Captains Courageous (1937);
Boys Town (1938)

March 4, 2012 - 7:00 pm

Billy Wilder Theater

Captains Courageous (1937)

Directed by Victor Fleming

Tracy’s first Academy Award came for his portrayal of “Manuel,” a Portuguese fisherman acting as father figure to young prig, Freddie Bartholomew, aboard a ship full of rugged men. Tracy famously disliked the makeup, hairstyling and accent required for the role. His performance, however, is a stirring and ultimately heartbreaking triumph, convincingly invested with the vigor and generosity that are his gifts to “little fish” Bartholomew.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. Producer: Lewis D. Lighton. Based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling. Screenwriter: John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every.Cinematographer: Harold Rosson. Editor: Elmo Veron. Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Charley Grapewin, Mickey Rooney.

35mm, b/w, 118 min.

Boys Town (1938)

Directed by Norman Taurog

A second Best Actor Oscar—earned one year after the first—crowned Tracy’s performance as crusading Father Flanagan, founder of the titular, renowned boarding school for delinquent boys. Tracy’s rock-steady presence opposite unruly Mickey Rooney, sounded a note that would reverberate for the rest of his career: that of the reassuring, long-suffering morally centered man with strength enough to spare for others.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. Producer: John W. Considine, Jr. Screenwriter: John Meehan, Dore Schary. Cinematographer: Sidney Wagner. Editor: Elmo Veron. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, Gene Reynolds.

35mm, b/w, 93 min.

Part of:

Spencer Tracy: That Natural Thing

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Captains Courageous (1937); Boys Town (1938)