Boys Town Reviews

A cute, sentimental movie, which you can't help but like. Tracy is fantastic as Father Flanagan, and that cute kid who plays pee-wee is priceless. Sometimes it was a bit too much sentimentality for me, but if you love true life dramas, you will like this movie.

Spencer Tracy plays Father Flanagan, the creator of Boys Town, in this sentimental film from 1938. Flanagan believed in the motto "There's no such thing as a bad boy" and made it his life's mission to help reform boys who'd been abandoned to the streets or to the various other state institutions (which were so effective at creating better criminals). After being inspired by a death row convict who claimed if he'd had just one friend looking out for him when he was twelve, his life would've been different, Father Flanagan abandoned his soup kitchen and decided to focus on helping young boys instead. Things go great the first few years, that is, until trouble arrives in the form of Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney), a street tough who's gangster brother pays to have accepted into the town. Whitey doesn't fit in and apparently doesnt' want to either, putting on a big, tough guy act to try and bully the other kids. It doesnt' work, of course, as most of the kids come from bacgrounds just as tough, if not tougher than him. Mickey Rooney is one of those child actors who is basically a fully formed performer right from the start, and his performance as Whitey Marsh wouldn't be significantly different if delivered as an adult. Spencer Tracy is subtle and understated, perhaps more understated than in any other role in his career, and it's little surprise he won the oscar. The weepiness of Rooney and "Peewee" (Bobs Watson) can be a little comical at times, but kids tend to be very emotional, and I think the performances are appropriate for the characters. A nice little movie.

An endearing and lovable film in spite of the fact that it practically drips sap. The sentimentality is so thick at times that it almost seems to parody itself. A schmaltzy classic.

Continuing my study of the Oscar-nominated films of 1938, we move to "Boys Town," which I found engaging but not inspiring. The film is a depiction of the real-life Boys Town, which was a hugely successful orphanage for boys founded in the 1920s by a Catholic priest.

Spencer Tracy won his second Oscar for his portrayal of the priest, Father Flanagan. Mickey Rooney, playing one of the most troubled boys at the facility, nearly sinks the picture with his ridiculous overacting. Luckily though, the other teenage actors are superb, especially Gene Reynolds, playing a boy with a disability who becomes mayor of the institution.

The film confirms my view that 1938 was a mediocre year for American film. It amazes me that "Boys Town" received so many Oscar nominations. In addition to Best Picture and Best Actor, the film received nods for Best Director (Norman Taurog) and Best Original Story. Taurog, who would in later years direct many of Elvis Presley's films, was named Best Director only once, in 1930 for "Skippy," another film starring a child actor (Jackie Cooper).

A message movie about a priest who provides direction to troubled boys without homes. Sentimental now. It seems unreal that this was a sort of snapshot of gang activity. It was probably cleaned up and hence why some think there were more "innocent" times. Mickey Rooney, who also appeared in Captains Courageous, is the boy that is the most difficult to reach. He runs away multiple times. Spencer Tracy gives another great performance without going to the extreme of mawkishness.

A cute little film. I like early Mickey Rooney films and Spencer Tracy is a fabulous father figure. A nice diversion for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

light and fluffy drama--can't say I much cared for it. Spencer Tracy gives a great performance, but when the focus shifts from him to Mickey Rooney, I quickly lose interest. I would have loved more development of boys town and a more in-depth look at Father Flanagan. instead, we get a pretty glossed-over history and a really hammy "bad boy turned good" story that's about as cookie-cutter as they come. there are some strong points to this movie, and it certainly leaves you with a good feeling inside, but as well-made movies go, there are easily much better.

The performances by Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan & Mickey Rooney are quite standout it this Memorable Film

Tons of love, warmth, and humanity. Tracy and especially Rooney, give this picture a wonderful sense of relevance.

Okay, this movie made me cry. Sure it just throws sentiment in your face willy-ass-nilly and the heartstrings rarely get a break. But Spencer Tracy, and especially Mickey Rooney, were great to watch and it made for another great classic feel-good evening.

This very loved classic is definitely a good film, but never quite thought of it to be among the best of the classics. It is so overly sentimental, and Mickey Rooney is just too extreme in his role. Spencer Tracy is excellent however. Good but a bit sappy.

These are the exact kinds of movies they don't make anymore: warm-hearted, tales of wisdom with a strong leading performance by an actor like Spencer Tracy. Void of any cynicism. Where some may call it naive I call it touching. The sentiment isn't forced. To find out this was based on a true story it only makes the film that much more special. Mickey Rooney was excellent as well.

there is no such thing as a bad boy. good movie especially when my ancestors has something to do building boys town

Based on real-life events, Boys Town is the story of Father Flanagan (Spencer Tracy), a kind-hearted man with a just soul who believes that there is no such thing as a 'bad boy.' He opens a home for orphaned boys, giving them the tools and the means to lead better lives. When a troubled youth (Mickey Rooney) enters Flanagan's care at Boys Town, the man becomes determined to help the boy turn his life around, while fighting a continuous financial battle to keep the land the boys' home is built upon. Spencer Tracy won an Academy Award for his role in this film. Mickey Rooney proved once again to be a wonderfully versatile actor - he stole every scene he was in.

Mickey Rooney is right there in my top 5 coming in at 3rd place after Gene! He was/is a wonderful actor!

This classic is a true story. The dialogue is a little hokey but not too bad considering this was made in 1938!

Wow. Okay, this was revered and got Spencer Tracy an Oscar... *he* certainly deserved it, but the rest of the movie was over-the-top, entirely unbelievable, and actually had me giggling during some parts that were clearly supposed to be serious. I was impressed Tracy did as well as he did with it, given the fact that he had lines such as, "It was a sad, bad day when you came to us. Yes, indeed." The first half of the movie was fairly interesting, but then it just became silly and sentimental without feeling at all like the characters were someone I could care about. It wasn't actually PAINFUL to watch, but it certainly wasn't worth it. Too bad, because with a cast like this and a possible good plotline, it should've been much better.

A little corny and melodramatic for my tastes, but a classic none the less and Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney are great in it (but I hate that PeeWee kid :^P)

An earnest ... perhaps too earnest ... drama anchored by a fantastic performance by Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan, the founder of a community for homeless boys. As with all of Tracy's best performances, he's very sympathetic while simultaneously conveying that a very hard man is lurking under the soft exterior. This really sells the fact that he is a man who could go to the lengths he has to in order to make this community work. Mickey Rooney is not quite as good. Later in his career, he quite convincingly played some fairly tough characters. Here he waivers quite a lot between being convincingly tough and obviously acting. The film's underlying message that badness is, for the most part, learned and can be prevented by caring for our children is timeless and makes the film relevant despite a lot of creaky touches.