The Assistant (1997)

Daniel Petrie scripted and directed this Canadian-British film, an adaptation of the memorable 1957 Brooklyn-based novel by Brooklyn-born Bernard Malamud, author of The Natural. During the Depression, drifter Frank Alpine (Gil Bellows) and hobo Ward Minogue (Jaimz Woolvett) rob the small Bober family grocery. Minogue attacks frail Morris Bober (Armin Mueller-Stahl) because he has little money. Later, guilt sends Alpine back to the store, where he goes unrecognized and is hired by Bober as an assistant, despite the objections of Ida Bober (Joan Plowright). While Frank works the store, receiving miniscule wages, he falls for Bober's daughter, Helen (Kate Greenhouse), and Morris eventually learns who Frank really is.