Boys Town (1938)

Overview · Where to watch · Cast & crew · Reviews

"No boy is bad, if given a chance!"

Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making themselves better people. But hard-nosed petty thief and pool shark Whitey Marsh, the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.

• Released: 1938-09-08
• Genres: Drama
• Runtime: 1h 36m
• Status: Released
• TMDB rating: 6.8/10 from 109 votes

Directed by Norman Taurog.

Top cast

• Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan
• Mickey Rooney as Whitey Marsh
• Henry Hull as Dave Morris
• Leslie Fenton as Dan Farrow
• Gene Reynolds as Tony Ponessa
• Edward Norris as Joe Marsh
• Addison Richards as Judge
• Minor Watson as Bishop
• Jonathan Hale as John Hargraves
• Bobs Watson as Pee Wee

Full cast & crew

Where to watch Boys Town

• United States: watch free on Kanopy; rent on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home; buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
• United Kingdom: rent on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video; buy on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
• India: rent on Amazon Video
• Canada: rent on Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, CosmoGo, YouTube, Amazon Video; buy on Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, CosmoGo, YouTube, Amazon Video
• Australia: rent on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube; buy on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube

Movies like Boys Town

If you enjoyed Boys Town, these movies have a similar feel:

• Doubt (2008)
• Across the Tracks (1991)
• The Confession (2011)
• The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
• Fatima (2020)
• Small Things Like These (2024)
• The Fugitive (1947)
• The Man Without a Face (1993)
• Evelyn (2002)
• The Young Savages (1961)
• No One Would Tell (1996)
• Soul on Fire (2025)

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