Director: Norman Taurog
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Top Billed Actors: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull
Won 2 Oscars:
Best Actor - Spencer Tracy
Best Original Story - Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary
Nominated for 3 more:
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Director - Norman Taurog
Best Screenplay - John Meehan and Dore Schary
Plot: A Catholic priest collects troubled boys to live in their own sanctuary.
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Top Billed Actors: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull
Won 2 Oscars:
Best Actor - Spencer Tracy
Best Original Story - Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary
Nominated for 3 more:
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Director - Norman Taurog
Best Screenplay - John Meehan and Dore Schary
Plot: A Catholic priest collects troubled boys to live in their own sanctuary.
Spencer Tracy was on quite a roll in mid to late 1930s, with Boys Town (1938) marking his second Oscar in a row and the third year in a row in which he stars in a Best Picture nominee. In fact, he was involved in two nominees in 1938 as he was featured alongside Clark Gable in Test Pilot (1938). Combining his star power with Mickey Rooney proved fruitful for MGM as this is the highest grossing film of 1938. Interestingly enough, Father Flanagan was the first living person to witness an actor winning an Oscar for portraying him when Tracy got that second win in a row. Apparently, MGM was overzealous as they announced Tracy would be donating the Oscar to Boys Town. He ultimately agreed to if the Academy would send him a replacement; they did, but inscribed a typo - "Dick Tracy." The success of this movie also led to a sequel a few years later, Men of Boys Town (1941).
With all this talk about Spencer Tracy, how is his performance here? To put it simply, it's great! Like a lot of roles he plays, he has a calm demeanor but he's still assertive. He's a priest who is always peaceful but he knows how to get what he wants. Money problems, issues with the boys, and squabbles with the newspaper are all conflicts that we just know Father Flanagan will come out on top of and Tracy's performance is a huge part of that. The film also won an Oscar for Best Story. If the Academy was looking for an inspirational one, then they clearly made the right choice here. It's moving to see someone care about these young men so deeply and to truly believe that there is no such thing as a bad boy. The film doesn't go too dark, but we get the idea. The narrative allows for a look into life in the town in its second act and this is where the picture contains the meat on the bone. The kids have their own political system, economy, tasks, games, and judicial process. The rich setting would make for good episodic TV if there was such a thing in the 1930s.
The most prevalent kid in this second act is of course Mickey Rooney. Apparently, he was a problem to work with on set, much to the chagrin of Tracy. He is also a problem in the film too as he really hams it up for extra dramatic effect. I've seen enough of Rooney to realize I'm just not a Mickey Rooney fan. I haven't really liked him in anything and he's the reason I rank A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) so low among the Best Picture nominees. Visually speaking, Boys Town is very straightforward. It's not necessarily a bad thing as the focus is squarely on the good deeds of the Father and the lived-in world of the town, but I was getting thirsty for some cinema while watching this.
Overall, Spencer Tracy delivers on another Oscar-winning performance by portraying the noble priest who conjured a safe haven for boys in dire circumstances. The child performances are mostly above average and the story is extremely inspirational.
My Score: 7/10
With all this talk about Spencer Tracy, how is his performance here? To put it simply, it's great! Like a lot of roles he plays, he has a calm demeanor but he's still assertive. He's a priest who is always peaceful but he knows how to get what he wants. Money problems, issues with the boys, and squabbles with the newspaper are all conflicts that we just know Father Flanagan will come out on top of and Tracy's performance is a huge part of that. The film also won an Oscar for Best Story. If the Academy was looking for an inspirational one, then they clearly made the right choice here. It's moving to see someone care about these young men so deeply and to truly believe that there is no such thing as a bad boy. The film doesn't go too dark, but we get the idea. The narrative allows for a look into life in the town in its second act and this is where the picture contains the meat on the bone. The kids have their own political system, economy, tasks, games, and judicial process. The rich setting would make for good episodic TV if there was such a thing in the 1930s.
The most prevalent kid in this second act is of course Mickey Rooney. Apparently, he was a problem to work with on set, much to the chagrin of Tracy. He is also a problem in the film too as he really hams it up for extra dramatic effect. I've seen enough of Rooney to realize I'm just not a Mickey Rooney fan. I haven't really liked him in anything and he's the reason I rank A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) so low among the Best Picture nominees. Visually speaking, Boys Town is very straightforward. It's not necessarily a bad thing as the focus is squarely on the good deeds of the Father and the lived-in world of the town, but I was getting thirsty for some cinema while watching this.
Overall, Spencer Tracy delivers on another Oscar-winning performance by portraying the noble priest who conjured a safe haven for boys in dire circumstances. The child performances are mostly above average and the story is extremely inspirational.
My Score: 7/10