Still image from the 1948 film Fighting Father Dunne.

Fighting Father Dunne

Directed by Ted Tetzlaff

A dedicated priest tries to reform a group of homeless boys in turn-of-the-century St. Louis.

1948 1h 33m Drama TV-PG

Expires: Invalid date


CAST
see full cast & crew at TCMDb: view

0

Ted Tetzlaff, Director
190520|144896
Ted Tetzlaff
Director

1

Pat O'brien, Father [Peter J.] Dunne
142903|120817
Pat O'brien
Father [Peter J.] Dun..

2

Darryl Hickman, Matt Davis
86038|35862
Darryl Hickman
Matt Davis

3

Charles Kemper, Emmett Mulvey
100586|29566
Charles Kemper
Emmett Mulvey

4

Una O'connor, Miss O'Rourke
143132|149370
Una O'connor
Miss O'Rourke

5

Arthur Shields, Mr. [Michael] O'Donnell
176360|16217
Arthur Shields
Mr. [Michael] O'Donne..

FULL SYNOPSIS

As two of his men are about to destroy the sidewalk outside St. Louis' rundown News Boys' Home and Protectorate, contractor Fred Carver asks that a piece of the sidewalk containing two sets of footprints be preserved. Fred explains to his workers that one set of footprints was made by him as a small boy, and the other belonged to Father Peter J. Dunne, the founder of the Home. Fred then recalls how Father Dunne became the "patron saint" of newsboys everywhere: In the winter of 1905, orphan newsboys huddle together in the cold while waiting for newspapers to sell. During a grueling morning of work, two boys, Jimmy and Tony, go to see Father Dunne and tell him that Chip, another orphan newsboy, is sick. Concerned, Father Dunne asks Jimmy and Tony to take him to Chip's home, which turns out to be an unheated packing case. Father Dunne takes the ailing Chip to his sister Kate's house and calls a doctor. After the doctor prescribes bed rest for all three boys, Father Dunne convinces his reluctant brother-in-law, Emmett Mulvey, to sacrifice his only bed to the children. Father Dunne then informs his superior, Archbishop John Joseph Glennon, about the conditions under which the boys live and asks for help in creating a Home for them. Although the archbishop pledges to support Father Dunne's efforts, he also makes clear that the Catholic Church cannot donate any money to the cause. With that in mind, Father Dunne rents a shabby townhouse with help from lawyer Tom Lee and...


VIDEOS
see more videos at TCMDb: view
I Know They're Cold And Hungr...
Movie Clip
Do I Have To Do Somethin' Wor...
Movie Clip

ARTICLES
Pat O'Brien was Hollywood's top Irishman, excelling particularly as fast-talking newspapermen and priests who, though more reflective, could pull off the rapid palaver when the situation demanded it. He certainly got to exercise his Hibernian charms in this fact-based story about a St. Louis priest who created a home for newsboys, many of them living on their own and in poverty. Reviewers were quick to point out similarities to MGM's Boy's Town (1938), which had brought Spencer Tracy a Best Actor Oscar®, but the O'Brien vehicle has its own charms, O'Brien chief among them. The story starts in 1905, when he first encounters a trio of newsboys (including Billy Gray, who would go on to star in Father Knows Best), whose hard lives are threatening to kill them. Over time, O'Brien fights to provide decent living conditions for the boys and end the bullying and violence fostered by the newspapers for whom they work. Like Tracy in Boy's Town, O'Brien has one special boy (Darryl Hickman) who proves the hardest to reform. This was probably the young Hickman's best role, as he gets to display braggadocio in his dealings with the other boys and abject terror when confronted with his abusive father (Joe Sawyer). By Frank Miller

NOTES

The working titles of this film were Father Dunne's Newsboys Home and Father Dunne's Home. The film's opening credits include the following written foreword: "This is a story about a man who lived in St. Louis. It is also a tribute to him and what he stood for. The conditions that Father Dunne helped alleviate no longer exist in St. Louis, or in any other city...." Although the character played by Harry Shannon is listed as "John Lee" in the onscreen credits, he is called "Tom Lee" in the film. According to Hollywood Reporter, Phil L. Ryan Productions, which was producer Ryan's company, sold the rights to the film's story for $50,000, plus a percentage of the profits. RKO production files contained at the UCLA Arts Library-Special Collections note that Roddy McDowall tested for a role in the production. A September 1946 Los Angeles Examiner news item noted that producer Jack Gross was planning to shoot some scenes in St. Louis in February 1947, but no evidence that filming was done there has been found. Reviewers noted the similarity between this film and M-G-M's 1938 hit movie Boy's Town, which chronicled the founding of Father Edward Flanagan's home for juvenile delinquents in Omaha, NE (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.0465). According to Los Angeles Times, in April 1950, Matthew L. Davis of St. Louis lost a $300,000 lawsuit against RKO after a federal court decided that his reputation had not been damaged by this film. Davis lived at the News Boys' Home as a child and, after the picture was released, became jokingly known as "Killer Davis."

Welcome, DISH customer! Please note that we cannot save your viewing history due to an arrangement with DISH.

Watchlist and resume progress features have been disabled.

ACCEPT