Based on a novel by Roberto Arit, this classic tale of one man's continual frustration in trying to work his way up through an unsympathetic system has all the usual elements but is still quite effective. Silvio Astier (Julio de Grazia) comes from hard-working Italian immigrant stock, but his socially upper-crust love-interest is not impressed and leaves him -- his family does not measure up to her economic standards. Down, but not out for the count, Silvio enlists for officer training and although he is at first accepted, he loses his chance when he is bumped by someone else of less ability but more social status. By now, Silvio's frustration with his misfortune is increasing, so when he gets a job in a bookstore run by an eccentric Italian family, he makes some serious mistakes -- mistakes which only multiply through his subsequent bad decisions. Once this downward spiral has begun, it is all the more difficult to recuperate his eroding self-esteem and correct his transgressions.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi