Soul of the Slums (DVD)

Jerry Harris serves seven years for a crime he didn't commit and leaves prison obsessed with a single thought - to murder Jim Blake, the gangster who framed him. Jerry finds himself at the Friendship Mission, run by the virtuous Brother Jacob. The trust of Brother Jacob and the love of Blake's former girlfriend Molly are healing influences that help Jerry shed his bitterness. But there are bumps on his road to redemption, like the ruthless owner of a neighboring flophouse and his efforts to destroy Brother Jacob's mission.

A Depression-era drama of breadline saints and sinners, Soul of the Slums is itself "redeemed" by its colorful assortment of players: popular silent movie leading man William Collier, Jr. as Jerry; beautiful Blanche Mehaffey (of Devil Monster infamy) as his girl; James Bradbury, Jr. (Mark of the Vampire) in the comic role of a mute pickpocket; and perennial Laurel & Hardy nemesis Walter Long as the rival flophouse owner who gets the psalm-singing Friendship Mission residents a step closer to Heaven - by blowing the building sky-high!

• drama