Original subtitles

Anyway, this guy comes home, you see,

- and he finds his wife with his best friend. - Yeah.

And the husband says, "Harry, how could you do this?"

And the wife, she says, "Why should you complain?

"Harry didn't do it to you!"

What did I tell you? Is he a card or is he a card?

Class. Real class.

Oh, with his gift of gab he could really go places with our outfit.

Hey, pal, you ought to quit that punk job of yours.

Yeah. Why don't you hook up with a livewire sales outfit like ours?

Oh, it's no use, boys.

Every time I'm in town,

I ask him to go on the road for our company.

Right, pal?

- Sure, Ed, sure. Listen, fellas, listen. - Yeah.

- Two dames at a bar. See? - Yeah.

And one dame says to another,

"If I don't get to bed pretty soon,

"I'm goin' home and go to sleep!"

Would you make it a merry Christmas for some poor orphan?

- Someone that... - Here you are, lady. Here you are.

That ought not to be allowed in a place like this.

Yeah. Religion don't belong in any speakeasy.

I know it's Christmas, but after all...

Mac, wait a minute. Excuse me, sister.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Now, don't tell me we're gonna let these two little angels of mercy

go away from here empty-handed on Christmas Eve.

This joint is the home of fine bourbon and fast women,

and we need plenty of religion to keep 'em both in line.

So, come on, folks. How about it?

Get it up, now. Come on.

Oh, come on. A little action here.

Well, what's the matter?

Hey!

Hey, Lord? Can you hear me up there, Jesus?

You didn't think we'd forget your birthday, did you, boy?

There you are, Jesus.

And if I had any more, you'd be welcome to it.

Thank you, brother.

The Bible says, "Never let your left hand

"know what your right hand is doing."

What's your beef, mister?

You ashamed of bein' a Christian?

Oh, I see.

You think religion is for suckers and easy marks and mollycoddles, huh?

You think Jesus was some kind of a sissy, eh?

Well, let me tell you,

Jesus wouldn't be afraid to walk into this joint

or any other speakeasy to preach the Gospel.

Jesus had guts!

He wasn't afraid of the whole Roman army.

Think that quarterback's hot stuff?

Well, let me tell you,

Jesus would have made the best little all-American quarterback

in history of football.

Jesus was a real fighter.

The best little scrapper, pound-for-pound, you ever saw.

And why, gentlemen?

Love, gentlemen.

Jesus had love in both fists.

And what is love?

Love is the morning and the evening star

that shines on the cradle of the babe.

Hear ye, sinners!

Love is the inspiration of poets and philosophers.

Love is the voice of music.

I'm talkin' about divine love, not carnal love.

That was a beautiful sermon, Parson.

- Beautiful, beautiful. - Thank you, sister.

That reminds me, I gotta get home to the little woman.

- Yeah, me, too. - Here you are, sister.

- Merry Christmas. - Thank you very much.

Thank the Lord, sister. Thank the Lord.

Well, gotta go. So long.

- Gotta catch a rattler. - Me, too.

Time to take up a little female companionship.

Wait a minute now.

That's a swell preacher act you got there, pal.

See you next Christmas, pal.

I gotta catch a rattler in the morning myself.

So long, pal.

Ed, we still got the whole night ahead of us.

Whatever you do, never lose that little black address book.

Merry Christmas!

Mr. Gantry?

And a Merry Christmas to you, too, sir.

You'll have to chalk it up, Mac.

The rest of these drinks, too.

Charity.

I ought to get myself a tambourine.

That's the trouble with this stinking world.

Nobody loves nobody.

Mac, the lady's glass is empty.

Yeah?

Okay.

Long-distance phone call, Mr. Gantry.

What time is it?

The phone call you put through to Mrs. Gantry last night?

Oh, oh. Oh, yeah, thanks.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Gantry.

You, too.

And a happy New Year, Mr. Gantry.

Well, I'll take... I'll take care of you downstairs.

Get my bags out now.

Hello? Hello?

Ready with your call, Mr. Gantry.

Hello? Oh, hello, Mom. Merry Christmas.

Me, Elm!

Just a sec, Mom.

I just got back from church myself.

I prayed for you, too.

How'd you like my present?

You sure? Gee, that's funny.

Well, maybe it got held up in the holiday rush.

I just called up to wish you Merry Christmas, that's all.

To tell you I love you.

Don't start crying.

Ma...

I know I promised, but I couldn't get away.

I've been busy. Yeah, business.

Guaranteed and delivered. I'll be home next Easter.

My absolute promise.

Ma, don't cry.

Look, Ma, I gotta go.

I really gotta go, Ma. I gotta catch a train.

Sure. Sure. I'll talk to you. Take care.

Bye.

I'm on my way

Off to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Off to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Off to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Glory, hallelujah

I'm on my way

- Well, I'm on my way - I'm on my way

Off to Canaan land

Off to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Off to Canaan land

Off to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Off to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Glory, hallelujah

I'm on my way

Had a mighty hard time

But I'm on my way

Had a mighty hard time

But I'm on my way

It's a mighty hard climb

But I'm on my way

On my way

Glory, hallelujah

I'm on my way

All along the way

Satan lies a-waitin'

Every night and day

Satan lies a-waitin'

Hear me shout and say

"Get behind me, Satan!"

"Get behind me, Satan"

I'm on my way

Glory, hallelujah

I'm on my way

Fight the devil and pray

Fight the devil and pray

Take another step higher

Higher, higher

Fight the devil and pray

Lord, I want to climb higher

Higher, higher

Chase the devil away

Lord, I'm caught in his fire!

I'm on my way

Glory, hallelujah

I'm on my way

Lord, I'm on my way

Lord, I'm on my way

Lord, Lord

Lord, I'm on my way

I'm on my way

Mr. Gantry, you'd better get at this while it's still hot.

Thank you, brother.

Would you look at this filthy magazine, Reverend?

Shameful. Shameful.

Burn, ye naked Jezebel, burn.

Like a blindin' flash.

"And suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven,

"and he heard a voice say unto him..."

"Saul. Saul."

"Why persecutest thou me?"

Saul of Tarsus.

Acts, Chapter 9.

"And straightaway he preached.

"Christ is the son of God."

"And all who heard him were amazed."

"Amazed."

Excuse me, but you sound like a preacher.

Great black-eyed peas, Reverend. Great.

If you'll be needing a place to sleep...

I do, kindly.

But as soon as I haul these ashes, I'll be on my way.

Well, God be with you, brother.

Put in a good word for me, brother.

Back again, Mr. Gantry?

Yes, indeed.

Come spring, come the drummer man.

Good morning, good morning, good morning.

And a hot morning it is.

Sam, as the blind man said to the elephant, "Long time no see."

Last March.

I got a great new item for you.

- An electric toaster that pops. - No.

An egg beater that's a lulu.

No sale.

Here's the little devil that's gonna clean up America.

No. You sold me nine of them vacuum cleaners last year.

There they are, all nine of 'em.

Well, no harm done. How about a free snort on the house?

That's how you stuck me the last time.

Ever tell you the one about the missionary,

the cannibal and the chorus girl?

Hey, this Sister Sharon, she any good at preachin'?

I don't know. I don't go to prayer meetings.

I mean...

Unless business is bad or I get sick. Times like that.

Say, how about the missionary

and the cannibals and the chorus girl, hmm?

Well, there she was in the wildest jungles of Borneo,

without a stitch on, except her dancin' shoes and her pith helmet.

Can I speak to Mrs. Wilson, please? Thank you.

Hello? Hello, Sally?

Me, Elmer. Who do you think?

Swell, just swell.

How's every little thing with you, honey?

Baby, I just got into town, today.

Hold it a sec, Sal. Come in.

How did we do?

Ran out of the money in both races.

Sally? How about tonight, baby?

What time does your husband get home?

But, honey, I won't be here tomorrow.

Well, look, can you come over for an hour?

A half an hour, huh?

Sure, Sal. Sure, I understand.

Think nothin' of it, honey. I'll catch you next time around.

Bye, now.

- Did you get the bottle? - Nah.

You know bootleggers. They do a cash business.

Yeah.

Toss you. Double or nothin'.

No. You're too lucky, Mr. Gantry.

Thank you. Anything else I can do for you?

Thanks, kid.

Let Jesus come into your heart

Just now, your doubting give o'er

Just now, reject Him no more

Just now, throw open the door

Let Jesus come into your heart

Lay we every burden down

Grace our spirits will deliver

And provide a robe and crown

Yes, we'll gather at the river

The beautiful the beautiful river

Gather with the saints at the river

That flows by the throne of God

Yes we'll gather at the river

The beautiful the beautiful river

Gather with the saints at the river

That flows by the throne of God

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.

Welcome to the house of God.

Mine eyes have seen the glory

Of the coming of the Lord

He is trampling out the vintage

Where the grapes of wrath are stored

He hath loosed the fateful lightning

Of His terrible swift sword

His truth is marching on

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

His truth is marching on

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

His truth is marching on

Oh, my dear, beautiful people.

When I arrived here and I saw your gracious countryside,

I said to myself, "I won't. I just won't be cooped up

"with a lot of stodgy old ministers

"discussing hell and damnation!"

So I sneaked out,

and I've been doing what most of you have been doing.

Farming.

Milking the cows, lying in the clover,

and letting the joy of God's nature flow into my heart.

And here's the proof there's a happy, joyful God,

a bountiful God, a generous God.

Milk!

There you are, Reverend, the good Lord's nectar.

And pass it along to those dear newspaper reporters

so they can wash out the taste of whiskey.

Tonight...

Tonight, I feel gloriously happy,

and I want you to feel happy, too.

We're gonna sing together,

laugh together, rejoice together

like carefree children of a happy God.

We're going to rejoice that inside of us lives the veritable spirit

of the everlasting redeeming Christ, Jesus.

Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord!

Bill, see how many of those dear people

can match God's bountiful gift

with their own offerings.

You darlings can't make milk,

and God just won't make money.

Stand up Stand up for Jesus

Ye soldiers of the cross

Lift high His royal banner...

No preaching tonight. No sermonizing.

No sad faces or tears, just happiness.

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the last night of our revival here,

but when I leave, you're going to carry on my work.

You're all of you evangelists.

Every blessed one of you.

Shake hands with the person on your right.

Go on! Ask them if they're saved.

Won't you shake hands for Jesus?

Bless you, brother. Sing, everybody! Sing his praises!

Sister Falconer!

Brother, won't you find happiness in Jesus?

It's happiness just to hear your wondrous message.

Can I have a moment of your time?

Excuse me, please. Excuse me.

- Excuse me, please. - Thank you, brother.

Oh, yes.

I'm sorry. No change.

Thank you.

Sharon! There you are!

Sharon!

I picked some flowers for you, Sister.

Sister, my little boy saw the Virgin Mother

on the roof last night after your sermon.

Can you spare me an hour on your time?

I simply can't. Aren't our counselors taking care of you?

Sister Rachel?

Sister Rachel, see what you can do.

Every one of these lovely people is important.

Every single one of them.

May I have your names, please?

Sister Falconer, I must congratulate you again.

- Thank you. - You see, I'm a preacher myself.

So, I know how inspired you must've been last night.

Preacher? What church?

What church? Yes, well...

Well, at present, Sister, I don't exactly have a church, but...

What is it this time, brother?

Booze or women?

Why, Sister Falconer. Me?

Well, whichever one it is, you have my blessing. Jim?

- Sister, I... - Nice try, brother.

Will prayer cure diabetes?

Would you please give me your name and address?

- Sister? May I... - Oh, just a moment.

- What denomination you belong to? - Protestant.

I must talk to you.

If you'll just leave your name.

But, I have a message for you.

An important message.

A message? From Sister Falconer?

I heard you sing last night.

Of course, I realize flattery don't mean much

to a talented person like yourself.

But when you sang that inspiring song, Beulah Land,

it made me realize that music is the voice of love.

And what is love?

Love is the morning and the evening star.

America, a land of great opportunity.

Take me, for instance.

I've been with the Central States Appliance Company now, less than a year.

I'm their crack salesman already.

They wanna make me a partner.

Yes, it's a great life.

Well, do you know that folks in 14 states know me by my first name?

Makes a fella feel humble.

Would you like to start with a cocktail, sir?

A cocktail in the middle of the day?

My good man, don't you know that drinkin' is not only sinful

but against the principles of President Coolidge?

Well, I only meant shrimp cocktail.

Just bring us some of Mother's apple pie and coffee for two.

Yes, sir.

I'm sorry.

Tell me, when did you first start servin' God?

About two years ago. In Cato, Missouri.

Sister Sharon's gospel singer got hurt in a riot.

A riot? In a Christian town like...

What was the name of that place?

Cato.

Cato, Missouri.

Yes, some roughnecks

started yellin' and screamin' and hollerin'.

During the services?

Sister Sharon yelled to a farmer on our side,

"Hit him one for the Lord, brother!"

Apple pie. Ah, yes, indeedy.

They ought to write a song about apple pie.

A gospel song.

And you should sing it.

All aboard!

Godspeed the good work, Sister!

Good luck, Sister Sharon!

Godspeed, Sister Sharon! Good luck!

God bless you!

Shara?

Our advance man in Lincoln, Nebraska,

got drunk, and he's disappeared.

No more business tonight.

Oh, thank heavens! When I didn't see you at the station...

Thinkin' about you every second.

The fire department in Lincoln

say that we can't put up a tent our size.

And the church committee there are bickering about...

Please, Bill.

The gentleman with Sister Falconer.

- Mr. Morgan? - Yes.

Tell him Mr. Lefferts would like to see him

out back on the observation platform.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Lefferts? My name is Gantry.

Congratulations.

Sorry I woke you up.

Then why did you do it?

Oh, I recognized you.

I just had to congratulate you

on those articles you wrote about evolution.

Not only scarifyin' and sensational, but very funny.

Tell me somethin', Jim boy. Just between me and you.

I know you got one of them Pulitzer Prizes,

but you don't really believe

in all that evolution junk, now do you?

Devoutly.

Then you must believe that God himself is a gorilla.

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

It says in the Bible, "God created man in his own image."

Sister Sharon, she's pretty important news, eh?

What's your interest in her?

Can I be frank with you?

Try.

She fascinates me.

You'll have to get in line.

You also have to get over a hurdle first, name of Bill Morgan.

Say, I almost forgot.

He's comin' out to see you, right about now.

He's got some secret information.

Thanks a lot, Jim boy. Thanks a lot.

- You all right? - Oh, yes, I'm fine.

I was just wondering...

Later, honey.

I'm sorry, this seat is taken.

Even the Lord never turned his back on a sinner.

I am not the Lord, but I am tired.

Now, will you please go away?

You weren't so tired in all of life

two years ago in Cato, Missouri.

That's where we met.

Met?

Yes. On a Friday night, it was.

Remember? Remember the riot?

Some roughnecks got to hootin' and howlin' and fightin',

and you stood right up their pulpit and yelled,

"Hit him one for the Lord, brother!"

But that's exactly what I said.

And that's exactly what I did.

I busted him one for the Lord.

Oh, it was a lovely fight!

When I saw you in Cato, I thought I was seein' an angel,

and you haven't changed one bit.

A very tired angel.

It's no wonder,

givin' everybody else hope and courage,

nobody to lean on yourself.

I suppose this is a generous offer

to let me lean on you.

I wouldn't have the nerve, Sister.

- Yesterday, Mr... - Gantry.

You said you were a preacher.

Well, practically, yes.

You see, the semester I was to be ordained...

They kicked you out of college.

Well, it was a... A tragedy, kind of.

A girl.

Yeah. A girl.

A girl named Lulu Bains.

Does she work for you or do you work for her?

Oh, we work together.

Would it be unethical to ask

just what you'll write about Sister Sharon?

- It would. - Oh?

I'm sorry.

She's brilliant.

"Inspired" is a more appropriate word.

"Inspired" means to be touched by the hand of God.

Precisely.

Now, get the picture.

It's Christmas Eve.

God's pure snow driftin' down, and joy in the air.

I enter the Schoenheim church late at night

to pray for guidance.

And what do I find, right behind the altar?

Lulu Bains, my betrothed, my bride-to-be,

half-naked, locked in the arms of her lover,

a cardsharp from Chicago.

A couple of years later he was bumped off in a gang war.

God rest his soul.

Well, that's it, I guess.

I lost all interest in religion.

But when I saw you the other night,

it was like a call from beyond.

Couldn't I see you again?

Will you have breakfast with me?

What's your hotel room number in Lincoln, hmm? Tell me.

You're so completely... So outrageous.

I... I think I like you.

I guess I've been around sanctimonious folks too long.

You're amusing, and you smell like a real man.

Yes, I'll meet you where they put up my tent.

That's where I breakfast. Now, good night.

- Oh, but, Sister... - Oh, this time I mean it.

Pleasant dreams.

Evening, Brother Morgan.

Oh, I wouldn't bother her now.

She's resting, poor child.

I'm sorry, but according to the weather bureau

the wind will be coming from there,

if the good Lord doesn't change his mind.

So keep the center poles where you've got them.

That way the canvas won't snap and crackle all through the sermon.

- Thank you. - Here they come.

Morning, Sister! Jim boy!

- A lovely morning it is. - Good morning.

Sister, I woke up with a terrific idea.

Later. Good morning, Captain.

You can't erect that tent here, ma'am.

Not in this town.

- Why not? - Fire laws.

Nonsense.

No, ma'am. No nonsense at all.

No, ma'am.

"Ma'am" is a contraction for "madam."

I am not a madam, a caliber of woman, Captain,

I'm sure you know well and do business with.

How many of your madams have been put out of business by fire laws?

Your tent holds more than 1,000 people. City ordinance...

Oh, by the way, Captain, this is Mr. Lefferts,

a reporter for the Zenith Times-Dispatch.

Zenith? Welcome, sir. Welcome. This is Fire Chief...

Isn't it a fact, Mr. Lefferts,

that the whiskey big shots want me closed down?

Well, they certainly don't think you're doing their business any good.

You know why, Captain?

Because I'm not afraid to fight whiskey and repeal

with the help of the police or without it.

If you're accusing me of not...

That's exactly what I'm doing.

Do you enforce Prohibition?

I certainly do.

How many speakeasies could you take the Captain to

right here in his home town?

Without a membership card? Fifty.

Fire laws! Do you see any of my workmen smoking?

Do you mind? This might start a fire.

Well, of course, if they're not going to smoke inside...

You're welcome to see for yourself tonight.

A little bit of salvation will do you both some good.

Sister Sharon! Sister Sharon!

Never in all by born days did I ever see anybody

handle the cops the way you did.

All right, Brother Gantry,

what's this terrific idea you woke up with this morning?

Yes, well...

How would it be if I addressed your revival meeting as a saved businessman?

I could talk on the good, hard, practical dollars-and-cents value

of Christ in commerce.

Tom, slacken off on that rope. It's too tight.

By the way, what is your business? Hold-ups?

Sister, you're a card.

I sell for Central Appliances.

Don't you like your job?

Why, sure. It's a great life.

I'm their crack salesman.

Only last month they wanted to make me a junior partner.

Would you believe it,

people in 14 states call me by my first name, Elmer?

No use kiddin' you, is there?

It's no life at all.

Filthy, dreary hotel rooms. Always chasin' trains.

Always tellin' dirty stories to keep the buyers laughin'.

Always the pint bottle to prove you're a sport.

That kind of fella's no success at all.

He's just a tramp in a silk shirt.

Well...

I could tell the sinners I'm a... I'm a salesman, just like that.

I come into one of them miserable hotel rooms.

I'm discouraged. I got no sales to chalk up.

Nothin' to read. I'm lonely.

I'm just dyin' for a drink.

Some of them salesmen drink somethin' terrible.

And I reach my hand into a dresser drawer.

And what do I find?

A Gideon Bible.

That's what I find.

Yes. Yes, go on.

I reached my hand into a dresser drawer,

and I found a Gideon Bible.

Louder, please!

I found a Gideon Bible.

I was so lonely and miserable, I...

I might as well have been in hell.

I was in hell.

I knew all the salesman's tricks.

Why wasn't I rich? Why wasn't I successful?

I opened the Bible and I read the 18th Psalm.

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress."

"The Lord is my fortress."

Do you hear that? The Lord.

- Praise the Lord! - The Lord is my rock!

The next mornin' I walked into a general store.

"What are you sellin' today, Elmer?

"Some gold-plated vacuum cleaners?"

"No, sir," I said.

"You can get better vacuum cleaners at Sears and Roebuck,

"and you can get 'em cheaper,

"but you can't beat our electric toasters at any price."

And the man sat down and wrote me the biggest order of the year.

Hallelujah!

Can you hear me, Lord? Thank you, Lord.

I didn't make that sale, Lord. You did. Thank you.

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

And when I told my pals...

When I told my pals I was comin' to Jesus, they laughed.

But Sister Falconer didn't laugh.

She said "Go ahead, brother. Give 'em hell."

And before I'm through I'm going to give you all the hell in the Bible,

and if you don't like it, you better fix it up with the Lord

because the Lord put it there.

Listen to me, sinners.

Listen to me, sinners.

You can't pray to kingdom come and play bridge or poker.

And, Mother, you can't say your Psalms

and look at God through the bottom of a beer mug, now, can you?

And you, brother, you can't go to church on Sunday

and cheat at business on Monday.

No!

We're comin' back to you, God.

We're comin' back to the old-time religion!

And what is religion?

What is religion?

Religion is love.

And love is the morning and the evening star.

Love, the eternal glorious musicmaker.

Love! Not the carnal love, but the divine love.

And where does this great love come from?

It comes direct from God!

I admit I'm not smart like some of them...

Some of them smart-alecky professors,

wise-guy writers and agitators.

I don't know the first thing about theosophy, philosophy,

psychology, ideology, or any other "ology."

But I know this.

With Christ, you're saved,

and without him, you're lost.

And how do I know there's a merciful God?

Because I've seen the devil plenty of times!

Any punk ballplayer can make a slide like that.

But how many folks have got the guts

to play ball on God's team?

And listen to this.

The captain of that team is Jesus Christ himself.

So, come on, everybody, man, woman, child.

Who'll be the first to shake hands for Jesus?

Come on, now! Everyone!

Are you gonna make me beg and beg

when I'm offerin' you my Jesus?

Did the Savior die in vain?

Did he suffer on the cross for nothin'?

My God, I can't stand it!

Oh, my God, no! Not anymore!

All right, you sinner,

I'll fight you every day in the week for God and twice on Sundays!

Help me. Brother Gantry, save me.

I sin every day!

Tell me what to do, please.

Tell me what to do!

Lifeline.

Throw out the lifeline

Throw out the lifeline

Somebody's drifting away

Throw out the lifeline

Throw out the lifeline...

Bless you, Sister Sharon, for bringing us such a wonderful man.

Sister Sharon.

Bless you, Brother Gantry.

You've changed my whole life.

You're such a good man.

You're such a good man.

This light supposed to be kept burnin' all night?

Yep. Sometimes folks come just to touch where Sister Sharon stands.

Say, I heard you talk tonight.

How'd you like it?

Mister, I've been converted five times.

Billy Sunday, Reverend Biederwolf,

Gypsy Smith, and twice by Sister Falconer.

I get terrible drunk,

and then I get good and saved.

Both of them done me a powerful lot of good.

Gettin' drunk, and gettin' saved.

Well, good night.

Are you praying or planning to take over?

Shara!

How was it? Did I do all right?

I mean, did I do all right for you?

Yes, you were fine. Really fine.

I cried like everybody else.

No, but... Tell me the truth, please.

Four hundred and fifty converts out of 1,200 people?

That's a truth of some kind.

Morgan thought you were vulgar.

Do you?

- Think I'm vulgar? - Yes.

- But you like me. - Yes.

- Very much. - Not very much.

Shara.

Forgive me, Sharon.

You've got me plumb hypnotized.

No, you're just hungry, that's all.

But I can hypnotize, because God chose me to do his work.

Sure, me, too.

No.

I chose you.

The big difference between you and me is that I believe.

I really believe.

You'd like to join our organization, wouldn't you?

Oh, yes, Shara.

Report at 9:00 in the morning. We'll discuss salaries...

I got swell ideas for promotions.

Radio, the third ear of the human race.

You smoke, don't you?

- Well... - I can smell it.

Will you stop it at once and altogether?

Well, yes...

And the drinking, too, will you?

Oh, sure. If that's what you want, I...

It is.

Good night.

Evening, Brother Gantry.

Jim boy!

Say, all the time Shara and me...

- Sister Falconer and me... - Yep. Sitting right over there.

You're not gonna write about this, now, are you, Jim?

Boy kisses girl? Hell, that's not news.

You're slipping, brother.

You know, when you first hooked me on that train,

I thought you were a friendly,

likeable, self-respecting, first-class bum.

And now... Now look at you.

Where'd you get your style?

Just let her rip, I guess.

I've heard many a powerful Bible-wallopers,

but you not only put the fear of God into them,

you scared the hell out of 'em.

And the way you strung certain words together,

America, home, mother.

Heaven, hell. Love, hate, sin.

You know, it's a funny thing, Jim.

I get up here and I... I see them out there.

Next thing you know, I'm howlin', they're moanin'.

It's like a mighty spirit movin' inside of me.

Words and ideas come pourin' out like...

Like riled-up strangers.

I feel so powerful and full of love, I'm about to explode.

I do explode.

And then I just about love everybody.

Especially the girls.

Yes, this is where I belong, all right.

Right here, in religion.

Even if it is a tent.

Every circus needs a clown, Brother Gantry.

And who knows,

you might turn out to be the funniest clown of 'em all.

And the most successful.

Clown!

Jim boy, you're terrific. Terrific.

Some of them smart-aleck college professors are trying to prove

that this here ape is your great-great-grandfather.

Come back here. Let folks see you.

Well, he might be Darwin's uncle,

but he certainly ain't yours or mine.

Right, Grandpop?

Just a monkey, folks. Just a monkey.

Would Jesus play poker?

Would St. Paul play the stock market?

What do you think will get you into God's own glorious heaven?

This ace of spades?

Your bank book?

Or this pledge to be a good Christian?

Sin, sin, sin.

You're all sinners!

You're all doomed to perdition.

You're all goin' to the painful, stinkin', scaldin',

everlastin' tortures of a fiery hell,

created by God for sinners, unless...

Unless...

Unless you repent!

Repent with Sister Falconer!

Let that man alone! Let him alone!

Go ahead and bark, brother.

Go right ahead and bark!

There he is! The devil!

Bark that devil out of this tent!

Yes! Yes! Bark!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Louder! Louder! Louder!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Yes! Yes! Bark!

The most disgusting display of bad taste in my experience.

A human barking dog. A monkey in the pulpit.

It's preposterous. That's why it can't go on.

It's preposterous and it's obvious to everyone.

Even dangerous. Especially before Jim Lefferts.

And make no mistake about our newspaper friend,

he's about as friendly as a rattlesnake.

Then you think it's wrong.

Not wrong. Ridiculous.

One minute you're preaching a happy, perfumed heaven,

the next minute, Gantry's damning everyone

to a scalding, stinking hell.

I'd say we make a pretty good team.

Yes.

Yes, like two cops working over a criminal.

Gantry scares him with the electric chair,

you save him if he confesses.

The point is, our sinner does confess, and he is saved.

But it was ridiculous.

Does the method really matter?

Who is this Elmer Gantry?

And what do you really know about him?

His background, his reputation?

And what does he want? Money? My job? You? What?

- Bill... - In 1917,

Mr. Gantry was expelled from a theological seminary in Kansas

for seducing the deacon's daughter in the church

where he had that day delivered a Christmas sermon.

And there's more. Do you wanna hear it?

Ta-da!

Ladies and gentlemen, you see before you a magic carpet.

A heavenly summons. A ticket to the big time. Listen to this.

"Congratulations.

"Would you consider meeting with the church committee and myself

"about bringing your revival to our fair city of Zenith,

"capital of America's great Midwest?

