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Men of Boys Town

Play trailer Poster for Men of Boys Town 1941 1h 46m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Men of Boys Town

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety 10/31/2019
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. Go to Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times 03/25/2006
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. Go to Full Review John Kinloch California Eagle 10/31/2019
Pretty soggy stuff. Go to Full Review Elena de la Torre Cine-Mundial 09/18/2019
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] Go to Full Review TV Guide Staff TV Guide 03/26/2009
2.5/5
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. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D 05/26/2023 Cash grab with nothing new to say and nothing for its star to do. See more 12/08/2012 More Boys in the Hood--Mickey Rooney the center of attention!! See more 10/07/2012 a sequel 3 yrs in the making does not disappoint maybe 'cos everybody from first pic are back-even Spencer Tracy See more 09/13/2010 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. See more 07/14/2009 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.) See more 01/31/2009 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! See more Read all reviews
Men of Boys Town

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Cast & Crew

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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

Flip

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Men of Boys Town

Men of Boys Town (1941) Men of Boys Town (1941) Men of Boys Town (1941) View more photos

Movie Info

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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