Raised by poor and devoutly-religious parents, who force him to participate in their street missionary work, the ambitious but naïve Clyde is anxious to achieve better things. His troubles begin when he takes a job as a bell-boy at a local hotel. The boys he meets are much more sophisticated than he, and they introduce Clyde to the world of alcohol and prostitution.

Intermission commentator: Clifton Faddiman

Author: Theodore Dreiser