Seeing Father Flanagan for real was interesting, as was seeing actual Boys Town.
My 2024 sensibilities were disturbed, however, by seeing these boys working at machines that could seriously injure, maim, or even kill them.
The labor, sports, and belief in a supreme being got plenty of depiction, but what shocked me was that the notion of education was given about two seconds of screen time, and only by inference.
I couldn't see how the boys could have time for academic education when work as carpenters, field workers, laundrymen, etc. Would seem to consume all their time.
I must guess that in 1938, having learned a vocation or trade was considered most valuable at a time when graduating high school then was almost like finishing college now.
This is the great thing about old movies. They're almost like visiting a place you can never go.