87 minutes
9/28/1951
John Burrows, an ordained minister from a small village in the East, envisions himself with a larger congregation. He is mortified when his wife drunkenly interrupts a sermon, then despondent after her suicide. Burrows travels to Los Angeles for a fresh start, but takes to the bottle himself and ends up arrested for public intoxication. A skid-row con man, Gandy, finds him a bed at a flop house, while a street preacher, Doc Thorssen, and daughter Christine take him to a local mission. Christine is blind. She falls in love with Burrows, enjoying his discussions of the spirit and the soul but knowing little of his past. One day she is struck by a streetcar and knocked unconscious, causing Burrows to once again question his faith. He ultimately accepts the Lord's will and is offered a better place to live and preach. Burrows decides he is better suited to the mission, with Christine by his side.
Sterling Hayden
as Rev, John Burrows
Viveca Lindfors
as Christine Thorssen
Thomas Mitchell
as Gandy
Ludwig Donath
as 'Doc' Thorssen
H.B. Warner
as Wiz, the Wino
Jane Darwell
as Mack
John Berkes
as Racky
Peggy Webber
as Jane Burrows
Paul Guilfoyle
as Fanatic
Charles Evans
as Bishop Logan
Marion Martin
as Diana (as Marian Martin)
Everett Glass
as Deacon Adams
Raymond Bond
as Deacon Edwards
Billie Bird
as Gertie
O.Z. Whitehead
as Lippy
Myron Healey
as Jerry - the Cop
Byron Keith
as Dan - Policeman
Kathleen Mulqueen
as Parishioner
Fritz Feld
as Clothing Salesman
Lorin Raker
as Department Store Interviewer
Emmett Lynn
as Bum
Paul Brinegar
as Bum
David March
as Bum
Bernard Gorcey
as Flophouse Clerk
Lynn Whitney
as Handbill Woman
Helen Huntington
as Nurse in Blood Bank (as Helene Huntington)
Kate Drain Lawson
as Woman in Fight
Fred Aldrich
as Foreman
Ed Hinton
as Police Sergeant
Smoki Whitfield
as Truck Driver