Warner Bros. Pictures est l'une des plus grandes sociétés de production et de distribution au monde, pour le cinéma et la télévision. C'est une filiale de WarnerMedia dont le siège social se situe à New York. Warner Bros. Pictures a elle-même plusieurs filiales dont Warner Independent Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, DC Comics ou Warner Bros. Animation (anciennement Warner Bros. Cartoons).
Fondée en 1923 par les frères Warner (Warner Bros. signifie « Warner Brothers », « les frères Warner »), de leur vrai nom Wonskolaser, immigrés juifs polonais naturalisés américains, la Warner Bros. est le troisième plus vieux studio cinématographique américain encore en activité, après la Paramount Pictures, fondée en 1912 sous le nom de Famous Players, et l'Universal Pictures, fondée la même année.
Malgré des débuts incertains, la Warner Bros. est sauvée de la banqueroute en 1927 par le plus grand succès du cinéma parlant (après Autant en emporte le vent) Le Chanteur de jazz, premier film à expérimenter le son synchronisé, grâce au Vitaphone. La Warner produit également le premier film entièrement en couleur, On with the Show! — ce qui lui permettra, peu à peu, de faire sa place parmi les Big Five et sur le marché du cinéma mondial. Désormais, la Warner est l'un des plus gros studios de production et de distribution.
Le studio hollywoodien a également permis la découverte d'artistes reconnus dans le milieu cinématographique mondial, tels qu'Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Edward G. Robinson, Warren William ou encore Lauren Bacall et Humphrey Bogart. À ce jour, la Warner a distribué plus de 4 700 films, et en a produit près de 3 200. Elle est le premier distributeur mondial avec 14,31 % de PDM, devant Walt Disney Pictures (14,26 %) et Sony Pictures (13,03 %)
Rory O'More leaves his sweetheart Kathleen O'Connor back in the old country while he travels to America to establish himself. He is a musician, and hopes to make it big. Kathleen grows tired of waiting and travels to America, only to find him on stage performing "their" song and kissing another woman. Kathleen returns to Ireland, followed by Rory, who explains everything. In the end they wed and return to America.
Famed playwright Donald Anthony returns home to Magnolia Gap, Virginia, and proposes to Betty Fairfax. She accepts and he offers her the lead part in his next play, but the play is a disaster. Donald tells her that she is unsuited for the role, that it requires someone with more life experience. Rather than return home defeated, Betty stays in New York, in a bad neighborhood where local gangsters adopt her as their own. When Donald comes to visit her, they eject him. There is a gunfight, and in the resulting confusion Donald sweeps in and rescues Betty. After the excitement, Betty gives up her dreams of the stage and devotes herself to Donald.
Jerry Larrabee (Richard Barthelmess) is framed by rival gangster Spadoni (Louis Natheaux) and sent to prison, where he is befriended by a kind and understanding warden (William Holden). Through the warden's patient influence, Jerry becomes interested in music and forms a prison band, broadcasting over the radio. Jerry's singing deeply moves his radio listeners and soon Jerry is given a pardon by the governor.
Pert Kelly (Moore), a good girl with a wild reputation, meets Winthrop Peabody, Jr. That night they set a date for the next evening, but the next morning when Pert shows up for work, she discovers that Winthrop Peabody, Jr. is the personnel manager, son of Winthrop Peabody, Sr., who owns the store where Pert works. Pert is fired but Jr. is still smitten.
Brooks (William Norton Bailey), a publisher and his publicist (Lee Moran) decide to boost the sales of a wartime book of flying experiences. They credit the book to popular author Robert Street (Edward Everett Horton), who is completely ignorant about aviation. Robert gets into all sorts of trouble in attempting to carry on the ruse, saving his friend's business but also attracting the attention of aviation-mad Grace Douglas (Patsy Ruth Miller). At first, he is able to carry out simple publicity events, but when he accidentally starts up an aircraft, his incredible aerobatics end with a landing in a haystack. When a race is staged between him and French ace Major Jules Gaillard (Armand Kaliz), it ends with Robert confessing he is no pilot, but still winning Grace's heart.
Naomi Iverson learns that her father has assumed the blame for engaging in an illegal stock pool and is to be sentenced by the Federal Government to 5 years in prison. In return, Iverson will receive a check for $1 million from John Hardin, his former partner and now his bitterest enemy. She appropriates the check and goes to Hardin's yacht hoping to recover the written "confession." There she meets and falls in love with Hardin's son, Ernest. Complications set in when Iverson arrives and is set adrift by Tony, leader of a gang of rumrunners. Tony, who covets Naomi, gets involved in a fight with Ernest; Tony corners her, but she is rescued by Ernest. The revenue officers seize the rum boat and arrest the two old men as bootleggers. When Naomi and Ernest confront their fathers with their love, the fathers bow to necessity and once again become friends.
Bob, un chauffeur de train proche de la retraite effectue son dernier voyage à bord de la fameuse locomotive Flying Scotsman. Un pompier licencié à cause de son alcoolisme décide de se venger en causant un accident. Le jeune pompier affecté à sa place dans le train tombe amoureux d'une jeune femme, dont il ne sait qu'elle est la fille de Bob.
Joe Lane (Al Jolson), animateur de radio et auteur-compositeur, apprend que le directeur du studio, Arthur Phillips (Kenneth Thomson), a fait des avances inappropriées à sa femme, Katherine (Marian Nixon). Exaspéré, Lane le provoque en combat et le tue accidentellement. Joe va en prison pendant quelques années. À sa libération, il rend visite à son fils, Little Pal (Davey Lee) à l'école. En suivant son père, Little Pal est renversé par un camion, provoquant la paralysie de ses jambes et la perte de sa voix. Joe demande de l'aide au Dr Robert Merrill (Holmes Herbert), un spécialiste amoureux de Katherine. Après avoir obtenu la promesse de Joe qu'il ramènera son fils à sa mère, Merrill soigne Little Pal et lui rend l'usage de ses jambes.
Sonny Boy's parents are in the midst of a bitter divorce when the boy's mother talks her sister into kidnapping him because she is terrified that her husband will take the boy out of the country after the divorce. The nervy sister takes the lad to the apartment of her sister's husband's lawyer who believes that she has gone away for a time. A merry mix-up ensues when he returns to the apartment with his parents in tow. To maintain appearances, the sister must pose as the lawyer's wife. Eventually she decides to take the boy and flee, but then she realizes that Sonny Boy has vanished. It seems he saw an interesting theater marquee, climbed down the fire escape, and went to the movies. The adults arrive just in time to hear a rousing rendition of the hit song Sonny Boy.