Boys Town

Released Sep 8, 1938

1h 36m

Drama

List

90%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

The devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan (Spencer Tracy) 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 (Mickey Rooney), 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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Audience Member

Very good. Spencer Tracy is always great!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/03/22

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a pretty famous movie, one of those old-fashioned feel-good films that bring a tear or two to the eye of the sensitive individual. It's very dated, yes, but part of that "dated" means mostly nice kids, not brats and more nice role models, instead of extremely-flawed heroes. It seems, as film fans, we normally got one of the extremes thrown at us: overly good or overly bad. This is overly good.....but I'm fine with that. Mickey Rooney really livens the film up with his appearance. He and most of the characters represent an America that is long gone, people and ideas that are way too "corny" for today's audience. Sometimes it's sappy but sometimes it's refreshing to see, too. The "bad" kids in this film seem pretty nice and tame to today's bad kids, believe me. "There are no bad boys," as Father Flanagan put it, and one would wonder if that still applied today. Flanagan is nicely portrayed by Spencer Tracy. The priest is shown to be one who had a real heart for wayward boys. Spencer and Rooney are the obvious stars of this sentimental story but little "Pee Wee," played by Bobs Watson, is the most endearing character in the movie. Corny but a remembrance of a much more innocent America.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not a bad exercise, but the time has made it predictable and lacking punch.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

A classic and wholesome tale.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

steve d

Tracy at his best with a powerful story.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Spencer Tracy is an acclaimed actor who I always assumed that I would someday "get" as from what I have seen of his work so far he seems to play nice, morally upright, often religious American men in fairly one note performances. He appeared in a lot of films that were considered important during their time but I did not find him remarkable in them and in the romantic comedies he made with real life partner Katharine Hepburn she does most of the work. This is the second of two consecutive Academy Award wins so I thought that his performance here would be one of his best but shockingly I found it even less impressive than his work in even lighter fare than Father of the Bride (1950). The film itself I really hated as it was the sort of schmaltz popular with the Academy during the 1930s and the fact that religion was being forced on me actively turned me against the film. The kindly Father Flanagan, Spencer Tracy, chooses to open a home where underprivileged young men can be rehabilitated after speaking to a man who has become a convicted murderer as a result of his difficult childhood. Flanagan takes on several young men with troubled backgrounds but with order and regimentation the boys become devoted to their new leader. They set up proper facilities for the boy and Flanagan allows them to set out certain laws with unruly boys getting punished if they do not fall in line. Flanagan finds a seemingly insurmountable challenge in trying to convert Whitey Marsh, Mickey Rooney, to Christianity and stop him from committing criminal acts because he is the brother of the dangerous Joe Marsh, Edward Norris. With an election of the new leader of Boys Town Marsh launches an unprecedented campaign but his efforts may not be rewarded. The specter of religion that spreads across the entire film is something that alienated me because as an atheist I disagreed with the messages put forward and was angered when the characters were hypocritical. Much like Going My Way (1944) this film supports the idea that religious institutions should be provided with money from banks without having to pay back debts. This is an offensive idea to me because that money is being taken from hardworking people who have put the money they earned into the bank for safekeeping and an institution that may go against their beliefs spending their money without their permission is a terrifying thought. I support the idea of troubled young people having their lives improved by social services but having religion involved could be problematic as elements of their doctrine, particularly in the 1940s, could damage a young man's psyche and encourage discrimination against minorities. This film values the religion aspect over the rehabilitation as we see far more of the boys singing angelically in a church choir than the methods that are employed to help them understand the root cause of their troubles and how to improve. The schmaltz is laid on mercilessly as it feels like an awful line like "There is no bad boy" is trotted out every fifteen minutes because it practically is. This is the sort of thing that Tracy says when presented with a ‘challenge' which is almost always resolved in five minutes with very little consideration or development on Flanagan's part. He is a perfect saint throughout and learns nothing from his experiences as he is never asked to question his religious beliefs, learn new teaching methods or come to terms with mistakes he has made. Plot twists used for dramatic effect also come out of nowhere and are not dealt with sufficiently as at one point a young boy dies in front of Marsh after being struck by a car and while this was meant to be an emotional moment as Rooney begins crying a scene later everybody appears to be unaffected. The film seems like a series of events vaguely stitched together with each moment meant to tug at the heartstrings of middle America harder until finally they end up weeping. I cannot imagine many modern viewers being swayed by this film's clumsy attempts at emotional manipulation but I am glad we have moved beyond the era of Spencer Tracy playing father figures with little emotional depth.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Norman Taurog

Director

Spencer Tracy

Father Edward J. Flanagan

Mickey Rooney

Whitey Marsh

Henry Hull

Dave Morris

Leslie Fenton

Dan Farrow

Addison Richards

The Judge

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Variety Staff

Variety

Tracy, showing necessary restraint, makes his portrayal of Flanagan sincere and human.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: 4/5

May 8, 2003

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Mickey Rooney is a hard case, but eventually he cracks -- as will you, under the relentless, flat sentimentality of Norman Taurog's direction.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Ann Ross

Maclean's Magazine

It's a genuine human story, dramatically handled and finely acted.

Jul 23, 2019

Full Review

TV Guide

One of the more overrated films of its era.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 10, 2012

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

There's only one Christmas scene, but the movie's sentimental mood makes for nice holiday viewing.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 25, 2009

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Synopsis

The devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan (Spencer Tracy) 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 (Mickey Rooney), the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.

Director: Norman Taurog
Screenwriter: Eleanore Griffin, John Meehan, Dore Schary
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 8, 1938, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 36m

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