Watch Writing on the Wall for Free: How to Stream the Movie Online at 123Movies. . Irving Lawrence owns some of the most decrepit tenements in town and is an all-around bad guy. He won't cooperate with the efforts of his wife, Barbara, to help the poor and sees other women behind her back. Muriel, one of his cast-offs, meets and marries Barbara's brother, Payne. Lawrence makes trouble for Muriel and fabricates a scandal involving his kindly brother Schuyler and Barbara.