****SPOILERS**** Leaving his impoverish family in Liverpool high and dry in going out to sea merchant marine Peter McCabe, Robert Newton,is gone for almost 15 years not realizing that his wife, Kathleen Harrison, is with child and two daughters Nora & Connie, Avis Scott & Susan Shaw, without any directions in life. Strugging to make ends meet the McCabe family with the added addition of George Alexander, Robin Netscher,somehow sail through life until Papa Peter suddenly shows up unexpectedly one evening drunk as usual after circling the earth a half dozen times on his his un-sea worthy tub of a freighter.
Almost thrown out by his outraged daughter Nora whom, together with her mom and siblings, he deserted 15 years ago the looking for a good time Peter drops into his next door neighbor's apartment Mrs. Gibson, Olive Slone, for a few drinks as well as a romp in the hey with her. It's when Peter finds out that he's the father of a handsome and soon to attend collage 15 year old son-George Alexander-he heads to the nearest pub to celebrate by getting, as if he isn't already, good and smashed! This leads to a drunken brawl with a fellow sailor of his, who's been on his back all the way from South America,ship engineer Michael Brennan whom Peter with his straight edge razor ends up killing him. Now facing life behind bars Peter only wan't to see his son George Alexander before he's put away for good and make up, in the few minutes of freedom he has left, for all the pain and suffering he caused him as well as his family.
There's also the two boyfriends of the McCabe sisters young and high pitched voiced Richard Burton as out of work ship engineer Ben Sattertwaite and insurance salesman on the Liverpool docks Maurice Bruno, Kenneth Griffith, who are the exact opposite of each other. Ben is a sweetheart of a guy towards Nora who want to marry her and raise a family as soon as he can get a job to support them. But on the other hand the set for life and independently wealthy Maurice is a low down creep only looking for action and treating Connie like a, excuse the word, whore even though she's at first, until she found out what a rat he is, in love with him. At the end of the movie Peter finally realizes what a drunken jerk he was and is able to tell his son George Alexander not to end up the way he did a drunk who deserted his family and ended up behind bars for killing someone. The only one of the McCbe family that had an happy ending is Nora who finally tied the knot with her dreamboat of a man the now fully employed ship engineer Ben Satterthwaite who after saying good by was on his way, on his next assignment, headed for the Far East.
Almost thrown out by his outraged daughter Nora whom, together with her mom and siblings, he deserted 15 years ago the looking for a good time Peter drops into his next door neighbor's apartment Mrs. Gibson, Olive Slone, for a few drinks as well as a romp in the hey with her. It's when Peter finds out that he's the father of a handsome and soon to attend collage 15 year old son-George Alexander-he heads to the nearest pub to celebrate by getting, as if he isn't already, good and smashed! This leads to a drunken brawl with a fellow sailor of his, who's been on his back all the way from South America,ship engineer Michael Brennan whom Peter with his straight edge razor ends up killing him. Now facing life behind bars Peter only wan't to see his son George Alexander before he's put away for good and make up, in the few minutes of freedom he has left, for all the pain and suffering he caused him as well as his family.
There's also the two boyfriends of the McCabe sisters young and high pitched voiced Richard Burton as out of work ship engineer Ben Sattertwaite and insurance salesman on the Liverpool docks Maurice Bruno, Kenneth Griffith, who are the exact opposite of each other. Ben is a sweetheart of a guy towards Nora who want to marry her and raise a family as soon as he can get a job to support them. But on the other hand the set for life and independently wealthy Maurice is a low down creep only looking for action and treating Connie like a, excuse the word, whore even though she's at first, until she found out what a rat he is, in love with him. At the end of the movie Peter finally realizes what a drunken jerk he was and is able to tell his son George Alexander not to end up the way he did a drunk who deserted his family and ended up behind bars for killing someone. The only one of the McCbe family that had an happy ending is Nora who finally tied the knot with her dreamboat of a man the now fully employed ship engineer Ben Satterthwaite who after saying good by was on his way, on his next assignment, headed for the Far East.