Bastards
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Bastards |
| Original title | Boys Town |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1938 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Norman Taurog |
| script |
Eleanore Griffin Dore Schary John Meehan |
| production | John W. Considine Jr. |
| music | Edward Ward |
| camera | Sidney Wagner |
| cut | Elmo Veron |
| occupation | |
| |
The Hell's Bunch is a 1938 American drama film directed by Norman Taurog. Spencer Tracy plays the priest Edward J. Flanagan , who founded a home for homeless boys in the US state of Nebraska . Mickey Rooney plays a youngster who is going through an amazing change.
action
The film tells the story of the priest Edward Flanagan , who built a home for neglected boys in Nebraska in 1917 . Flanagan's Boys Town emerges from the originally small home . Flanagan's work is constantly facing financial failure and public criticism. However, the priest is of the opinion that no one is born badly, but is led down the wrong path by social circumstances. He leads the boys' city with a loving, iron hand and leads the boys to self-management and self-responsibility. The boys regularly elect a “mayor” who takes care of their concerns. Young Whitey Marsh comes into this dream world for orphaned boys. Whitey is forced to go to Boys Town by his brother, gangster Joe Marsh. Joe has to go to jail and he doesn't want his little brother to follow a similar life path as his. Whitey is completely different from the town's boys, however. He is arrogant and arrogant and thinks the other boys are effeminate and stupid. He quickly becomes an outsider. Only little Pee Wee sticks to him. When another mayoral election is due, Whitey Marsh runs against the incumbent mayor for election. Whitey builds up an election force that is based on professional election campaigns and makes empty promises with pomp and noise. The third candidate is the shy and slightly disabled Tony Ponessa. Tony wants nothing more than the preservation of the city and, unlike his fellow competitors, has its general welfare in mind. However, the dispute between Whitey and the incumbent mayor escalates. Ultimately, a boxing match against Whitey is supposed to settle the dispute and Whitey is defeated. He feels embarrassed and wants to leave town. Only Pee Wee wants to stop him and follows him to the street. There he is hit by a car. Whitey is now sad to death and feels guilty about the accident. He returns to the little boy's bedside.
Some time later, when Whitey learns that his brother Joe has escaped from prison, he goes to meet him. Joe is of course followed by the police and Whitey gets caught between the lines. Whitey's involvement as a member of Boys Town in the escape of a violent criminal brings the boy town back into public disrepute. But Joe puts his life on the line for his little brother so that he can have a better life than him, and Father Flanagan can pick up the injured Whitey in a church and bring him back to the boys' town. Whitey seems to have learned his lesson and is now campaigning for Tony Ponessa to be elected mayor.
background
The film has occasionally been compared to Young America , a 1932 Fox film in which Spencer Tracy plays a pharmacist whose drugstore is broken into by a teenage rowdy. Surprisingly, however, he soon takes the side of the delinquent boy, because adolescents such as these would be trained to become criminals even more if they were admitted to educational institutions.
Edward Joseph Flanagan (1886-1948) was a Catholic clergyman. He is the founder of what is probably the most famous American youth welfare organization, which was originally founded under the name Boys Town ("Boys Town") near the city of Omaha in Nebraska. Spencer Tracy , who knew Father Flanagan personally, had serious concerns about this role. He himself said: “I knew Father Flanagan personally and therefore I had the feeling that no one could portray his warmth, inspiration and human feeling on screen. But after the first week I had identified with this role so much that I could stop worrying any longer. "
Spencer Tracy passed his Oscar on to Father Flanagan for the role. For this purpose, the statue was provided with an additional inscription: "For Father Edward J. Flanagan, whose great human qualities, friendly simplicity and courage were great enough to shine through my modest efforts."
criticism
“An emotional but gripping story from the" boys' town "founded in 1917 near Omaha in Nebraska by Father Flanagan SJ, which initially accommodated four boys, but eventually grew to 200 residents. The film captivates with its lively representation, refreshing humor and its exemplary democratic attitude. "
Awards
The screenwriters Griffin and Schary received an Oscar for their script in 1939 . Spencer Tracy received his second Oscar for portraying Father Flanagan a year after his first Oscar for the film Manuel . This made Tracy the first actor to receive the coveted film award two years in a row. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and Norman Taurog was nominated for Best Director . Mickey Rooney received a Special Oscar for his unique contributions to the screen as a teenage gamer.
continuation
At the beginning of 1941 a sequel was made under the same director and again with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney in the leading roles , Men of Boys Town (German title: Das sind Kerle ), which only gave a weak reflection of the first film and neither with the critics nor with Audience could register the desired success.
Web links
- Daredevils in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Boys Town at Turner Classic Movies (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Heyne Filmbibliothek Spencer Tracy His films - his life by Romano Tozzi, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich, 1979, No. 32/9, p. 91
- ↑ See Heyne Filmbibliothek Spencer Tracy His films - his life by Romano Tozzi, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich, 1979, No. 32/9, p. 94
- ↑ The devil. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 26, 2019 .
- ↑ See Heyne Filmbibliothek Spencer Tracy His films - his life by Romano Tozzi, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich, 1979, No. 32/9, p. 93
- ↑ Boys Town (1938) - Notes. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved May 26, 2019 .