Review of Men of Boys Town (1941) by Timothy M — 12 Sep 2010

Lee J. Cobb replacing Henry Hull is really quite odd, but that's the least of the film's issues. Taurog and company try to do too much and forget to give the film any sort of focus or story. There's all sorts of cheap manipulation that tries to elicit tears, but it all falls flat because none of it means anything. Tracy does what he can, and he doesn't tarnish his Oscar-winning character, but the film itself is overlong and wasteful.

There's also an unintentionally hilarious sequence in which the priest, played by Tracy, beckons a small child to search for "candy" under his desk. While he's sitting at it.