The Lion's Den (1919)

Reverend Sam Webster admonishes his parishioners for their failure to finance a boys' club to keep the boys from frequenting the town's pool halls. The richest man in town, Grocer Stedman, whose daughter Dorothy loves Webster, responds to Webster's request for $2,500, half the amount needed, by writing a check for $25. Then, in order to make money for the club, Webster follows Dorothy's suggestion and goes into partnership with Grocer Jarvis, whom Stedman had nearly driven out of business. After Stedman lowers his prices below cost, Webster enlists the aid of the boys who encourage their mothers to buy at his store. Although Stedman succeeds in having Webster removed from the ministry, when a clerk sets the store on fire after Stedman accuses him of dishonesty, Webster and the boys save the grocer and put out the blaze. Stedman then apologizes, offers to build the club himself, and sanctions Dorothy's marriage to Webster, which occurs at the clubhouse opening.