Boys Town (film)

Boys Town
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNorman Taurog
Screenplay byJohn Meehan
Dore Schary
Story byDore Schary
Eleanore Griffin
Based onLife of Father Edward J. Flanagan and "Boys Town"
Produced byJohn W. Considine Jr.
StarringSpencer Tracy
Mickey Rooney
CinematographySidney Wagner
Edited byElmo Veron
Music byEdward Ward
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • September 9, 1938 (1938-09-09)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$772,000[1]
Box office$4,058,000[1]

Boys Town is a 1938 American biographical drama film based on Father Edward J. Flanagan's work with a group of underprivileged boys in a home/educational complex that he founded and named "Boys Town" in Nebraska. It stars Spencer Tracy as Father Edward J. Flanagan, and Mickey Rooney with Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, and Gene Reynolds.

The film was written by Dore Schary, Eleanore Griffin, and John Meehan, and was directed by Norman Taurog. Tracy won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

Legendary Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio head Louis B. Mayer, who was a Belarusian-Canadian-American Jew known for his respect for the Catholic Church, later called this his favorite film of his long tenure at MGM.[2][3]

Although the story is largely fictional, it is based upon a real man and a real place. Boys Town is a community outside Omaha, Nebraska.[2] In 1941, MGM made a sequel, Men of Boys Town, with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney reprising their roles from the earlier film.

  1. ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ a b Clooney, Nick (November 2002). The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen. New York: Atria Books, a trademark of Simon & Schuster. p. 205. ISBN 0-7434-1043-2.
  3. ^ "The Religious Affiliation of Movie Producer Louis B. Mayer". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)