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Midwestern melodrama stars Rooney as the boy from the other side of the tracks whose only family is his shell-shocked WW I vet father, who is also the town drunkard. Rooney gets into dozens of fights over his old man with the other kids (and scornful teachers who treat him like trash) until a new schoolteacher (Nagel) comes to town and takes an interest in the boy. Soon the father reforms and gets a job driving a milk truck, giving some hope for the future. But then tragedy strikes when Rooney's father is killed by farmers as he tries to break the picket line during a strike. All ends well when the incident spurs the end of the strike and Nagel adopts Rooney. Sappy.