The film’s protagonist is a child of the Lower East Side who has grown into a notori­ous gang leader. His ‘regeneration’ occurs when a social worker teaches him to read, yet his brutal past re­mains a part of him through his friendship with a murderous hunchback–with ultimately tragic results.

Thought lost, but miraculously rediscovered in the 1970s, this is the first feature from Raoul Walsh (previously an assistant director to D.W. Griffith). A quintessential and authentic New York City film that used real sex workers, gangsters, and homeless people as extras in the drama.