Boys Town
Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making themselves better people. But hard-nosed petty thief and pool shark Whitey Marsh, the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.
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- Cast：
- Spencer Tracy , Mickey Rooney , Henry Hull , Leslie Fenton , Gene Reynolds , Edward Norris , Addison Richards
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Reviews
Let's be realistic.
hyped garbage
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
While Spencer Tracy won the coveted best actor Oscar here, the real acting kudos should have easily gone to Mickey Rooney, as the product of a bad environment, a potential gangster-to-be who has a heart.The picture shows the effects of the poor downtrodden youth with nothing to live for as they descend into a life of crime.Flanagan tried to put an end to this never ending misery by creating a haven for such abandoned, troubled boys.There is plenty of action, near-tragedy and redemption. This was a superior film in every respect.Rooney was never better. His defiance,and yet final redemption were both masterfully done.
SPENCER TRACY underplays the role of Father Flanagan who was the man behind the creation of BOYS TOWN and yet Hollywood thought his performance deserved an Oscar in 1938. The film looks very dated now and the sentiment is laid on a bit thick. The delinquent boys seem more like stereotyped cardboard characters dreamed up by the scriptwriter with only occasional glimmers of truth in the acting.Best among the supporting cast are GENE REYNOLDS (always a fine child actor who later turned his talents to directing) and little BOBS WATSON, who does a remarkably convincing job of playing the little boy who worships "Whitey," played by MICKEY ROONEY. Rooney's performance is a bit too blustery but there are moments when his acting nails the truth.Still, it's hard to know how much "truth" there is in the story told here, since so much of the script seems to depend on contrivances that make one suspect it's a purely fictionalized account of the actual story behind the development of Flanagan's Boys Town. Anyone with a fondness for Tracy and Rooney will find it easy enough to sit through, but I don't think it's the finest work of either star.
Nominally the founding of Boys Town by Father Flanagan and his push to prove that there are no bad boys.Its as syrupy and sweet as they come. I doubt very much that the film is very close to what happened since everything in Spencer Tracy's hands is bound to be okay. I have no idea why but I was moved to mistiness a couple of times. Of course there is never any doubt that Boys Town will grow and thrive and of course Mickey Rooney's bad boy with a heart of gold is much too good to be true and is bound to do the right thing in the end. Still its a grand little film of the sort they don't make any more (and would be laughed off the screen if they did). Absolutely worth a look see when it reappears on TV or as a rental.(my only real problem is that Spencer Tracy won his second Oscar in a row for his portrait of Father Flanagan, either they really liked him or the other nominees weren't very good since the role is truly unremarkable, well played, but nothing special.)
A success in its day, "Boys Town" is the story of how a Priest saves his "Home for Juvenile Delinquent Boys". He takes in boys that society can't manage, and operates under the motto: "There is No Bad Boy." Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney star as Priest and head Bad Boy.I was interested in seeing two great stars, Mr. Tracy and Mr. Rooney, work together. They don't. Norman Taurog directs. Rooney fails from going over-the-top, and Tracy sometimes look bored. They each have some moments. You can't fault Rooney for playing a part with the enthusiasm of "Strike Up the Band!" when they give him scenes like the "black face" bit in "Boys Town". Tracy doesn't get to wear any "black face", so he comes off better. It looks like the only Black face in "Boys Town" is the one painted on "Whitey".I like the "candy scenes" scenes. I liked the tribute to FDR by Tracy and Gene Reynolds (as "Tony"). I didn't think the film was as good as its "message"; the ingredients put in to the film do not mix well. It doesn't have to be, but it isn't very realistic, either. A too sentimental presentation (of a worthy message) with some famous performances. ***** Boys Town (9/8/38) Norman Taurog ~ Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Gene Reynolds
