Hard to believe I had never seen this movie.  Spencer Tracy plays real life Father Flanagan, who starts a school for homeless boys outside of Omaha, Nebraska.  Mickey Rooney is the toughest kid he's ever had to reform.  The movie was nominated for Best Picture and Tracy won Best Actor for this role.

I liked this movie but it was incredibly clichéd.  This is probably unfair because I'm sure it is the source of many clichés.  The real Boys Town is still going strong.  My brother probably already knows that it is the home of the World's Largest Ball of Stamps.  They also have a motto, "He ain't heavy, Father, he's m'brother", which was the inspiration of the hit song by the Hollies.  Neither the ball of stamps or the motto were in place in 1938.

Test Pilot with Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. Directed by Victor Fleming and written by Howard Hawks.  Also with Lionel Barrymore and some Marjorie Main. Nominated for Best Picture.

I had understandably high expectations for this movie and unfortunately I was disappointed.  It starts out as a romantic comedy but turns into a dark study of how the lives of Tracy and Loy are spent in misery because of their love for Gable and his insistence on risking his life flying dangerous test missions.  I found the flow of the movie to be very jumpy.  Spencer Tracy had a great performance, but despite several bright spots I didn't care for Gable or Loy on the whole.