Side Street (1929 film)

Plot

The film chronicles the exploits of three Irish brothers. Jimmy is a cop, John is an emergency room doctor, and Dennis, as far as his family is aware of, is a very wealthy businessman, even having paid for John to go to medical school. Their parents, Nora and Tom, are very proud of all three sons. Jimmy is promoted on the police force, and begins the investigation of a murder involving the infamous Muller gang.

As this crime drama unfolds, the viewer is introduced to Dennis's other life. In reality he is a powerful racketeer and bootlegger, but he keeps his two personas separate in order to protect his family from any consequences of his criminal activity. However, when Jimmy's fiancé, Kathleen Doyle, attends a party thrown by Muller at one of his houses. During the party, she inadvertently learns that Silk is a killer hired by Muller, who was responsible for the murder her fiancé is investigating.

Meanwhile, John goes out on an emergency call to care for a man who has been injured in a drunken brawl. While he is treating the injured man, he accidentally discovers that Muller is none other than his brother, Dennis. When Kathleen meets Jimmy and tells him about her discovery, unbeknownst to them, she is overheard by one of Muller's gang, who then plots with the other gang members to ambush and kill Jimmy.

On Thanksgiving, Dennis realizes his cover has been blown, and he realizes his brother, Jimmy, is in danger. He and John rush off to warn Jimmy, but as they arrive at the ambush, Dennis saves his brother, but gets shot by his own men instead. He dies in the arms of both of his brothers, who later tell their parents that he has gone off on another one of his mysterious journeys, perhaps this time for good.

Cast