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Danny inherits two houses in the central coastal area of California, "just outside the old seaport town of Monterey", So Pilon and his poor, idle friends move in. One of them, the Pirate, is saving money that Pilon endeavors to steal, until he discovers that it is being collected to purchase a golden candlestick that Pirate intends to burn to honor St. Francis, for healing his sick dog, that later is run over and killed. One of Danny's houses burns down, so he allows his friends to move into the other house with him, and in gratitude Pilon tries to make life better for his friend. Things are fine at first, until Danny's passion for a lovely girl named Dolores causes him to actually go to work in a fishing business. A misunderstanding caused by Pilon about a vacuum cleaner that Danny had bought for the girl enrages Danny; he becomes drunk and a bit crazy. He almost dies in an accident while interrupting the girl at her work in a cannery, but through Pilon's prayers, is restored to health. Danny marries his sweetheart, with the promise that he will become a fisherman, now that Pilon has raised the money to buy a boat. The movie's happy ending is different from the novel's ending, in which Danny dies after a fall.
According to MGM records, the film earned $1,865,000 at the US and Canadian box office, and $746,000 elsewhere, for a profit of $542,000.[1][3]
Critical response
Film critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, writing that the film "is really a little idyll which turns its back on a workaday world...it is filled with solid humor and compassion—and that is pleasant, even for folks who have to work".[4]
