When Mountain City racketeer Charles Gillette is acquitted, he arrives at the Mountain City World newsroom and vows revenge on the Better Government Committee who put him behind bars. Members of the committee include Colonel Bogardus, owner of the World , Horace Mitchell, a candidate for mayor, and Mr. Franklin, a department store owner. First Gillette buys a rival newspaper, the Sentinel , and offers a pricey editorship to World newsman Ralph Houston, who refuses the offer on principle. That evening, Ralph and his partner, Tod Swain, are greeted at home by a creditor, and Vina Swain, Ralph's fiancée, is furious to find out he turned down Gillette's offer. When she learns Ralph went into debt to put her through college, she warns Gillette of a police raid and pays back Ralph's debt with Gillette's renumeration. When Ralph orders Vina not to work for Gillette, she breaks their engagement.
Fred MacMurray
as Ralph Houston
Frances Farmer
as Vina Swain
Charles Ruggles
as Tod Swain
Lloyd Nolan
as Charles Gillette
Fay Holden
as Mrs. Swain
Horace McMahon
as Beak McArdle
Ralph Morgan
as Horace Mitchell
Edward H. Robins
as Colonel Bogardus
Harlan Briggs
as Springer
Willard Robertson
as Mr. Franklin
William Mansell
as Formby
Steve Pendleton
as Elliott
