Boys Town is a 1938 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.
Legendary Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio head Louis B. Mayer, who was a Belorussian-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.