Twenty-four hours in the lives of the inhabitants of a New York tenement during a heatwave. The film takes place on one street as colorful characters come and go, interacting with one another and commenting on their various dramas. Wonderful Pre-Code film. Screen debut of Beulah Bondi, who pretty much owns the movie. Also a good showcase for lovely Sylvia Sidney. The rest of the excellent cast includes David Landau, Estelle Taylor, and John Qualen (also his film debut). It was based on a play, which is fairly obvious when viewing. That isn't to say its stagy, however. King Vidor does a magnificent job pacing things and keeping the camera moving so that you're never bored. The set is amazing, especially when the camera pans out and you see how much work they put into making it authentic. About as good as it gets as far as movies of this type go. One of the best of the many adaptations of plays made during the early sound era, a lot of which were often talky and have aged badly.