Daddy

Summary

In a stark tableau of early twentieth‑century America, the celebrated violinist Paul Savelli is shattered when his jealous wife abandons him, absconding with their infant son, Jackie, to the rustic Holdens—a pair of aging countryfolk who raise the child as their own after the mother’s untimely demise. The Holdens, once prosperous, are soon besieged by financial ruin; their homestead is auctioned, and desperation gnaws at the seams of their modest existence. Jackie, now a sprightly but impoverished youth, flees to the city in a bid to rescue his surrogate family, where he encounters a fallen virtuoso, a once‑renowned musician whose career has withered to obscurity. Meanwhile, Savelli’s own father, a former disciple of the same legendary maestro, returns from a globe‑spanning tour, his presence a catalyst for reconciliation. Jackie, with a blend of naïve courage and street‑wise ingenuity, orchestrates a reunion between the two aging artists. The elder’s death precipitates a poignant revelation: a portrait of Jackie’s mother unravels the truth that the boy is, in fact, Savelli’s son. The film culminates in a redemptive tableau as Savelli and Jackie repurchase the Holdens’ farm, restoring both lineage and land, and sealing a familial bond once thought irrevocably broken.

Synopsis

Unfounded jealousy causes the wife of Paul Savelli, a famous musician, to leave him taking their baby to her old friends the Holdens, who raise him after her untimely death. Poverty overtakes the Holdens and their home is sold. Jackie, to help them, runs away to the city and makes friends with a former celebrated musician who is down and out. Jackie's father, who was a pupil of the old musician, returns from a world tour. Jackie succeeds in bringing the two together, and when the old man dies, Savellle takes Jackie home with him. A picture of Jackie's mother brings out the fact that Jackie is Savelli's son, and all ends happily with Jackie and his father buying back the old farm for the Holdens.