Boys Town (1938)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

John Meehan (screenplay) and
Dore Schary (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 September 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Greater than the imagination of the best writers!

Plot:

Against all odds Father Flanagan starts "Boys' Town" after hearing a convict's story. Whitey Marsh comes there...

Plot Keywords:

Children | Classic | Father Edward J. Flanagan | Irish American | Bishop

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	Father Flanagan
Mickey Rooney	...	Whitey Marsh
Henry Hull	...	Dave Morris
Leslie Fenton	...	Dan Farrow
Gene Reynolds	...	Tony Ponessa
Edward Norris	...	Joe Marsh
Addison Richards	...	The Judge
Minor Watson	...	The Bishop
Jonathan Hale	...	John Hargraves
Bobs Watson	...	Pee Wee
Martin Spellman	...	Skinny
Mickey Rentschler	...	Tommy Anderson
Frankie Thomas	...	Freddie Fuller
Jimmy Butler	...	Paul Ferguson
Sidney Miller	...	Mo Kahn

Also Known As:

Boys' Town (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

96 min | 93 min (DVD version) | West Germany:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4528) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:12 | Finland:S | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Boys Town, Nebraska, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Freddie Bartholomew was considered for the part of Mickey Rooney's best friend, but was not cast because the producers felt he was too associated with Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) and so would not be believable in this film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Pee Wee is hit by a car and the car stops, but the driver does not come and see.

Quotes:

Dan Farrow: [panicky, about to die in the electric chair] How much time have I got, Father?
Father Edward J. Flanagan: Eternity begins in forty-five minutes, Dan.
Dan Farrow: What happens then?
Father Edward J. Flanagan: Oh, a bad minute or two.
Dan Farrow: And after that?
Father Edward J. Flanagan: Well, Dan, that's a question that scientists and philosophers have been asking for a million years.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Northern Exposure: The Big Kiss (#2.2)" (1991)

There is no such thing as a bad boy - Father Flanegan

The "true story" of Father Flanagan, an Catholic Priest in early 1900's Nebraska, whose motto "There is no such thing as a bad boy" lead him to open a large orphanage for boys nobody wanted. With love and the insistance that there is always hope, the man "gets through" to even the toughest kids anyone else would have called "hopeless".

Spencer Tracy won his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar as the long suffering Flannegan. Mickey Rooney is great as Flannegan's "toughest challenge", and many of the orphans give genuine performances in this Hollywood Classic. The movie "Boys Town" was a major boost to the real-life orphanage, eventually catapulting it to a successful multi-million dollar organization, helping boys (and girls) throughout the US!

"Boy's Town" gives hope to all of the "orphans" among us. Whether without parents, or from unhappy homes. There are always caring individuals whose life goal it is to "leave no child behind". Where there is life, there is hope!*****