Boys Town is the true-ish story of a real man, Father Edward Flanagan (Spencer Tracy), a penniless Catholic priest who -- through an incredibly shrewd combination of bargaining and guilt-tripping -- scrounges money, furniture, food, and just about everything else in order to start a progressive orphanage called Boys Town, prompted from a death row inmate's final words about his youth.
It's a far cry from the grim institutions of the day. Boys Town is built on the idea that young people are people first, and they just need a little guidance and help. Everyone is free to leave whenever they want. They even elect a mayor from their midst, and they have a working penal system, too. Into this mix comes Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney), a gangster wannabe who throws the biggest wrench into Boys Town yet. Flanagan has a difficult time reaching Whitey, but eventually he'll come around... or will he?
Boys Town is a very warm movie full of emotion and -- plain and simple -- good advice for anyone dealing with a problem child. Tracy is the father figure -- and the father -- that everyone will wish they'd had. He's also just a great actor who turns in a perfect performance here; in fact, he won the Oscar for the role, his second (and final) win, despite a career that would span another 30 years.
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