We’ve all heard the phrase “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” There’s wisdom in that saying. By and large, by the time a person has grown into an adult, they are the person they are going to be for the rest of their lives, personality-wise. The sad reality is that sudden transformations in personality and character rarely happen outside of fiction and never overnight the way it does to someone like Ebenezer Scrooge. The best way to avoid having bad adults is to catch them before they are adults and teach them to be good, responsible people at that young age. Father Flanagan (Spencer Tracy) learns this lesson early on in the biographical film Boys Town and takes that lesson to heart, shifting his priorities appropriately.
The film is loosely based on the real story of Father Edward J. Flanagan, whose work with underprivileged children in Nebraska led to the creation of “Boys Town,” a place the boys could call theirs, ran, and governed by their own. The film opens with Father Flanagan realizing that his efforts to assist the indigent men of Nebraska are failing because he cannot instill a desire in the men to improve their lot in life. They are content to live off the assistance rather than find work and make better citizens of themselves. On top of this, Flanagan is called to the prison to visit with a convicted murderer and accept his confession. His visit leads him to the conclusion that had this man received guidance and love as a youth, his life might have turned out much better.
Through some contacts and the goodwill of others, Flanagan is able to set up a new home where kids who are on the wrong path in life can be sent to learn life skills, enjoy camaraderie, and feel the love and respect at an early age that helps them build trusting relationships and a new purpose in their lives. The home is so successful that he has to keep expanding the space, begging for more funds to keep it afloat. He’s also forced to turn away young men whose parents want to send them to Boys Town, willing to pay handsomely for the privilege. While that would solve the financial problems it would eliminate space better filled by the less fortunate who cannot afford to pay to get in. One day, while visiting another man in prison, Joe Marsh (Edward Norris), he is informed by Joe of yet another young man who could use the services the home provides. This young man is Joe’s younger brother, Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney). Father Flanagan locates Whitey and brings him to Boys Town where he is at first outright hostile to the others and then tries to locate the angles he can manipulate to his own advantage. Father Flanagan believes there is no such thing as a bad kid, but Whitey will test that belief.
Juvenile delinquency has always been a problem with our societies. In an ideal world, every kid would be raised in a two-parent household where they receive loving guidance and direction. That’s an ideal world, but the realities are far more stark. Divorce is rampant. So is unwed pregnancies, abandonment, drug abuse, and just plain bad parenting where the adults are just as immature and bullying as their kids. This epidemic has only gotten worse over the years, and the results speak for themselves as we hear in the news more and more stories of kids killing kids.
The idea of taking the kids off the street and giving them a noble purpose is not unique to this film. Memorably, Fred MacMurray did a similar thing in the Disney film Follow Me, Boys, a movie that was just as much a morality tale as it was an advertisement for the Boy Scouts of America. The Dead End Kids played these kids’ roles, too, most notably in the James Cagney-led film Angels with Dirty Faces. Pat O’Brien played the mentor in that one, even though the kids were far more influenced by Cagney right up until the end.
What’s unique about Boys Town is that the boys lead themselves, for the most part. They set the rules and enforce them. They hold elections and vote for their “mayor,” the boy who will lead them for however long they hold that office. They also choose and enforce punishments should the situation merit it. In one memorable situation, Whitey, upset over losing the latest election, gets in a fight with the outgoing mayor, Freddie (Frankie Thomas). Instead of outright punishment for their aggression, the decision is made to allow the two boys to work out their differences in the boxing ring. This choice is not altogether successful as Whitey loses the fight and is determined to leave Boys Town instead of sticking around in defeat. What happens as he is leaving really shifts his perspective on life and his fellow boys and informs his decisions later in the film.
This film faced stiff competition at the 1939 Oscars with The Adventures of Robin Hood and You Can’t Take It With You dominating the ceremony. It did manage to nab two awards that year with Spencer Tracy getting one of them for his portrayal of Father Flanagan. There was some miscommunication, though, with it being announced that he would be donating the Oscar to the real Father Flanagan. Tracy took it with wry good humor but kept the award to himself, stating “I earned the…thing. I want it.” Who can blame him? Another award was hastily put together specifically for them that was inscribed specifically for Father Flanagan and Boys Town.
This is a film that is mostly fictional, even though it is based on a real person and a real place. The actual events are not what is important here, though, as what is really important is the message the film gets across. Boys, when shown love and encouragement, can grow up with good values and a purpose in life. So much of what is wrong in the world could be eliminated should the youth of today be raised properly with good, solid values. That was the case in 1938, and it’s even more so now with the situation so much more dire than it was back then. This film is hokey at times, especially some of the acting Mickey Rooney is doing, but the message is sound, and the film has its heart in the right place.
Academy Award Nominations:
Outstanding Production: John W. Considine Jr.
Best Director: Norman Taurog
Best Actor: Spencer Tracy (won)
Best Writing - Screenplay: John Meehan and Dore Schary
Best Writing - Original Story: Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary (won)
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Release Date: September 9, 1938
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney
Directed By: Norman Taurog
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