The Calling of Dan Matthews

Dan Matthews, pastor of the Strong Memorial Church in the prosperous town of Corinth, generally takes a broad-minded, modern view of life and his parishioners' flaws. He nonetheless launches a crusade against "Old Town," an apparently harmless amusement park that is actually a center of gambling and free-flowing liquor that is frequented by young people. The area was formerly a notorious slum and was transformed by leading citizen James B. Strong, who is unaware that the builder whom he contracted to do the work, Jeff Hardy, is the mastermind of the vice dens. Hardy's contract with Strong allows him to do whatever work he deems necessary in Strong's name, and so Strong will be held accountable if Old Town's corruption is brought to light. Also unaware of Strong's unwitting complicity is his daughter Hope, who is romantically attracted to Dan. She persuades Dan to take her along on an inspection of Old Town, and although Hardy makes attempts to temporarily clean up the place, Dave and Hope witness the death of Hope's young friend, Kitty Marley, who gets drunk in one of Hardy's cafes and is killed in a car crash. Shocked by her friend's death, Hope pledges her support to Dan and allows him to conduct his crusade through the newspapers and radio stations owned by her father, who is in Washington on business. One day, Dan responds to the summons of an ill person, only to end up in the hands of Hardy's henchmen, who placed the fake call. Just as Dan is about to be killed, he is saved by the arrival of the police ambulance, which he had notified about the suspicious call. Strong returns from Washington, and although he is at first dismayed by Dan's attack on Old Town, which he had intended to be an innocent pleasure area, he soon joins with Dan and Hope. Strong's good intentions are quickly destroyed by Hardy, who shows him the contract and explains that he is legally responsible for everything in Old Town. Hardy demands $50,000 in exchange for the contract and his silence, and Strong's manager, Frank Blair, urges him to accept the deal. Blair, a self-serving hypocrite in love with Hope, has continuously tried to denigrate Dan and his crusade, and when Dan tells Strong that settling with Hardy would be a cowardly resolution to the problem, Blair persuades Hope to take the matter into her own hands. After withdrawing the money from her personal bank account, Hope goes to Hardy, who forcibly takes the cash from her after making it clear that he has no intention of surrendering the contract. Hope threatens him with exposure, but he in turn threatens to expose her father. Just then, Dan arrives and beats Hardy in a fistfight. Dan retrieves the contract and orders Hardy to leave town, then embraces Hope.