In their farm house in a New York village, Ma Shelby prepares breakfast for her four children, Isaac, Tommy, Johnny and Susan, and then awakens them. The racket the boys make as they play and fight awakens their father, who spanks the eldest, Isaac. When a visitor chides Pa for not working, Ma sticks up for her husband, saying that he has a weak back and that he is waiting for a promised government job.
Mae Marsh
as Ma Shelby
James Dunn
as Johnny Shelby as an Adult
Sally Eilers
as Isabel Potter as an Adult
James Kirkwood
as Pa Shelby in Prologue
Edward Crandall
as Thomas as an Adult
Claire Maynard
as Phyllis Shelby, Johnny's Wife
Olin Howland
as Isaac as an Adult
Joan Peers
as Susan as an Adult
Joe Hachey
as Isaac Shelby in Prologue
Tommy Conlon
as Johnny Shelby in Prologue
Julius Molnar
as Thomas Shelby in Prologue
Marilyn Harris
as Susan Shelby in Prologue
