Luise Rainer became the first screen star to win back-to-back acting Oscars for 1936’s The Great Ziegfeld and 1937’s The Good Earth. Spencer Tracy soon followed as the first male to take home consecutive Oscars for his performances in 1937’s Captains Courageous and 1938’s Boys Town.

After a death row prisoner bemoans that his life would’ve gone differently if he’d enjoyed childhood friendships, Father Edward J. Flanagan (Spencer Tracy) comes up with an idea. He decides to start his own home that takes in and supports orphaned boys.

As this grows, Father Flanagan becomes more ambitious and starts his own “town” in rural Nebraska. Father Flanagan meets his biggest challenge when he admits Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney), the younger brother of gangster Joe Marsh (Edward Norris).

Like I mentioned at the start, Boys Town brought Tracy his second Best Actor Oscar. I feel it becomes the first one he deserved.

The only strong performance in Captains Courageous came from young Freddie Bartholomew. Tracy’s work in that flick seems goofy and cartoony.

Tracy more than redeems himself with his excellent work here in Boys Town. He creates a genuine person with his portrayal of Father Flanagan.

Warm but tough, we buy Tracy as Flanagan. He never becomes overwrought or broad, so he makes this a memorable performance.

On the other hand, Rooney overacts as usual. He makes Whitey an annoying caricature of a “tough kid”, one that seems utterly unconvincing.

This means Town starts to tank when Whitey enters the story. Until then, we find a compelling tale of a man on a mission.

After that, however, Town focuses on Whitey and turns into a collection of scenes that revolve around his shenanigans and eventually desire to “be a good kid”.

I guess I get why audiences liked Rooney. He tended to play the scrappy little underdog, a vibe that would’ve been compelling during the Depression.

Unfortunately, Rooney’s act wears thin all these decades later, and the manner in which Town essentially turns into a collection of contrived scenes doesn’t help. The movie becomes very episodic as it traces Whitey’s journey, and these vignettes feel silly most of the time.

I do like the parts of the film that focus on Father Flanagan, but we get too little of him and too much of annoying Whitey for an awful lot of the film. Boys Town starts well but then loses steam.

Boys Town appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Despite a few anomalies, this was largely a strong presentation.

In general, sharpness satisfied, as the movie usually appeared well-defined. Some softness popped up for the occasional shot but the majority of the flick boasted nice delineation.

Shimmering and jaggies remained absent, and edge haloes also failed to appear. The movie’s grain structure felt natural, and print flaws didn’t mar the proceedings.

Blacks appeared deep and dark, and contrast came across well. Shadows held up nicely, though a few shots felt a little too bright. While the image didn’t excel, it still gave us a positive transfer.

Similar thoughts greeted the sturdy DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Boys Town, as it worked fine given its age. Speech could seem a bit brittle at times, but lines were intelligible and concise enough.

Music and effects displayed the expected restricted dynamic range, but they showed acceptable clarity and didn’t suffer from distortion. The mix lacked pops, clicks, hum, or other defects. This was a more than competent track for a movie from 1938.

A few extras flesh out the disc and MGM Good News brings an excerpt from a radio program. It spans 16 minutes, 42 seconds and offers an extremely abbreviated take on Boys Town.

We find Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney as they reprise their roles, but the adaptation cuts matters to the bone. Still, it becomes an good historical artifact, with an appearance from the real Father Flanagan as well.

City of Little Men brings a circa 1938 promo short that runs 10 minutes, 56 seconds and offers a dramatized look at Boys Town. It’s schmaltzy as could be and basically an advertisement for the location but it’s interesting to see the actual Father Flanagan try to act.

Along with the film’s trailer, the set concludes with a featurette entitled Girls and Boys Town. During this two-minute, seven-second piece, Girls and Boys Town Executive Director Father Val Peter talks about the current status of the location.

Well, the status as of the early 2000s when it got shot. It really acts as an attempt to promote the mission so don’t anticipate anything else.

When it concentrates on Spencer Tracy, Boys Town becomes an involving drama. When it concentrates on Mickey Rooney – which means most of the second half – it turns tedious and schmaltzy. The Blu-ray brings pretty positive picture and audio along with a smattering of supplements. Expect a spotty film with notable ups and downs.