Charles 'Chic" Sale is an apparently well off businessman, Arthur Wilson, who is not that well off. He has been embezzling from his investors to buy his wife the things that she wants - nice vacations, a nice home, etc. When he comes home from work one day he is greeted by two of these investors who inform him that they audited his books while he was on vacation and have discovered his crime. They demand that he write them a check for the 9000 dollars remaining in his account or they will call the police. That doesn't help, because the police show up ten minutes after they leave and arrest Arthur anyways. On top of that, before his arrest, he finds a note from his wife saying that she is leaving him because of the scandal. The only being on this earth that is on his side is his dog, who wants to play. Scared and depressed, he shoves the dog away but immediately feels remorse and hugs the dog, "Buster", telling him he is his only friend.
After his arrest, Buster is left on his own. Nobody comes to check on him, feed him, or take him in. He sits loyally on the front porch for days, signified by the piling up newspapers, wondering where his master is. He hears the sound of whistling, thinks it is his master, and this sends him out into the hard cruel world. He finds some people that like him - some rich drunks, another homeless dog, some immigrant kids. But in the case of the humans, something - not enough food for the human family, the dislike of the lady of the house etc., keeps him homeless. In the case of his dog friend - well let's just say Depression era America was cruel enough to poor people, just imagine what it was like for dogs.
And then Arthur Wilson gets out of prison after only six months. Like Buster, though, he has no place in the world. Arthur remembers the dog's loyalty and goes looking for him, homeless himself. Arthur's life parallels Buster's to a good degree. He looks more and more like the tramp he is with each passing day, getting dirtier with his clothes becoming ragged. Will these two ever find each other in this cruel Depression era world that has no use for either of them? Watch and find out.
There is very little speech in this film, and with just a camera the film manages to capture the soul of man's best friend. Animals have it great if their master is doing well materially, but if they are cast out into the world, there is no law that protects them from violence and starvation, at least not in 1933. I'd recommend this one for its uniqueness and early sentimental look on film at the bond between man and dog. Just have some Kleenex nearby.