"Kindly telegraph reply immediately.

"Signed, George F. Babbitt, Secretary,

"Zenith Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Church Board,"

etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

- Zenith. - Why not?

We're not ready for Zenith.

Mr. Babbitt and the church committee think we are.

I know we are. Next stop, Zenith.

Then Chicago, New York, London.

Straight to the top on the Sharon Falconer Express!

What, in a tent? They'll laugh at us.

Not at Shara, they won't.

It's pitchman's talk.

What do you know about the background of our work?

The nature of revivalism is rural.

It grew out of frontier life.

Big-city people are apt to be more cynical...

And they're more sinful, too.

And more lonely and more unhappy, and...

And, Shara, they need you more.

I'm against this.

Bill boy, you're an old sourpuss.

Why, this is a passport to the Promised Land.

Gantry, I am not your boy.

I don't know how you deluded her,

but to me, everything about you is offensive.

You're a crude, vulgar show-off,

and your vocabulary belongs in an outhouse.

Crude. Vulgar.

Show-off, huh?

You know something? You're right, Bill. Let's put it this way.

You're a five-dollar textbook.

Me, I'm a two-cent tabloid newspaper.

You're too good for the people.

I am the people.

Sure, I'm common, just like most people.

The common people put Christianity on the map in the first place.

What are you saying, Shara?

That you want to go to Zenith? Now?

I wonder what God wants.

All right, Shara.

All right. Maybe you are ready for Zenith.

Thank you, Bill. I'll be with you in a minute.

Just think of it, Shara. Zenith.

You know, Bill, I think the answer to Mr. Babbitt and the committee

ought to come from you.

Tell 'em we're ready to talk business,

but they gotta act fast, get the lot out.

Only don't say it as crude and vulgar as that.

No, no.

I'll use some of my sweet-smelling five-buck words, huh?

I knew we could work together.

Gantry, I just hope you don't have any ideas about who's boss.

"Boss"?

Why, the boss is God. I'm just his messenger boy.

I'm sure God will be relieved.

Yes.

If you'll only leave the money matters to me.

Mr. Babbit, if they get a guarantee, what guarantee do we get?

- Why is cash necessary at all? - Order, order!

Gentlemen, without a guarantee, a revival is impossible.

Kee-rect!

Mr. Babbitt, as chairman of this committee, I can say that I want the revival,

but we're ministers, not financiers.

We simply cannot make a cash...

I agree. After all, $30,000...

Will be raised.

How, Mr. Babbitt?

By decent, respectable people

who want to see the old-time religion...

- I agree. - Would you please let me finish?

Oh, of course, George.

Thank you, Charlie. Okay, then.

Everybody knows that I contribute more

to charity and poverty and things than anybody.

Hey, now, didn't my real estate company

give you that corner lot rent-free

for your church baseball team, huh?

And I'm not even a Methodist!

All right, then.

I always say, "Business is business," that's the American way!

- Now, if you boys... - Mr. Babbitt.

Why do you want a revival in Zenith?

Oh, I know what you're gettin' at, Phil.

You don't fool me for a second.

Gentlemen, Mr. Babbitt, Reverend,

I think we're all aware of the church's financial problems.

Are we aware, sir?

My church hasn't been painted for eight years.

Now, whose fault is that?

What about the gymnasium I was promised?

In my part of town, getting milk for the children is the problem.

Your problem is empty churches, gentlemen. That's your problem.

That is a fact.

The unpleasant fact is that church attendance

is falling off everywhere, gentlemen.

Yes, and Sister Falconer can fill your churches.

And that's why you're here in the first place, isn't it?

- Kee-rect! - Tea, Mr. Babbitt?

I always say, if you're sick, call a doctor.

I agree.

Now, let's look at the record, gentlemen.

Sister Sharon has been in Lincoln...

This is going on the fifth week now.

Two hundred and seventy-five new church members in one church alone.

My church.

More than 2,700 decisions for Christ, gentlemen.

Actual converts who signed pledges.

Not our statistics, but printed in your own Zenith newspaper.

And written up by Jim Lefferts, a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Does the record show how long your converts remain church members?

Well, I always say, when in doubt, take action.

- Let's vote. - Second the motion.

- All in favor? - Aye.

Just a moment, please.

Tut, tut, tut. You're out of order.

There's a motion on the floor.

May I say something, please?

You have our undivided attention, Sister.

Wouldn't it be a much happier world

if money was not the third arm of religion?

Reverend Brown can't paint his church.

You can't have your gymnasium.

No child should be without milk.

And my expenses are high enough to run a factory.

I practically do run a factory.

Who do you think pays for my staff?

The musicians, the workers who put up the tent,

truck transportations, railroad fares, food bills.

Advertising and printing bills,

electric bills, insurance bills, hotel bills.

The church committees always expect a generous contribution from me,

and they always get it.

And when I leave your town five weeks later, you get the benefit.

You have the flock, and I have to start all over again.

No, gentlemen, you don't want a revival.

And I'm afraid you don't want me, either.

Bill, I think these gentlemen would like a little privacy long about now,

sort of kick things around.

- Thank you, Mr. Gantry. - Excuse me, gentlemen.

I'm not ashamed to admit it. Our churches are half-empty.

The ballparks are full.

So are the races. It seems the people are losing faith.

- Let's vote. - Let's vote.

Vote to do what?

Marry the Church to a three-ring circus?

To barkers who say they're messengers of God?

Who reduce frightened farmers to howling dogs?

All very entertaining, I'm sure.

Whether you like it or not, Phil,

we are in competition with the entertainment business.

I'm not.

Then you ought to be. Huh?

How about your bingo games?

And how about your baseball games and square dances?

Now, ain't that entertainment? What's the difference, huh?

It's up to us to make a success out of Christianity,

keep the churches full.

What has religion to do with filling churches?

Once there were only 13 Christians in the entire world.

Was Christianity a failure? Did God go out of business?

Kee-rect!

Christianity is a going concern,

a successful international enterprise.

Now, if you boys don't get the young people back into church,

if you don't keep the train on the tracks,

your church boards are gonna find somebody else who will.

Isn't that clear, Reverend Garrison?

Speaking for myself, not my congregation or its church board,

religion is not a business,

and revivalism is not religion.

And my vote is no.

Good night, gentlemen.

- Phil! - Harvard!

Well, look around you, boys.

Young folks crying out they're the lost generation.

Godless anarchists on every street corner,

and he walks out on a crisis.

Do you realize that practically

every President of the United States

was a Mason and a Protestant?

Yeah. And every session of Congress opens with a word

from the King James version of the Bible.

And right now, in our enlightened age,

a Catholic is running for president.

- Mr. Babbitt. - And not only that...

Mr. Babbitt!

Don't say another word.

George, I agree with you.

Please, John. If revivalism can do the job...

Paul.

Zenith had a revival 40 years ago.

It saved everybody in sight for miles,

but today we still have the same problems.

Please, John.

Please.

Order, order, order.

Now, now, now, now, gentlemen, gentlemen.

If you'll only leave the money matters to me.

Welcome to Zenith, Sister.

Congratulations, George boy. A wise decision.

For now, gentlemen, all your churches will be closed every Sunday

while the revival is in progress.

We're gonna need some volunteers.

Great folks, aren't they?

Swell, George, just swell.

Now, when Sister Falconer says,

"Won't you shake hands for Jesus," the chorus starts singing.

- Brother Gantry... - Just a sec, dear.

Ushers will wear these badges.

The minute folks start comin' down the aisle, you go into action.

Get 'em movin' and keep 'em movin'.

Get pledge cards into their hands, and don't forget the pencils.

Now, you counselors, you'll wear these lapel pennants. Pretty, eh?

German-speaking, hold up your hands. Swedish-speaking? Fine.

Now be sure to ask folks if they're regular church members.

Also, what church. And it don't matter what church.

Now, some folks are gonna wanna cry. Let 'em.

"God is love."

Jim-dandy, huh?

Well, that's it, I guess. Tonight's the big night.

Are we gonna make a touchdown for Jesus Christ, huh?

- Yeah! - Any further questions?

- Brother Gantry... - Okay, then.

At 7.30, we hit the line.

God is love. Sister Sharon's sanctuary. May I help you?

Yes, sir, that's right. Every evening at 8:30.

Yes, you may take a trolley car. The line's 14th Street.

Yes. Yes, I understand.

Well, if you're lonesome and restless,

Sister Sharon recommends that you read Psalm 23 or Psalm 27.

Do you know of a better product to sell than God?

Sister, one more question.

I'm sorry, what was that question again?

I said...

Sister, in what branch of the Church were you baptized?

Hold it, Sister!

Sister Sharon, I'm afraid that you have a problem with the fire department again.

The fire department?

- Bill! - I've got the chief on the phone.

- Oh, Sister... - Excuse me.

Could I just ask one more question?

What you'll be wearing for the opening night?

You looked as if you had about enough of "who, what, when, where."

Thank you.

May I have some water, please?

You tired?

Oh, these last two days.

The aspirin age.

Nervous about opening tomorrow night?

I don't know.

What about Gantry?

He's got all the nerve in the world, but no nerves.

You want to know the truth?

I'm scared to death of you city people.

Don't be. The women will worship you, and the men will love you.

And you?

I'll be there, too.

Good night.

Good night.

Just as sure as God plagued the earth with pestilence and locusts,

you and I to doom!

I tell you, the end of the world is comin'.

It's coming this September 15th!

It says so in the Bible!

Revivals are against organized labor!

