Walk Softly, Stranger

When Chris Hale arrives at the doorstep of his childhood Ohio home, the current resident, widow Mrs. Brentman, invites him to enter. Chris, who is unemployed, accepts Mrs. Brentman's offer of a room and takes a job in the shipping department of the Corelli shoe factory. He meets Elaine Corelli, his boss's beautiful but paralyzed daughter. Speaking of the days when he used to deliver newspapers to her door and adored her from afar, Chris amuses and fascinates her. The next day, Chris is summoned to see Elaine's father A. J., who tells him that Elaine was so taken with him that she asked that he be given a better job in sales. Chris declines the offer but assures Corelli, who is devoted to his daughter, that he will explain his decision to Elaine. Chris, a confessed gambler and drifter, offers Elaine a vague explanation.