They Call It Sin

Year: 1932

Runtime: 69 mins

Language: English

Director: Thornton Freeland

Drama

Set in 1920, a naive church organist from a small town is abruptly expelled from her home after being told she was adopted and that her mother was a wicked woman. Determined to follow the man she loves, she heads to the big city, only to find herself alone and forced to survive on her wits.

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They Call It Sin (1932) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of They Call It Sin (1932), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

Small-town church organist Marion Cullen, Loretta Young, discovers that the couple who raised her are not truly her parents and that she is the illegitimate daughter of a showgirl. This revelation sends Marion to New York City in search of Jimmy Decker, [David Manners], the traveling salesman she loves. She soon learns he is engaged to Enid Hollister, [Helen Vinson], the daughter of his boss. Dr. Travers, [George Brent], who is in love with Marion, offers to help, but she decides to try to make it on her own. The truth about her parentage comes to light: the Cullens—the couple who raised her—Mrs. Cullen, [Elizabeth Patterson], and Mr. Cullen, [Erville Alderson], were not her real parents.

With few prospects in sight, Marion steps into the bustling world of show business and teams up with other hopeful showgirls, among them Dixie Dare, [Una Merkel], as they audition for Ford Humphries’ production. The philandering producer, [Louis Calhern], hires Marion as a piano accompanist, and Dixie also lands a job; the two quickly become friends and roommates, sharing small apartments and big dreams.

Travers observes the closeness between Humphries and Marion and, sensing trouble, brings Jimmy to Humphries’ party to keep him honest. Jimmy, who still loves Marion, speaks his heart, but she refuses to break up his marriage. She also resists Humphries’ advances, and he fires her. Desperate, Humphries tries to appropriate one of Marion’s songs for his show, claiming he wrote it. When Marion confronts him, he denies everything, leaving her to face the fallout alone.

Jimmy rushes to Humphries’ suite to urge him to do the right thing, but a heated confrontation ends with Humphries tumbling onto a balcony and slipping into a coma. The police close in on Jimmy, viewing him as the prime suspect in a possible murder. To shield Jimmy, Marion fabricates a confession to a crime that never happened. Dr. Travers steps in, performs a long, grueling operation, and Humphries—now conscious again—recounts what truly occurred in the presence of witnesses before dying. With the truth revealed, Marion is freed and accepts Travers’s proposal, stepping into a new life as his fiancée while Jimmy wishes them well from afar.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 09:32

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