...song with sweet accord

Join in a song with sweet accord

And thus surround the throne

Oh, say can you see

By the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed

Hallelujah! The Lord's name be praised!

Stop it, you scallywags! Stop!

And bright stars

- Come on, boys. - All right, the locomotive. Here we go.

Boom!

Boom!

Sis-boom, Sister!

Play Sister's introduction.

Sis-boom, Sister!

Captain Holt!

Arrest them. Arrest all of them.

I don't know who started the fuss on the inside.

The ones outside ain't breakin' any laws.

First arrest them. Then we'll find out who did what.

I wouldn't do that, George. I wouldn't do that.

You wanna start a riot? I always say...

And you're right.

But folks have gotta have stretchin' room for their feelings.

Now, why don't you sit down, George boy, and get close to God?

It'll be all right.

It's okay.

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

His truth is marching on

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

They're ready for you, Shara.

Well, you certainly promoted us into Zenith.

You certainly filled our tent, didn't you?

But with what?

You and your people. Those aren't people. They're a mob.

They're one big, angry animal.

And I'm not letting Shara go out there to be mobbed or humiliated.

So what's your plan? To run?

Where? Back to the sticks?

If we don't win them over tonight, there'll be no place to run.

Shara, you've got to face them.

And do what? Blow them kisses?

Tell them all to be nice little boys and girls?

No, Gantry. No. No.

Zenith is your idea. Those are your people. You face 'em.

They want Shara.

Listen to me, Shara.

Big-city people have got a coat of hard varnish,

but underneath, they're just as sick and scared as anybody else.

People everywhere are the same in one thing,

they're all afraid to die.

They hope you can save them.

And you can, Shara.

You can.

You can, Shara.

You can.

You can, Shara.

You can.

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!

Hip, hip, hooray!

Some of you are troubled.

Skeptical of my motives.

You want to know my credentials.

Who am I?

Who sent me?

Some of you have come to sit in judgment of me.

But who among you

is wise enough to be a judge in the house of God?

For even though you speak with the tongue of an angel and have not charity,

you are as sounding brass.

If I have sinned,

then God will punish me.

If I am lost in the wilderness,

then God will show me the way back.

Will you pray with me for guidance?

Will you?

God won't mind if you get a little dirt on your knees!

I believe in you, Sister.

Oh, bless you, brother.

I believe in you, Sister.

What a friend we have in Jesus

No. No. No music.

Please. Please. No singing, no music.

Let us just pray.

Will you pray with me?

Dearest God...

Are you too proud to kneel, Mr. Lefferts?

You may not believe in God,

but God believes in you.

Dear God,

I am set upon by enemies and I know not why.

The Lord has said, "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me,

"but on him that sent me.

"And if any man hear my words and believe not,

"I judge him not.

"For I came not to judge the world,

"but to save the world."

Now is my soul troubled.

But what shall I say?

Shall I say, "Father, save me"?

But it is for this cause that I came unto this hour.

Dearly beloved...

Dearly beloved...

...avenge not yourselves, for it is written...

...for it is written...

...if thine enemy hunger...

...if thine enemy hunger...

- ...feed him. - ...feed him.

If he thirst...

If he thirst...

...give him drink.

- ...give him drink. - ...give him drink.

Be not overcome with evil...

Be not overcome with evil...

...but overcome evil with good.

...but overcome evil with good.

Amen.

Glory, glory, hallelujah

His truth is marching on

Hallelujah!

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Hallelujah, Sister!

Glory, glory, hallelujah

- Brother Gantry... - Sister Rachel.

She'll be out in a moment.

Didn't I tell you, boys? Didn't I spot her genius first?

There's been nothing like her since Joan of Arc!

Now I always say, and you can quote me on this one, boys,

there's nothing succeeds like success.

Let's get 'em out of here. She's dead tired.

It was triumph over doubt and dissension.

Biggest thing in the history of Christianity.

Mr. Gantry, can I have a picture of you and Sister?

Oh, no, no. Not me.

And Sister's had a tryin' ordeal, but thank you very much.

I was just saying, if it doesn't get you here...

You're right, George. But the poor child,

she's practically out on her feet. Now, let's give her a break.

- Sure. Sure. Sure. - Shall we?

Come on, boys, let's give the little lady a break, shall we?

Time to say good night. Thank you. We appreciated all of you.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Good night, sister.

- Good night, Mr. Morgan. - Good night, Reverend.

- Good night, Bill. - Mr. Babbitt.

George boy, never have made it without you. Never made it without you.

Thanks, Elmer. Good night. Good night, all. Good night, everybody.

- Brother Gantry... - Why, Sister Rachel.

Here's a young lady who deserves your attention,

Sister Rachel, our maestro of music.

Captain Holt, a real Trojan. Thank you. Good night.

Thank you, sir. Good night.

Bill, I'll see if she needs anything. Good night.

Gantry, thank you.

Bill boy.

Yes. Yes.

- Good night. - "Bill boy." Yes.

- Good night. - Good night.

Shara?

Are you decent?

Zenith Times-Dispatch? Just a moment, please.

Slug this, "Lead all, article one."

Revivalism came to Zenith last night.

After six years of backwoods success, Sister Sharon Falconer,

F-A-L-C-O-N-E-R,

faced a fractious, overflowing, metropolitan crowd.

Paragraph.

Jim Lefferts. Later, please.

"Metropolitan crowd."

Many came to jeer,

but stayed to cheer.

Sister Sharon tamed the Philistines with a simple prayer.

The big-city hicks swallowed the chocolate-coated pill

with howling hosannas. Paragraph.

Give me a start on that, would you?

Yeah, yeah.

But,

if simple prayer was the main attraction of revivalism,

Sister's tent would soon be as empty

as the churches she claims she can fill.

Paragraph.

What is a revival?

Is it a church?

Is it a religion?

Or is it a circus sideshow

complete with freaks, magic,

and rabble-rousing?

Why does a revival attract thousands?

To see a miracle?

To be saved from a lifetime of sin in five minutes?

To be entertained, cured, cuddled, in quick, painless salvation?

Paragraph.

Zenith is the heart of the Bible belt.

This is an age that likes noise and whoopee.

We're a fertile land for corn, beans, squash,

rumble-seat sex, and revivalism.

Hallelujah, brother.

What qualifies someone to be a revivalist?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

There is not one law in any state in the Union

protecting the public from the hysterical onslaught of revivalists.

But the law does permit them to invest in tax-free property,

and collect money, without accounting for how it is used.

What do you get for your money?

Can you get into heaven by contributing one buck or 50?

Can you get life eternal by shaking hands for Jesus with Elmer Gantry?

"Continued on page three."

So...

"I've watched this unholy trinity,

"Falconer, Gantry, Morgan, save Nebraska.

"Has sin in that state been washed away?

"Is there less envy, lust or adultery?"

Gee, I hope not.

Break it up, girls. A party of johns want action.

Keep readin', honey.

But, Lulu, the guys said they'd be right over.

Drop dead!

Cigarette me, Pete, honey.

Honey, read!

"To Elmer Gantry, God is an all-American football player

"with a long white beard,

"who carries lightning in one hand,

"and a bag of tricks in the other."

"And Gantry has the high-pressure style and personality

"to sell this God even to big-city slickers.

"He can make innocent people feel guilty,

"and bad people feel good.

"Gantry has a voice made for promises."

Can he save anybody?

Can he?

Can he? Anywhere, any time.

In a tent, standin' up,

layin' down, or any other way.

And he's got plenty of ways!

Lulu? Was you saved by him, Lulu, honey?

Sister, I was saved by him way back in Schoenheim, Kansas.

"Love. Love is the mornin' and the evenin' star.

"And what is love? Not the carnal, but the divine love!"

Oh, he gave me special instructions

back of the pulpit, Christmas Eve.

He got to howlin', "Repent. Repent!"

And I got to moanin', "Save me. Save me."

And the first thing I knew, he rammed the fear of God into me so fast,

I never heard my old man's footsteps.

The next thing I knew, I was out in the cold, hard snow

in my bare little soul.

Oh, Brother Gantry, save me!

Don't do it, Shara.

Don't get yourself mixed up in an alley fight.

Shara, listen to me...

Why, Georgie, hello!

You shut up. I am crucified to pieces.

- Oh, what's the matter? - What's the matter?

"Why did George F. Babbitt underwrite a guarantee of $30,000

"to bring a revival to Zenith?

"Is Sister Sharon preaching the word of Jesus

"or the gospel of Babbitt's real-estate business?"

For God's sakes! I don't want any trouble.

I am in business. I'm a 32nd-degree Mason.

Well, now, look, George boy, don't take this thing so seriously!

I just sure as hell don't think it's a joke!

We'll lick it, Georgie!

"Georgie! Georgie!" My telephone has not stopped ringing.

Everybody's either mad at me or laughing at me.

Even my own family's turned against me.

- George... - As of right now,

I am canceling out on my support,

financial and every other way.

George, you've got to fight back!

- Fight the press? - Yes.

Mister, do you know anybody ever licked the newspapers?

Me and you.

Besides, I am for a free press, and for free enterprise,

and for whatever the hell the other freedoms are!

But, Reverend, you invited us here.

And if you withdraw your support now,

you're endorsing this vicious, bigoted newspaper smear.

These telegrams of protest...

There's always a lunatic fringe...

These, Mr. Morgan, are from my parishioners.

These are complaints from my church board.

Even my national superior telephoned me long-distance.

I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan.

