In this hammy melodrama from Warner Brothers and director Alfred E. Green, Italian immigrant "Mama" Teresa Lorenzo (Marjorie Rambeau) struggles to raise her son Joe on her own. Despite the hardship, she even agrees to adopt Joe's orphaned, homeless friend Nick. As the boys grow into men, Nick (William Lundigan) stays on the straight and narrow, graduating from college. Meanwhile, Joe (John Garfield) has fallen into a life of crime, which he keeps secret from Mama. When Joe returns home with new girlfriend Laurie (Brenda Marshall), the stage is set for conflict as Nick falls for the gal, too.
This is yet another substandard film that Garfield had to endure, and this one is further hampered by some bad acting and a cliche script. Rambeau is just terrible as the stereotypical "Mama", sporting one of the most exaggerated phony accents ever committed to celluloid. George Tobias, too,lays it on thick, but one expects that of his generally boisterous performances. Marshall makes for a bland leading lady, and I had a hard time figuring out why both guys went crazy over her.