes a popular visitor to the orphanage, but the warden tells him that it is in Winnie's best interest to interrupt her visits so she can be adopted by another family. Hoping that Winnie will receive a family that can afford proper treatment, Joe tells her that he is bored, but that she is so haunted by her crying that she collapses on the street. Joe's illness can only be overcome if he regains his will to live and Father Ryan forcibly takes Winnie out of the orphanage. He is so scared that Joe might die so he goes to the room next to his bed and sings his favorite song "Santa Maria". Later, after Winnie has made full use of her legs, Joe buys a catering truck and takes the kids on a picnic.