The film continually questions the real character of Gantry - was he just a charlatan or a saving saint, or a combination of both?His first memorable appearance on screen in the speakeasy demonstrates his high-energy eloquence with words in an impromptu Christmas-Eve sermon.] Anna exudes a fatalistically-romantic attraction for Harry:Holly: You were in love with him, weren""t you?Anna: I don""t know.") David is soon forced to defend the purse he holds, and put into a position that again appears dishonest, unstable, foolish and feminine.The screenplay, co-written by director Frank Capra (uncredited) and Robert Riskin, was based on an August 1933Cosmopolitanmagazine story titled "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams.