No Place to Go 1939

Andrew Plummer, Fred Stone, is a former soldier and boxer living contentedly in a home for veterans. When his son, Dennis Morgan as Joe Plummer, recently promoted at work, invites him to move in with his wife, Trudie, Joe writes a letter implying his father could help at his job but fears that his presence would be a burden if the invitation weren’t officially extended. The plan rests on a notion that Andrew might be content to stay put, since there is a long waiting list at the veterans home and a return would be delayed for years.

Once at Joe’s house, Andrew’s good-natured but intrusive personality begins to fray nerves among the household staff, and his daughter-in-law starts to grow weary of the constant presence. As the days pass, Andrew learns that Joe doesn’t truly need his father’s help and that his own schedule has plenty of open hours. While out on a walk, he befriends Sonny Bupp as Tommy, a young orphan shoeshine who lives with his Uncle Frank. He also encounters a cluster of elderly men in the park who mention the Hays Home for Aged Gentlemen—a place where you pay $500 and they take care of you for life.

Tommy casually mentions the stack of nearly a thousand dollars tucked away in Andrew’s chest to his Uncle, a detail that becomes the axis of hidden trouble. Meanwhile, Andrew overhears Trudie talking to Joe about the embarrassment his father’s living arrangement has caused in front of friends. This pushes him to reconsider his future and he makes up his mind to move into the Hays Home. When he goes to claim his $500, the money is missing, and he confronts Tommy, who insists he didn’t take it. Undeterred, Andrew gathers his new friends from the Hays Home to confront Uncle Frank and recover the missing funds.

The story unfolds with a blend of humor and pathos as the community he finds through the Hays Home offers a different kind of support and solidarity. In a final turn of fate, Andrew and Tommy become members of the Hays Home, choosing a communal path that replaces the earlier friction with a shared sense of belonging.