Melodrama takes place after true drama chiefly because it aims to give a thrill rather than an edifying emotion. This more than ordinarily interesting Biograph picture uses the melodrama's privilege of playing to the gallery only in one scene, its climax, in which the hero, a rather slight lad, disposes of two burly gangsters who are armed. From the gallery's viewpoint and from the moralist's immediate viewpoint, this is a virtue. Aside from this, the picture is true enough to life to be instructive. It's a story of the slums and it is dramatic enough to be sure of success even if put on the stage in the old way. While not absolutely realistic, it shows far more truth than would be possible in a theater. It is as human as it is well acted. The boy is a physical coward because he has nothing in his stomach; but even then he is brave enough to return the lady's lost pocketbook. He gets a reward and a job too. The gangsters see the money and trail him home. Fortunately, they do not make the attempt to steal the money till he has had a good dinner and he knocks them down and ties them. The acting is remarkable, especially that of the girl who plays his little sister. Real street scenes with slum crowds passing unconsciously were used as background; nothing could be more realistic. The incident when the lady visiting the slums asks a little girl what she is going to put in the tin pail is delightful. Taking it as it comes, it is the most interesting picture this reviewer has seen since the patriotic releases just before the Fourth. - The Moving Picture World, July 29, 1911
