Spencer Tracy is Father Flanagan in the movie which tells
the story of the Boys Town
organization. The movie is engaging and emotional. And Boys Town is a real
place. The people at Boys
Town
Mickey Rooney was awesome as the cocky little bad boy who
challenged Flanagan’s patience. I love that one of the quotes used to express
Father Flannigan’s heart for the boys is “There is no such thing as a bad boy,
just bad behavior.” He was a believer in rehabilitation, rather than
punishment. Another Flanagan quote is “A man is never as tall as when he stoops
to help a child.”
Spencer Tracy won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role
for his work in this film. Tracy shared the Oscar he earned with Boys Town for
the boys to see and touch. (A second statuette was made so both Tracy and the
boys could keep one.) If you visit the Boys Town Hall of History, you’ll be
able to see that it’s still there.
Other than Spencer Tracy’s Oscar and the one which was awarded
to Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary for Best Writing, Original Story, there
were three other Oscar nominations for this film. The writing was very well
done. One of the best scenes in the movie was when something unexpected
happened to change a boy’s perspective. Unexpected love usually changes our
perspective.
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