In a cramped Bronx tenement during the Great Depression, a working-class Jewish family copes with financial hardship even as they dream of a brighter future. Matriarch Bessie Berger's fierce determination keeps her family afloat, whatever the cost. Gritty, passionate, funny and heartbreaking, Odets' 1935 masterpiece beautifully captures both the hopes and the struggles of an unforgettable American family.