After getting a severe beating for singing in a saloon, the young Jakie Rabinowitz leaves home vowing never to return. His father, cantor at his synagogue, had wanted Jakie to follow him as a cantor and is heartbroken as a result. Jakie gets his big break when stage star Mary Dale hears him sing. He makes a career for himself and after many years on the road gets his chance to perform in a Broadway revue. His return home is bittersweet: his mother is overjoyed to see him but his father asks him to leave. When Cantor Rabinowitz falls seriously ill, Jakie is asked to sing in the synagogue but it conflicts with his big opening night on Broadway, forcing him to choose between his career and his family obligations.—garykmcd