Well, if you turn against us now...

What I do doesn't matter.

Public opinion has turned against you. That does matter.

Tell him its Sister Sharon Falconer.

No, I'll wait.

Did you find Mr. Gantry?

Nobody's seen him since he left the office.

- His hotel room? - Hasn't been there all day.

Yes? Mr. Eddington?

I want to see you.

No, sir, at once.

No, your office will be fine.

Will you please have Mr. Lefferts there?

Thank you.

Maybe something happened to Mr. Gantry.

Forget Mr. Gantry.

- Evening, George. - I'm busy.

I had a busy day myself.

"736 Lombard Street, two-story building.

"Owner, George F. Babbitt. Tenant, speakeasy."

I don't know what you're talking about.

Of course. Of course.

"1121, Maple Street.

"Storefront, apartment in rear. Owner, George F. Babbitt.

"Business..."

Business, prostitution.

On my property? Well, I'll have them evicted.

Of course. Of course.

You've been victimized, George. Same as me.

Yeah.

Evening, boys.

Never bet into an open pair, unless you've got the lock!

Say good night, George.

Oh, this?

Well, we're just playing for chips, you know, sociable.

You takin' me for a ride or somethin'?

You're taking me to the publisher of the Times-Dispatch.

You got somethin' on him, too?

I got you.

- Yeah, sure, but... - It's getting late, George.

The point is, why did he write this trash, and why did you publish it?

Are you suggesting censorship, miss?

Only fair play, Mr. Eddington.

And this is worst kind of muckraking!

- Is it true? - No!

Then you ought to sue us for libel.

Oh, you're much too clever for that.

It's what you imply, the veiled slurs.

Here, them sly hints that I misused collection money.

I never said that.

Did I ever preach anything but God's word?

Well? Did I?

- Are you ordained? - What?

Are you ordained?

Do you hold a degree from any recognized theological seminary?

Does Gantry?

Oh. No.

Are you sanctioned to preach by any church?

No, Mr. Lefferts,

but neither was Peter or Paul or any of the other Apostles.

But they said that they lived with the Son of God,

were taught directly by him,

were sanctified by him.

What gives you the right to speak for God?

I couldn't possibly be doing God's work without his approval.

How did you get his approval?

Did God speak to you personally?

Did he send you a letter?

Did you have a visitation from God?

A burning bush, perhaps?

Where in the New Testament does it say

that God spoke to anyone except his son?

But it does say in the 1 Corinthians,

"Let your women keep silence in the churches.

"It is a shame for women to speak in the church."

Congratulations, Jim boy.

I see you're a student of the Bible. I'm delighted.

What is it, Mr. Gantry?

Are you responsible for some of these crackpot calls I've been getting?

You want Mr. Lefferts fired, too?

Fired?

Why, I'd give Jim a bonus for boostin' circulation.

I thought you came to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

Shakespeare. Yes.

A moment ago you used the Bible to whip Sister Sharon.

Oh, I merely quoted it as a source of information.

Of course. Of course. As a good newspaperman,

you wouldn't use information unless it was fact, now, would you, Jim?

Tell me somethin', Jim.

Is the Bible fact?

Well, come on, Jim boy. Did God create the universe in six days?

Did He make the sun stand still

to help Joshua lick the Amalekites? Facts, Jim boy?

No.

Then you don't believe Moses parted the Red Sea?

No.

Or that God wrote the Ten Commandments

with a finger of lightning?

Nope.

Or that the dead were raised and the blind cured?

And 5,000 people were fed with five little fishes

and two little itty-bitty loaves of bread?

No.

You don't believe in any of the miracles in the Holy Bible, do you?

No more than I believe that

black cats or spilt salt or broken mirrors are bad luck.

Or that God can be jealous or bloodthirsty or vengeful.

Or that Jehovah sanctions bigamy

and stupidity and slavery.

In other words, you don't believe in the Bible.

I believe that the Bible is a book of beautiful poetry and wisdom...

But it's not fact.

And if it's not fact, why would he use it as information,

except to maliciously destroy her character?

I heard you say it, and you'll burn in hell for it.

No, Georgie. You can't scare Jim that way.

You see, if you don't believe in the Bible,

you don't believe there's a real hell.

Hey.

And it follows if there's no real hell,

there can't be a real heaven. Right, Jim boy?

Why don't you get to the point?

Do you believe Jesus Christ can give us life everlasting?

Do you believe Jesus Christ can give us life everlasting?

I'd love to believe it.

But you don't?

No.

Then you don't accept Jesus Christ as divine, do you?

Well?

Jesus was a great, virtuous teacher.

His faith and courage changed the Western world.

Do you accept Jesus Christ as divine?

Let me say,

I have doubts.

That's blasphemy!

No, Mr. Babbitt, to doubt is not blasphemy.

When you say "blasphemy,"

you mean, "Don't dare disagree. Don't think. Don't doubt."

But Tolstoy, Darwin, Jefferson, Lincoln, they had the same doubts.

Then they'll burn in hell, too!

Mr. Eddington, in spite of Mr. Lefferts' confessed bigotry,

I defend your right to publish these articles.

But certainly won't deny us equal rights.

Your reply will be published prominently.

Mr. Eddington, I'm no writer.

Now, Jim, here, is brilliant and witty. Uses words like a stiletto.

He learned his trade from Mencken and Ingersoll,

Sinclair Lewis, a lot of other atheists.

Atheists!

But you own a radio station.

Set the time. Half an hour. Tonight? Tomorrow? Name it.

Tomorrow and every day for two weeks,

half hour in the morning half hour in the evening.

Just to answer this article?

Mr. Eddington, I don't intend to answer anything.

You don't debate the existence of God.

Jim, here, has spread the poison of doubt and disbelief.

Just give me a chance to spread the gospel,

to raise the banner of Christianity,

to restore the faith he stole.

Now, sir, I realize time means money, especially radio time.

Right.

So our good leading citizen, George F. Babbitt,

has kindly consented to pay for every minute of radio time we use.

Right, George?

Georgie boy?

Right.

Thank you, sir. Good night. Sister.

Good night, Mr. Eddington. Mr. Lefferts.

Jim boy.

Congratulations.

I bear you no malice.

- Mr. Babbitt. - Blasphemy!

Good night, Mr. Eddington.

And you, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Oh, it was glorious.

Outrageously, blissfully glorious.

Oh, you really are an alley fighter.

You hit Brother Jim both sides of the belt!

You murdered 'em, baby. You knocked 'em flat with a celestial bolt.

Eight, nine, ten, and out! Oh, darling!

You didn't fight fair but you've seen your duty and you've done it.

Oh, darling!

Stop it. Stop it. I was crazy.

I was so happy you delivered me!

Can't you understand?

God sent you to me as his instrument, not as my lover.

No, I don't understand.

You got me half-crazy, talkin' to myself.

One minute you're a howling banshee,

the next minute, you're cold potatoes.

I don't understand anything at all, but, Shara, I worship you.

Well, then, stop treating me like one of your tramps!

There's no such thing as a tramp.

There's only honest women and dishonest women.

Oh, and you want to make an honest woman out of me. Men!

Don't knock 'em if you haven't tried 'em.

Encyclopedia Sexualis.

- I never read it. - You wrote it!

You've just got to have every woman, old, young, stupid. Even...

Even poor, starved Rachel with her wet calf eyes.

May God strike me dead this second...

Be careful, or he'll strike you stone dead

for being the ungrateful liar that you are.

Can't you ever tell the truth?

You wouldn't know the truth if it bit you.

It's you I want, Shara. No one else.

I want you so bad, I'm in pain half the time.

I'd like to tear those holy wings off you,

make a real woman out of you.

I'd show you what heaven's like,

no golden stairways or harp music or silvery clouds.

Just ecstasy, comin' and goin'.

Do you really think I'm competing for your glorious body?

You're damn right, you are.

Every woman competes with every other woman for every man.

It's the truth, Shara. You want it.

You want it as much as I do.

You want it with me.

When are you going to make up your mind to take it?

Get in the car. Go on, do as I say.

Turn on the lights, please.

There.

That's what I've been working for.

No more tents. No more running around like a circus.

No more haggling with committees.

My own tabernacle.

A permanent home.

A clinic for sick bodies. A free soup kitchen.

A place of worship for everybody of every faith.

That's my first love.

What have you got to match that?

Nothin'. Nothin' at all.

I'm just a hick from Kansas, and you're real class, Shara.

The only class I've got is the name Falconer.

That's why I picked it.

I'm Katie Jones from shantytown.

That's right. Shantytown.

But does that make a liar out of me?

I am Sharon Falconer now. I've made her.

I've put her together piece by piece

till I've got a right to be her. I am her.

I started building this tabernacle two years ago,

and when this revival is ended,

I'll have enough money to own it.

Do you think it was blind luck that brought us to Zenith?

Do you?

Of course not.

It was God's will.

Of course.

Now do you understand why you and I...

Of course. Of course.

Nothing's going to take it away from me.

- Nothing. - Nobody must spoil it.

Nobody.

I've never...

Of course.

Never.

Naturally.

Yes.

Sister Sharon?

Sister Sharon?

Jim Lefferts is an honorable man. But so was Brutus.

And we all know that Brutus was an anarchistic, alcoholic assassin.

Jim "Lucifer" Lefferts calls you, good people of Zenith,

suckers, slickers, saps.

He attacks the way you worship.

But I don't notice him attacking booze or prostitution.

Lucifer Jim says he wants to save you.

