Boys Town (1938) Paul Megee

Director Norman Taurog’s Boys Town claims to be based on the true story of Father Flanagan (played by Spencer Tracy, who earned a Best Actor Oscar for his performance) and his vision of running an almost self-governed orphanage for boys. The picture, the viewer learns, “is dedicated to him and his splendid work for homeless, abandoned boys, regardless of race, creed or color.” Race and color appear to mean here, at least in 1938 movie Nebraska, to mean a bunch of white kids and a Jewish boy (Mo Kahn, played by Sidney Miller). The movie’s only other real address at race involves a truly appalling incident—at least to today’s viewer—involving Mo, Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney, the most annoying young actor of all time), and a can of shoe polish. Despite these shortcomings, Boys Town retains some value as a thoughtful work.

Flanagan, throughout the film, enunciates two credos to adults, children, journalists and viewers. First, there is no such thing as a bad boy; and second, as long as one loves his boys, all trouble with money will work itself out on its own. Concerning the latter, every time Flanagan meets to discuss his immense debt, a problem between boys arises and takes priority. Boys Town is to be shut down about every twenty minutes or so; fortunately, extra cash appears miraculously to save the day every time. The former issue is manifests itself best in Whitey, eleven year-old brother of thug and murderer Joe Marsh. Whitey tests Flanagan’s patience (Rooney’s performance is actually quite good), threatens a sort of pre-teen revolution at Boys Town, but ultimately reforms as he builds attachments to Flanagan and the Town’s fellow citizens. It’s a coming-of-age story for the boy who realizes that family and mutual respect are more important that cigarettes and gambling.

Imprisonment is a key theme in Boys Town. Flanagan’s motivation to found Boys Town lies in his discussion with a death row inmate – men are imprisoned by bad childhoods; the priest is constantly threatened the imprisonment of his own ideals through debt; there are no fences at Boys Town – it is not a prison; these images seem to pop up over and over again.

Despite my tendency to detest any movie in which Mickey Rooney plays a role, Boys Town is a picture worth watching. The performances of both Tracy and Rooney are above par, as mentioned above; the film also won an Academy Award for Best Original Screen Story (which comes as a bit of a surprise since it’s based on true events – shouldn’t that have made it an adapted screen story?). If you’re particularly fond of movies about a mentor fostering the betterment of wild children (Dead Poets Society, for example), Boys Town might be a good one to try.