Little Annie Rooney

Annie Rooney leads a group of children through the tenement streets, causing havoc and clashing with the rival Kid Kellys. Their antics spill into the neighborhood when they scare a fruit vendor's horse, alarmingly disrupting daily life. The incident establishes the gang as a constant source of trouble in the morning.

The fruit vendor demands compensation for the five dollars’ worth of fruit lost when the horse was frightened. The Rooney kids decide to repay the vendor by pooling their resources and staging a fundraising event. They settle on selling tickets to a dance as their means to raise money.

Joe Kelly visits Annie at the Rooney home, and Officer Rooney warns him that leading the gang could jeopardize Tim's time with him. The warning underscores the tensions between loyalty to the gang and family safety. The scene foreshadows the longer conflict to come.

The children reinforce their fundraising strategy by deciding to stage a Wild West play. The idea brings the gang together around a shared goal and sets the stage for their performance. Annie's resolve drives the project forward.

Prompted by a heckler, Annie tries to ride the same horse from earlier. The animal bolts through the city, creating chaos as onlookers scatter. Joe arrives and saves Annie, then pays the fruit vendor with five dollars' worth of dance tickets.

The night of the dance arrives, coinciding with Officer Rooney's birthday as he patrols outside the hall. A fight erupts between Joe and Tony and Spider, and the lights go out, creating confusion. A bullet intended for Joe hits Officer Rooney, killing him.

A week passes with no clear arrest for Officer Rooney's killer. Tony and Spider lie to Tim, telling him that Joe killed the officer, driving Tim toward vengeance. The lie fuels rising tension between the gangs.

The rival groups push Tony toward the police while Tim arrives and proclaims that he has just shot Joe. The dramatic confrontation heightens the stakes for both Joe and Annie. The truth of who killed the officer remains uncertain for a moment.

In the hospital, Joe needs an immediate blood transfusion. Annie volunteers to donate blood, fearing she might die in the process. The procedure succeeds and she discovers she is not going to die, which strengthens her resolve and her plan to marry Joe.

Joe drives Annie and her friends through town, signaling a return to normal life. Tim, now a traffic officer, waves them through the intersection, symbolizing a fragile peace and new roles that have emerged from the chaos.