Boys Town (1938) is a film starring Spencer Tracy as Father Edward J. Flanagan.

Although mostly fictional, the film is based on an actual man, Father Edward J. Flanagan, and the home he established in 1917 in Omaha, Nebraska.

In the film, Father Flanagan visits a convicted murderer who talks about his dreadful childhood as a ward of the state. Flanagan is compelled to do better for homeless boys and builds a sanctuary he calls Boys Town.

One boy, Whitey Marsh (Michey Rooney), challenges Flanagan’s belief that there are no bad boys.

Boys Town was a box office success, earning over $2million in profit and Best Actor Academy Award for Spencer Tracy.