Boys Town (film)

Boys Town
Boys Town
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Norman Taurog
Screenplay by	John Meehan; Dore Schary
Story by	Dore Schary; Eleanore Griffin
Based on	Life of Father Edward J. Flanagan and "Boys Town"
Produced by	John W. Considine Jr.
Starring	Spencer Tracy; Mickey Rooney
Cinematography	Sidney Wagner
Edited by	Elmo Veron
Music by	Edward Ward
Production; company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's Inc.
Release date	September 9, 1938;
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$772,000
Box office	$4,058,000

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.

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.

^ ^a ^b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
^ ^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.
^ "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)

[Mannix-1] The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

[Clooney205-2] 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)

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