How? By stabbing Jesus with dirty lies?

By assassinating God?

I have here in my pocket,

and thank heaven you can't see them,

lewd, dirty, obscene,

and I'm ashamed to say this, French postcards.

They were sold to me, in front of your own innocent high school,

by a man with a black beard. A foreigner!

Shocking!

And last night...

Last night, right here on Main Street,

I was accosted by three painted women!

The tramps.

Your streets are made unsafe

by shameless, diseased hussies,

rapacious pickpockets, and insidious opium-smokers.

And Elmer Gantry.

This newspaper... This newspaper says everybody's against me.

It says the mildewed Methodists, Episcopalians, and Baptists are against me.

Even the ossified, petrified, horizontal,

perpendicular Presbyterians are against me!

But this newspaper lies!

Some of the preachers might be against me. Yes.

Unitarianism, Russellism, Spiritualism. They hate me!

And what hates me most of all is Harvardism,

Yaleism, and Princetonism!

But you're some of God's best people.

And you don't hate me, do you?

No!

Smack 'em down, preacher!

Kill 'em! Murder 'em!

Can you hear me, Jesus?

I'd like you to save this old friend of mine, Jim Lefferts,

who's been writin' all these dirty, black lies about me.

But I wanna warn you, Jesus.

You better wear rubber gloves and use a strong disinfectant.

But if you can save Sinner Jim, I'd like for you to do it.

What the hell's he trying to do?

Shara, they've played your introduction twice now.

Every seat is full.

This is the biggest crowd we've ever had.

Please, Shara.

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

We're all sinners, every blessed one of us.

Booze! Booze put a bullet through Lincoln and McKinley!

Booze is the way white slavers

rob the virtue of 60,000 American girls every year!

The bootleggers, the white slavers,

and that newspaper are tryin' to scare me and Sister out of town!

But as long as I got a foot, I'll kick booze!

As long as I got a fist, I'll punch it!

And as long as I've got a tooth, I'll bite it!

And when I'm old and gray and toothless and bootless,

I'll gum it till I go to heaven and booze goes to hell!

That's a hell of a speech.

It's been eight days. It's been eight days

since I gave you the addresses

of 11 blind tigers, two cocaine peddlers,

and 16 brothels.

And what's been done about it?

Nothing, Captain.

We're gettin' sick and tired of scoldin' sin.

We're gonna abolish it!

We'll show 'em how to clean up this town tonight! Right now!

Charge!

Elmer, be careful.

Courage, Sister. Courage.

Going on before

Christ, the royal Master...

Brother Jim! Glad to see you on the side of the angels.

Aren't you afraid some of these desperate bootleggers carry guns?

No bullet can pierce the Holy Bible.

They might not aim at the Holy Bible.

Very good! Onward!

Christian soldiers

Marching as to war

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before...

Smash that speakeasy door!

What for? Just knock. They'll open up.

Captain. My good man.

Hold it! All right, Reverend.

Hey, what's the hurry?

Sinful woman!

That's a dirty lie! We pay protection every week.

Shame! Shame!

Take 'em away, men!

Whiskey!

Why didn't you give me a phone call?

Don't break the furniture!

Should've seen what this one was doing.

- Take your filthy hands off... - Harlot!

You ought to be ashamed...

Arrest this woman!

...soldiers, marching as to war

Captain Holt, Captain Holt.

May I suggest you release these poor, unfortunate creatures?

- What? But you told me... - I know. I know.

But throwing a prostitute into jail will not remove her sin.

And it certainly won't get rid of prostitution.

No pictures. No publicity. No, no, please.

Captain Holt, I want to compliment you and your men

on a fine, patriotic job.

Why, thank you, sir.

See these girls leave town. And quick.

Excuse me, Mr. Gantry.

That Mr. Gantry, he's absolutely incredible.

Well, the fabulous thing about Mr. Gantry is, he's absolutely credible.

- Excuse me, please. - She's here, Mr. Gantry.

- Oh, Mr. Gantry... - Not now. Not now.

Later. Later. Later.

There you are. Sister'll see all of you

as soon as she's had a moment's rest.

Mayor, congressman, the Governor, and lookie here, Shara.

Offers from England, Japan, Australia,

Madison Square Garden... The circus.

From me to you.

Shara, you shouldn't have.

How about you sneaking away with Katie Jones on a real fun picnic?

No telegrams, no newspapers, no sermons.

The only business of the day will be us. Just the two of us.

Oh, Shara.

- We can't. - But why?

I've got the escape all planned.

The getaway car's out front.

Motor's running, bathing suits, sandwiches.

We'll disappear before they even know we've gone.

In a few minutes, you're gonna cinch a contribution from that ladies' committee.

At 11:00, we dedicate your Waters of the Jordan Tabernacle,

the Mayor, fireworks, the brass band, everything.

12.30, lunch, Rosen's department store,

where you say grace for 200 washing machine salesmen.

And at 2:00...

I'll be exhausted, irritable and hateful.

Shara...

We'll celebrate tonight.

Late.

- Oh, tonight's a thousand years away. - Shara, baby...

Oh, very well.

Bring in those smug little ladies with their fat little hands,

fat little souls, and fat little...

Don't forget their fat little checkbooks.

Ladies. Dear ladies.

Mr. Gantry? You're wanted on the phone.

Thank you. Bill.

I'll take it right here.

Lovely morning, isn't it?

- Hello? - Oh, Mr. Gantry,

it's so nice meeting you.

Sister joyously awaits you.

- Oh, Mr. Gantry. - Thank you very much.

Hello? Yes, this is Dr. Gantry...

Mr. Gantry. Who?

Elmer, honey? It's Lulu.

Who?

I just called to say thanks for gettin' me out of that jam last night.

What's the address?

- Mr. Gantry, I just had to congratulate you. - Thank you.

You were marvelous last night.

Last night? Oh. Yes.

Get hold of Benny.

Now, wait a minute.

This Gantry bum's a preacher.

Get hold of Benny.

Okay.

What are these pictures for, divorce or blackmail?

Benny, will you come on!

Now, chick, remember, position is everything.

No!

I mean, without any flash powder,

you gotta get this guy to freeze for a couple of seconds.

Time exposure takes time. So keep him still and quiet.

But that's so dull!

And keep the radio playin'.

So he don't hear this.

- Okay? - Okay.

Okay, okay. Let's go!

Hey, chick. This preacher fella...

You think you could get him into bed?

Are you kiddin'?

Hey, Benny. Come on!

You look swell, kid.

- Likewise. - Just swell.

Sorry about last night.

Forget it.

If I'd known I'd run into you, I'd have...

Oh, that's okay.

What the hell's the big idea?

Elmer, honey...

You think I'm really gonna sit still for a shakedown?

Baby, how could I put the squeeze on you?

Who's gonna take the word of a five-buck hooker?

The old badger game, huh?

I only wanted to see you for...

For what?

Well, for...

For what?

Gee, honey, look. Look, I'm almost packed.

The cops gave me notice.

I got a ticket on the midnight bus.

I got no beef against you.

I only wanted to see you once more.

Kick around some old memories, maybe have a few laughs.

Go on.

Yeah.

Who am I kiddin'?

When you first hit town, I figured

you could go to hell any way you wanted without my help.

When you came bustin' in last night

like God Almighty wearin' a tin star, I got mad, boilin' mad.

All I could think of was me, how you took me and ditched me.

That's all I could think of. Me, little Miss Lulu, the dumb pushover.

And when the cops said, "Get out of town in 24 hours,"

all I wanted to do was spit in your eye,

blackmail you, a shakedown, anything to hurt you.

But...

But when you walked in just now...

Gee, honey,

it was like the first time between us all over again.

All goose pimples and...

You'd better beat it.

I'm sorry I phoned.

I won't make any trouble. Not even if I could.

Please go now.

I did run out on you back there in Kansas, didn't I?

It's nobody's fault.

Except maybe my old man's.

Ever hear from him?

Once, last Christmas.

The letter said, "Daughter, read 1 Kings, Chapter 21, verse 23."

I looked it up.

It said "And the dogs in the street shall eat Jezebel."

My old man and his Bible.

Tell me.

How is it some people can only find hate in the Bible?

Where will you be going to?

I think I'll go tramping through Paris this season.

Can you use some cash? Sort of tide you over?

Just... Just kiss me goodbye.

Just once.

What's she doin'?

Stay awhile.

Talk to me.

Oh, don't go yet. Please, don't go.

Tell me anything.

Tell me a good, strong lie I can believe, but hold me.

Just hold me like you used to.

Please.

No use, Lu.

Why?

Because I...

I don't know. I...

Because of what? Because of her?

That Bible broad?

I'm sorry. No hard feelings.

Please. Don't go yet.

Lu, I...

You know, I... I could use some of that cash after all.

Why, sure. Maybe I could send you some from time to time.

That is, till you get a job, or...

Or maybe meet some nice, respectable man, huh?

I meet nice, respectable men every night.

The best bank in America.

Take care of yourself.

Likewise, hon.

Class. She's got real class.

Wake up! Wake up, Miss Katie Jones!

You see before your very eyes, the captain of the SS Happiness,

fishing boat extraordinary.

All aboard for a glorious, carefree, happy cruise.

Fun, fish, frolic, and romance.

Guaranteed.

Bill! Not one word, not even one, about legal documents,

tents, moneys, or lost souls.

We're going on a picnic, see.

And if you squeal, we'll put the finger on you and rub you out.

Do you think I'd rat on a couple of pals?

