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Men of Boys Town

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Men of Boys Town

Released Apr 11, 1941

1h 46m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Father Edward Flanagan (Spencer Tracy), head of the Boys Town home for troubled boys, attends the trial of young Ted Martley (Larry Nunn), a paraplegic charged with murdering a guard at the Marysport reformatory. When Ted confides that Marysport is corrupt and brutal, the priest takes him to Boys Town, where he places him with his protégé, Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney). Later visiting Marysport, Whitey gets involved with a young delinquent and witnesses how bad the conditions are there.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Like its predecessor Boys Town, this one carries socko entertainment for wide general appeal, including plenty of tear-jerking and sentimental episodes to blur the eyes of the most calloused.

Oct 31, 2019

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Father Flanagan's colony for homeless boys near Omaha, Neb., was served very well by Metro in its memorable Boys Town, but that service is in no way duplicated by the sequel.

Mar 25, 2006

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John Kinloch

California Eagle

Pretty soggy stuff.

Oct 31, 2019

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Elena de la Torre

Cine-Mundial

The movie, of a huge human interest, sometimes borders the melodrama and presents barbarian brutality situations that reach the most intimate of feelings. [Full review in Spanish]

Sep 18, 2019

Full Review

TV Guide Staff

TV Guide

If there hadn't been a previous story, this might have done better, but as it is with so many sequels, it doesn't reach the heights of the original.

Rated: 2.5/5

Mar 26, 2009

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Steve D

Cash grab with nothing new to say and nothing for its star to do.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

More Boys in the Hood--Mickey Rooney the center of attention!!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

a sequel 3 yrs in the making does not disappoint maybe 'cos everybody from first pic are back-even Spencer Tracy

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Lee J. Cobb replacing Henry Hull is really quite odd, but that's the least of the film's issues. Taurog and company try to do too much and forget to give the film any sort of focus or story. There's all sorts of cheap manipulation that tries to elicit tears, but it all falls flat because none of it means anything. Tracy does what he can, and he doesn't tarnish his Oscar-winning character, but the film itself is overlong and wasteful. There's also an unintentionally hilarious sequence in which the priest, played by Tracy, beckons a small child to search for "candy" under his desk. While he's sitting at it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Men of Boys Town (1941) -- [7.0] -- Mickey Rooney's character is coming of age and Spencer Tracey's Father Flanagan is doing his best to prevent Boys Town from being shut down due to lack of funds. The story is pretty much the same, but still endearing thanks to solid performances from Tracey and Rooney. Things get surprisingly dark in the sequel. One of the new boys is a murderer, and there's some pretty shocking brutality going on in a certain reform school. Oh, and there's a puppy that doesn't fare too well. It gets a little too saccharine towards the end, but I'm a sucker for stories involving children who rise above circumstance, and Flanagan's story is a genuinely moving one. (Tracey's portraying a real man, and the real Boys Town is still operating today.)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's Whitey, Pee Wee, Flip, Mo, Pete and Bohunk. Not quite as sappy as it's predecessor, <i>The Men of Boys Town</i> chronicles the continuing saga of Father Flanagan and his innovative home for troubled youth. Cheesy but sweet. *<i>NOTE</i>: The 'slow motion wrestling' is hilarious!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Norman Taurog

Director

Spencer Tracy

Father Flanagan

Mickey Rooney

Whitey Marsh

Bobs Watson

Pee Wee

Larry Nunn

Ted Martley

Darryl Hickman

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Synopsis

Father Edward Flanagan (Spencer Tracy), head of the Boys Town home for troubled boys, attends the trial of young Ted Martley (Larry Nunn), a paraplegic charged with murdering a guard at the Marysport reformatory. When Ted confides that Marysport is corrupt and brutal, the priest takes him to Boys Town, where he places him with his protégé, Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney). Later visiting Marysport, Whitey gets involved with a young delinquent and witnesses how bad the conditions are there.

Director: Norman Taurog
Producer: John W. Considine Jr.
Screenwriter: James Kevin McGuinness
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 11, 1941, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 46m

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