
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
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![Pat O'brien, Father [Peter J.] Dunne](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/PatOBrien.jpg?w=200)
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![Arthur Shields, Mr. [Michael] O'Donnell](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/ArthurShields.jpg?w=200)
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...
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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."