Boys Town

Boys Town

About

Tracy won his second Oscar here playing the Catholic priest Father Flannigan who set up a school and home for juvenile boys. The film documents how he is touched by the plight of the young thugs around him and decides to offer them a chance in life and looks at the relationship he builds up with tough kid Whitey (18-year-old Rooney) who shows weakness only when he sees his best friend hit by a car.

Cast & Connections

Actor: Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Edward Norris, Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, Gene Reynolds
Director: Norman Taurog
Writer: john Meehan, Dore Schary, Eleanor Griffin
Producer: John W Considine Jr
Photographer: Sidney Wagner

In a nutshell

In the 30s, this sort of sentimentality was celebrated (the movies got a writing Oscar) but these days you might gag at some of the more saccharine aspects.

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