"Boys Town" with Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney and Henry Hull (1938)

Spencer Tracy became the first actor to win 2 consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor when he mouthed the line, "There is no bad boy", in this moving, and somewhat rose colored account of the founding of Boys Town, just outside of Omaha, Nebraska.

When Father Flanagan, played by Tracy, visits a death row inmate he is told that if the man had only been befriended as a child, mentored in some way, his life would have turned out differently. His only concern now is for his kid brother, "Whitey" Marsh, played by Mickey Rooney. He wants Father Flanagan to go and see him, to take him under his wing and save him from a life of crime. This is a burden which he readily accepts.

Father Flanagan also has his hands full in his local Parish, where the children are largely neglected and left to their own devices. Most are poor, working class kids with severe family problems at home. Some are abused, some merely neglected. He has a dream to someday build a home for these boys, removing them from the temptations of the street, and a life of crime.

Beginning with a rundown rented house, the Father manages to obtain much of what he needs from the local town store manager, Dave Morris, played by Henry Hull. Although it is not specifically mentioned, Mr. Morris seems to be Jewish. How Father Flanagan gets him to become involved in the eventual financing of Boy's Town makes the story that much better. Though skeptical at the beginning, Mr. Morris backs Father Flanagan all the way, eventually securing 3 mortgages for the construction of the actual Boy's Town, on 200 acres of land, just outside of Omaha. The boys actually help to build the school and dormitories, each one learning a trade as the construction progresses.

When "Whitey" Marsh arrives at Boy's Town, he has nothing on his mind except escape. But with no prison walls, or fences, to keep him in, he is confused. He begins to come around to a new way of thinking. But, after bonding with the school's mascot, a little boy named Pee Wee, played by Bobs Watson, he runs away. When he becomes involved with his older brother, and a foiled bank robbery, his actions place Boy's Town in jeopardy. Through the guidance of Father Flanagan, Whitey is able to see reason and returns to Boy's Town, where he is elected Mayor by the other boys and becomes a mentor to little Pee Wee.

So many of these older films espouse a message of tolerance and religious diversity which is lacking today; even while portraying the Jewish pawnbroker, Henry Hull does so in a way that lends dignity to his faith. And as Father Flanagan, Spencer Tracy is the penultimate Priest, the one who understands that our differences unite, rather than divide us as individuals. The mess hall scene, in which all the boys of different faiths say grace in their own way, is, for me, one of the highlights of the film. Based loosely on the actual story of Boys Town, this is a real "feel good" movie for these troubled times.

"The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane with James Keach and David Warner

This was the first time I have seen this remarkable film from Jan Kadar. It was first released in 1977 and then again in 1984 as a PBS special. Set in the last days of the American frontier, the story takes place in the parlor of the Blue Hotel, located in the small town of Fort Romper, against the backdrop of an impending blizzard.

Three men get off the train for an overnight stay in the hotel. Almost immediately the viewer is aware that one of the men is not quite right. The character known as "Swede", played by David Warner, is angry, apprehensive and almost expectant of trouble. He announces that "many men have died in this room", a charge vehemently denied by the owner. The Swede then further declares that he too will be killed that night, in that very room. Thinking him mad, the owner, Scully, does all he can to placate the Swede, mostly to no avail.

The owner's son, Johnnie, played by James Keach, is caught cheating at cards in a game with the Swede. The two then go outside, in the blizzard, to fight it out. The other guests, who have by now taken a dislike to the Swede, are all there to cheer on the owner's son. Initially, as he is beating the Swede, the other guests are crying out for the younger man to "Kill him, kill him!" They are sorely disappointed when the Swede nearly beats the younger man to death.

When everyone adjourns back into the hotel, the Swede decides to check out. When the owner refuses to accept any payment from the Swede a new argument is born. Just as that argument is escalating, a stranger enters the hotel seeking shelter. The Swede begins to pick on him, demanding that he listen to his story. The man refuses and the Swede puts his hands on him. The man asks him to remove his hand from his shoulder, and when the Swede does not, the man swiftly stabs him to death with one thrust. He then turns his knife over to the proprietor and asks to be awoken when the sheriff arrives in the morning.

Who is responsible for the death of the Swede? Was it the Swede himself? Had he read too many dime store novels about what to expect out west? Was he fulfilling a self-perpetuating fantasy? Or was it the intolerance of the other guests, and the hotel owner, for not understanding the strain the Swede was under? Thinking he was about to be killed could not have been easy to live with. But that only begs the question of why he would go someplace to experience what he fears the most?

In the end, director Jan Kadar has left us with a stunning visual adaptation of the Stephen Crane story. 130 years removed from the action portrayed in this film, these questions of intolerance still remain unanswered.