It will be all right, won't it, just for one day?

Well, in that outfit, the fish'll jump into the boat just to look at you.

Yes.

We're going! We're going on a picnic!

I've been promising to take her on a picnic.

You got that look, Bill. What's the matter?

Elmer, the Great. Elmer, the Grifter.

The con man conned with the oldest badger game in the world.

Bill, I don't want Shara to see these.

She'll have to.

Bill, I'll do anything you say. I'll... I'll quit. I...

Don't let Shara see these.

She's got to see them.

Darling, don't you think we ought to take Bill on the picnic with us?

I...

I suppose they're for sale?

$25,000.

Twenty-five thousand...

2:00 today. Cash. In small bills.

And she wants Shara to bring her the money, nobody else.

Her name is Lulu Bains.

Get the money.

One more thing.

She wants you to bring the money to 721, Lombard Street.

That's where she worked before it was raided.

Sammy! Get out of the water!

Make yourself right at home, honey.

Be right there!

I've brought the money.

May I have the negatives, please?

Extra, Jack!

Yeah. Yeah, I read the story, I saw the pictures.

Thank you very much.

- Did you see this? - Yeah.

I saw it.

Did you see this?

Yeah.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong,

but I understand she brought these pictures to you first.

- Yeah. - And you turned her down?

Why?

These stupid pictures prove only one thing,

that Gantry's as human as anybody else.

Jim, it's the obligation of a free press to print anything...

You're right, Mr. Eddington.

A free press can print anything, including lies.

And that's exactly what that pornography is, blackmailing lies.

...falls the eventide

The darkness deepens

Why don't those men take off their hats?

...and comforts flee

Help of the helpless

First time I've seen Reverend Pengilly up there.

First time they've ever been in trouble up there.

Thank you for coming here tonight.

You have every right to an explanation.

I will try to give it to you.

Tell us about sin, Sister!

Antichrist!

You Judas, you!

You false prophet!

You faker, you!

- Boo! - Yeah!

Liar! Damn your own soul, Mr. Gantry!

You call yourself a preacher?

Come on, Rachel.

Rachel, you've gotta get out of here.

Hey, Mr. Gantry!

- Hello? - My name is Mrs. Welmer.

I'm a churchgoer. I go to church every Sunday...

You tell that Sister Sharon...

Get out of town, preacher woman!

Go home, Sister!

Poor Sister!

Oh, my God.

Why hast thou forsaken me?

We'll take you home.

Why'd you do it?

Did she show with the money?

Well?

Yes.

Why didn't you go through with it? Why?

You wouldn't understand.

I know. You took the pictures to the paper

'cause they were gonna pay you more, huh?

How much did you get for 'em?

Nothing.

I didn't sell them.

You were never gonna sell 'em.

Not even to that Sister woman, were you?

You hate Gantry that much?

Or do you love him that much?

Then you're no good to me.

Or yourself.

You're no good to anybody!

Don't you know that hurts?

I'm sorry, Lu.

I'm sorry for everything.

Brothers and sisters,

goodbye.

Amen.

Jim boy!

You look like a man who could use a drink.

Booze.

You know somethin', Jim?

There ought to be a law against drinkin'.

There is. Prohibition.

That's a law against sellin', not drinkin'.

Amen.

- Happy days! - I'll drink to that.

God, that's good.

Would you look at this place, Jim?

What were they so mad about, anyhow?

The mob don't like their Gods to be human.

They hurt you?

Not as much as you hurt me.

Nothing personal.

What'll you do now?

Well, the way I got it figured, you're up, you're down,

you sin, you're saved.

You do the best you can, and you leave the rest to the Lord.

You really do believe in the Lord, don't you?

You're damn right, I do.

It does a man good to get down on his knees once in a while.

That's why people come to a place like this,

because they're scared, or sick,

or because they got no money, or too much money.

Or before a war, or after a war.

Praying's the cheapest first-rate medicine I know.

That's why Shara was so good for them.

She's a lot of woman.

Yeah.

You ought to marry her.

Don't tell me you believe in holy matrimony?

I can recommend it, never having tried it.

Too late now, Jim boy.

Maybe not.

Miss Bains was waiting for me at the paper with that story.

How'd you get her to do it?

I didn't.

The Lord sure moves in mysterious ways.

Any minute now, ladies and gentlemen,

you will hear the voice of Sister Sharon Falconer,

but not that, I'm afraid, of Elmer Gantry.

For Mr. Gantry has completely vanished since three nights ago.

I've checked the police, hospitals, railroads, bus depots, everywhere.

Where is he? Where?

Every wire service in the country's asking the same question.

He's page-one news.

If anything happened to him, you'd know it.

Yes.

Yes, I would know it.

He'll be here, I'm... I'm sure of it. We'll wait for him.

We can't wait.

Some of those people have been out there since early morning.

I won't go on without him.

Maybe he won't be back.

Just a feeling.

We'll wait for him.

One in hope and doctrine

One in charity

Onward, Christian soldiers

Marching as to war

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before

Elmer?

Oh, darling!

Darling!

- Gantry's back. - How do you know?

Somebody just saw him. Where's a phone around here?

What about your friend Gantry?

Quite a guy! Son of a...

Let me look at you.

Three endless days without a word.

Why?

Don't you realize how much I need you?

Are you angry? With me?

No, Shara.

Don't ever leave me again. Ever.

Shara.

Yes?

What would happen if we chucked the whole works,

beat it across the state line,

get good and married, like most folks?

Have a bunch of kids,

take 'em to a ball game like most folks.

Go dancin'.

We've never gone dancin' together, not even once.

Let's do it, Shara. Tonight. Right now.

But all those people...

If they wanna pray,

let 'em go to church.

But...

This is their church.

Look!

Look! A shooting star!

It's a sign,

an omen for the glory that begins tonight.

Ready, Shara?

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Wish me luck.

Glory, glory, hallelujah

His truth is marching on

If you believe in the faith of your own Sister Sharon...

Yes!

...if you believe in the innocence of Elmer Gantry...

Yes!

...and if you believe in God Almighty...

Yes!

...reassure them with a mighty "Hallelujah!"

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah, Sister!

At this very moment,

the power of the Holy Ghost has descended on this tabernacle.

He is here.

Here right now.

Just now, across the heavens, towards the end of the world,

I saw an omen.

A fiery line written by the hand of God, a glorious shooting star!

Thus, God has told us of his coming.

Have we lost God?

Have we lost contact with the supernatural?

Have we lost faith? Because without faith, we are morally sick.

Faith is the strongest force in the world.

Faith can raise the dead.

Faith can heal. Faith is the...

Help me, Sister! Help me!

Help me.

He can't hear, Sister. He's deaf.

Let him alone, please.

Help me, Sister.

Heal me.

You should've just taken him to a doctor.

God is the greatest healer of all.

Was he born deaf?

A storm woke him up one night.

He screamed he couldn't hear the thunder.

He could feel it but he couldn't hear it.

You're his wife?

Yes, Sister. I'm sorry to trouble you.

Do you believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?

Do you believe that Jesus could heal

by the laying on of hands

and that he passed this gift on to his disciples?

Pray with me, everyone.

Please pray with me. I need your faith.

Oh, Lord.

Oh, God, be merciful.

Heal.

Heal.

Oh, God, help us in our weakness.

Punish us for our sins, but reward us for our faith.

Heal.

Heal.

Let thy spirit fill this tabernacle.

Let thy holiness bless this house,

created for thy glory,

and thine alone.

Heal!

Pray for God to heal!

Heal!

God...

Can you hear me?

Oh, God, I...

I... I think I...

- Repeat after me. - Repeat after me.

- Blessed is the Lord. - Blessed is the Lord.

We thank thee, O Lord, for thy mercy.

We thank thee, O Lord.

I can hear.

Oh, God. I can hear!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For the Lord God

Omnipotent reigneth

Please wait. Please wait.

Don't, don't. Don't get excited.

Oh, my God.

- Are you all right? - Please.

Yes. Take care of the others, please.

You're in the house of God!

Those who believe in God will be saved. Trust in the Lord!

Oh! Oh!

Out of my way!

Are you all right, Shara? Shara? Shara?

No. No. No. No. No!

Shara!

Help! Help!

No, please wait.

No, wait! Please, wait!

Wait! You must have faith!

- Wait! - Shara!

Shara!

Shara!

Shara!

Shara! Shara!

Shara! Shara!

It's hers.

It's all we could find.

People everywhere would appreciate having a word from you, Mr. Gantry.

Anything at all.

Speak to us, Mr. Gantry.

Please ask Sister Sharon to forgive us.

There ain't nothin' to forgive.

It was mighty hot in there.

Hotter than the fires of damnation.

I ran. I was afraid.

Please ask Sister not to hate me.

Can you hear me up there, Sister?

Do you hate these folks?

She don't hate you. She loves you.

Praise the Lord and his love.

And what is love?

Love is the mornin' and the evenin' star.

Love is the voice of music. So sing.

Sing out the Lord's love.

I'm on my way

Up to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Up to Canaan land

I'm on my way

Up to Canaan land

On my way

Glory, hallelujah

I'm on my way

It's a mighty hard climb

But I'm on my way

It's a mighty hard climb

That was inspired.

Think that was inspired, Jim boy?

I think it was real friendly.

You know, Shara would want you to go on with her work.

We'll get a tent, a bigger one this time.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child.

"I understood as a child.

"When I became a man, I put away childish things."

St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:11.

So long, Bill.