Normally I'm a big fan of social commentary features from vintage Hollywood. Often including priests in the cast as some sort of moral compass or bell-weather for troubled individuals to tap into or rub up against as appropriate, depending on how their characterisations are handled, they can either add to or subtract from the bigger picture. I've just lately watched two old contemporary features featuring sub-plots with prominent priest parts where both see the Father mentoring rebellious youths, one the classic James Cagney / Pat O'Brien gangster film "Angels With Dirty Faces", the other, "San Francisco" in fact co-starring Spencer Tracy in what looks like a dry-run for his extended part here.
In this film though, it's all about the Father and his adopted sons, the homeless, sometimes delinquent youths who come to populate the self-reliant and sufficient community he builds for them called "Boys Town" (wonder what happened to the girls, or the black kids come to that?). While I appreciate the story is based on the real life Father Flanagan, I'm afraid I found this movie just too sentimental and cloying to appreciate.
I see that Tracy won the Oscar for leading actor in this part, just as he had for the supporting actor role in the near-identical part mentioned above in "San Francisco" but really other than mostly look alternately beatific and pious, I'm not sure he's working too hard here. Mickey Rooney is the bad boy who becomes the Father's big test subject, sent to Boys Town by his too-far-gone older gangster brother to stop him going down the same rocky road as him. Mickey, as was his wont in his early roles, it has to be said works way too hard in his part. There's also a Tiny Tim child character who will either have you reaching or retching into your handkerchief, for me I'm afraid it's the latter.
A huge commercial hit on initial release and as stated, recognised by the Academy into the bargain, it's rare for such a film to miss with old sentimental me but I really found it toe-curlingly cliched and difficult to swallow.
Forgive me Father, if in so doing, I have sinned.
In this film though, it's all about the Father and his adopted sons, the homeless, sometimes delinquent youths who come to populate the self-reliant and sufficient community he builds for them called "Boys Town" (wonder what happened to the girls, or the black kids come to that?). While I appreciate the story is based on the real life Father Flanagan, I'm afraid I found this movie just too sentimental and cloying to appreciate.
I see that Tracy won the Oscar for leading actor in this part, just as he had for the supporting actor role in the near-identical part mentioned above in "San Francisco" but really other than mostly look alternately beatific and pious, I'm not sure he's working too hard here. Mickey Rooney is the bad boy who becomes the Father's big test subject, sent to Boys Town by his too-far-gone older gangster brother to stop him going down the same rocky road as him. Mickey, as was his wont in his early roles, it has to be said works way too hard in his part. There's also a Tiny Tim child character who will either have you reaching or retching into your handkerchief, for me I'm afraid it's the latter.
A huge commercial hit on initial release and as stated, recognised by the Academy into the bargain, it's rare for such a film to miss with old sentimental me but I really found it toe-curlingly cliched and difficult to swallow.
Forgive me Father, if in so doing, I have sinned.