Boys Town
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Movie Reviews of Boys Town
Movie Review: They Don't Make 'em Like They Used To
Summary: 5 Stars
Boys Town is the story of the real Boys Town which was begun by Father Flannigan (Spencer Tracy) and which is known today for the national hotline made available for kids and teenagers. Boys Town was started as a place for kids of the streets to go to learn good behaviors and to stay out of trouble. Some embraced the idea and some rejected it wholeheartedly. However, Father Flannigan never gave up, claiming that there were no bad boys. Even in the toughest of cases, like that of Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney), he persisted and in the end, prevailed. Of course, the other boys helped, especially Boys Town's pet, Pee Wee (Bobs Watson).
In The Men of Boys Town, Whitey is used to help the new trouble boys, one of which has been crippled in a fight with a cop (Larry Nunn). He also takes matters into his own hands with a tough kid that escaped from reform school (Darryl Hickman). Sometimes helping people can get you into trouble, and sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do to benefit others.
These films are special because of their moral ideas, but also because they are not overly sentimental as to make them seem silly or forced. Each actor gives a fine performance brimming with innocence despite difficult lives.
There are some really nice special features here including a short about the real Boys Town starring the real Father Flannigan. Also is a bit of a promotional video about Boys Town with clips of Mickey Rooney visiting.
Movie Review: Double Feature
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD contains two movies, "Boys Town" and the sequel with the same actors, "Men of Boys Town". The sequel is as good or better.
The featurette showing the real Boys Town orphanage for boys in Nebraska and the real Father Flanagan during what looks like the 1950's or 1960's is fascinating.
The first story is about the tough, younger brother of a gangster (Mickey Rooney) coming to live at the Boys Town orphanage. He has mixed feelings about being there and does not fit in. The name Boys Town is because the boys elect a mayor and dorm commissioners from among themselves. The boys make their own laws and police themselves to a degree.
The second story continues Mickey Rooney's adventures at Boys Town. He is tasked with getting an abused and crippled boy to smile for the first time. Having become a good and caring person under the influence of Father Flanagan, Mickey Rooney is exasperated to meet a new boy who is more difficult than he used to be.
I wish they would interview guys who lived at Boys Town during the days of Father Flanagan. The Boys Town website implies a new format (house-parents v. dorms with commissioners elected from the boys) It appears the boys did more trade apprenticeships in the old days.
Movie Review: Two great actors in a great movie
Summary: 5 Stars
"Boys Town" stars two of the greatest actors of the golden era of Hollywood, Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy, and their parts in this movie are among their best roles. "Boys Town" doesn't have quite as close a connection to Christmas as the other two titles in the Classic Holiday Collection (there's one scene set on the holiday), but this true story of a priest who builds a boarding school for troubled youth is one that will warm your heart. Tracy plays Father Flanagan, a kind, socially conscious priest who can be tough when he needs to be, and Mickey Rooney displays his wide-ranging acting talent (from tough talk to tears) as one of the neglected boys whom Flanagan sets on the right path.
"Boys Town" is accompanied by its own less-famous sequel, "Men Of Boys Town," so you're getting two features on one disc. You also get a featurette about the real Boys Town (which still exists and has expanded beyond its original Nebraska location), as well as a 1939 radio program promoting the movie with Tracy and Rooney.
If you like this great movie, you may want to consider getting the excellent Classic Holiday Collection, which includes this film along with two other great classics, "Christmas In Connecticut" and "A Christmas Carol" (1938).
Movie Review: Why can't they make movies like this today?
Summary: 5 Stars
BOYS TOWN is easily one of the best movies ever made.
I'll watch almost any classic Christmas movie at least once. I know BOYS TOWN is not technically a Christmas movie, but it does have a very memorable - albeit short - Christmas scene. And that scene was my first glimpse of BOYS TOWN. So, instead of continuing to flip channels, I stayed there. Soon Mickey Rooney appears. And the lovable "mascot", Pee-Wee. Now, I'm glad to say I own this movie and look forward to giving a copy to a good friend for Christmas this year.
I never get tired of watching BOYS TOWN, and every time I watch it I wonder why in the world can't Hollywood make films like this today. (Is a plethora of sex and profanity really more entertaining than this classic?) I realize BOYS TOWN has several corny and sappy parts, but no more so than most of the disposable "entertainment" Hollywood puts out today. And at least in BOYS TOWN (and several others like it from that time period), those parts pointed to an uplifting theme or moral lesson.
We desperately need movies like BOYS TOWN today.
Movie Review: NEBRASKA'S HOME OPENER-2008
Summary: 5 Stars
Tracy won his second consecutive Oscar, portraying the eminent Fr. Edward Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, Omaha Nebraska. While the movie is biographically way off, the ultimate goal of one man stands today for all to see, visit, perhaps attend. It is probably the first movie I ever saw on television, and a favorite of my father, who first saw it in 1938. And why not? Tracy's performance is augmented by a cast of hundreds, all seemingly perfectly cast One knew early on that Rooney could cut the mustard; one of the best actors of any age, his smallish stature limiting his roles,but totally unforgettable here as Whitey Marsh.Kudos also to Reynolds, Hull and Fenton, doing their best to avoid turning the film into a melodrama. Nothing makes me madder than when some cocksure rookie reviewer labels this movie as "syrupy" or "corny". This was, is, will be always the genuine article.