A lovely film, Boys Town, based on the true story of Irish Catholic priest Edward Joseph Flanagan, who opened a home for boys in need in Nebraska in 1917, modeled after Don Bosco’s work.

The film begins in a death row cell, where the condemned Dan Farrow tells Father Edward Flanagan that if he’d had at least one friend as a child, he might not have become a criminal. This statement strikes Father Flanagan so deeply that he leaves his work with adult vagrants and decides to establish a home for poor and troubled boys.

With a small loan from a kind-hearted businessman, Dave Morris, Flanagan opens the first home and gradually expands the project to encompass the entire town—Boys Town. There, the boys live by a code of honor and have their own self-governing body. However, many consider his motto, “There are no bad boys,” to be naive, and Flanagan must constantly fight to win the public’s trust and secure funding.

A pivotal turning point occurs when the convicted Joe Marsh visits Flanagan and asks him to take care of his younger brother, Whitey. Whitey is cocky, stubborn, and refuses to follow Boys Town’s rules. Despite this, he stays in the town and even decides to run for “mayor of Boys Town” with a rebellious campaign designed to prove to Flanagan that he’s wrong.

Drama / Biographical

USA, 1938, 96 min

Directed by: Norman Taurog;

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, Gene Reynolds, Edward Norris, Addison Richards, Minor Watson, Jonathan Hale, Bobs Watson;

Parents Guide:
Drinking alcohol. A fight between boys on the street. A store window being smashed. Boys smoking and playing cards for money. A priest organizing a boxing match in a ring—which also reflects a lack of critical perspective toward this form of male competition at the time. A young boy being hit by a car. A boy being shot.

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