Boys' Ranch (1946)

Baseball player Dan Walker being benched doesn't bother him as it allows him to make the easy decision to be a full time Texas rancher - his goal to own his own ranch - and be at home with ... See full summary »

Director:

Roy Rowland

Writers:

William Ludwig (original story), William Ludwig (screen play)

Stars:

Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins, James Craig, Skip Homeier

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins	...	'Butch' Taylor
James Craig	...	Dan Walker
Skip Homeier	...	Skippy (as Skippy Homeier)
Dorothy Patrick	...	Susan Walker
Ray Collins	...	David Banton
Darryl Hickman	...	Hank Jennings
Sharon McManus	...	Mary Walker
Minor Watson	...	Charlie Harper
Geraldine Wall	...	Mrs. Harper
Arthur Space	...	Tom O'Neill
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Druggist (as Robert Emmet O'Connor)
Moroni Olsen	...	Judge Henderson

Storyline

Baseball player Dan Walker being benched doesn't bother him as it allows him to make the easy decision to be a full time Texas rancher - his goal to own his own ranch - and be at home with his wife and daughter, Susan and Mary. The one thing Dan will miss about not being a ball player is the casual friendship he has with a bunch of disadvantaged boys at his team's ballpark. Without knowing their full stories, Dan could always manage to get a few of them into the ballpark to watch games for free. When Dan learns that two of them, Skippy and Hank, will be sent to reform school, with the probable outcome being they growing up to be adult criminals due to that experience, Dan feels he has no choice but to take the two with him to Texas to try to get them jobs on ranches. Dan learns both that city boys being thrown into the deep end in ranching duties doesn't sit well with the locals, and that there are just as many disadvantaged boys in the country as there are in the city, they who just ...

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Taglines:

NEVER SUCH A LOVABLE...THRILLABLE STAR! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 July 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Minorenni pericolose

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was first telecast in Cincinnati Saturday 17 August 1957 on WXIX (Channel 19) (Newport KY); it first aired in Los Angeles 9 September 1957 on KTTV (Channel 11), in Philadelphia 28 September 1957 on WFIL (Channel 6), in Hartford CT 8 October 1957 on WHCT (Channel 18), in Amarillo 25 October 1957 on KFDA (Channel 19), in Tucson 1 November 1957 on KVOA (Channel 4), in Phoenix 10 November 1957 on KPHO (Channel 5), in Cleveland 30 November 1957 on KYW (Channel 3), in Chicago 21 December 1957 on WBBM (Channel 2), in Honolulu 4 January 1958 on KHVH (Channel 13), in Columbus 23 February 1958 on WLW-C (Channel 4), in Portland OR 6 March 1958 on KGW (Channel 8), in Nashville 22 March 1958 on WLAC (Channel 5), and in San Francisco 12 April 1958 on KGO (Channel 7); the Boys finally found their way to New York City 21 October 1959 on WCBS (Channel 2).

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Goofs

When Skip jumps in the flash flood to save Hank, he stuffs the package with the money in his shirt before he jumps in the water. When he arrives at Hank's location and gets out of the water, the package is gone. In several scenes following that, a sack appears and disappears and reappears tied to Skip's waist, supposedly the sack with the money.

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Connections

Referenced in Forecast (1945)

User Reviews

Shirt-tails for Skip Homeier

"This is the story of a new kind of ranch. It is in Potter County, Texas, not far from Amarillo, and it raises a new kind of crop - men. This crop of men is raised from boys who might otherwise have gone wrong. It all began at a baseball park one day in midsummer…" Like "Boys Town" (1938), this "Boys' Ranch" was (and still is) a real place. In MGM's film version, skinny Skip "Skippy" Homeier (as Skippy) and his cute pal Daryl Hickman (as Hank) say goodbye to handsome ballplayer James Craig (as Dan Walker) by giving him an expensive knife. However, the teenage boys stole the knife and are picked up by the police...

Benched by his coach, Mr. Craig moves to a ranch with his pretty blonde wife Dorothy Patrick (as Susan) and pigtailed preteen daughter Sharon McManus (as Mary). Craig agrees to be a parole officer for Mr. Homeier and Mr. Hickman, finding them bed and board at a nearby ranch. Alas, they are neglected and run away. When Homeier's appendix bursts, Craig finds Hickman and a group of the boys living at an empty ranch owned by Ray Collins (as Davis Banton). Craig decides to start "Boys' Ranch" for orphaned and neglected youth. Because the boys are considered "hoodlums", the ranch is put on probation...

Craig grows a mustache to look more "dignified" for his boys and welcomes ornery preteen Jackie "Butch" Jenkins (as Butch Taylor) to the group. The story loses its pace as we overdose on comic relief antics with young Jenkins, who even sings a song. Possibly, when Jenkins was signed, MGM ordered his part expanded. Jenkins is top-billed and bloody-nosed Rudy Wissler (as Rudy) is a glaring omission in the "cast" credits. Likable and unique, Jenkins was the biggest "box office" draw in the group. However, the star is Homeier and the focus slowly returns to his incorrigible character's climactic salvation.

****** Boys' Ranch (7/18/46) Roy Rowland ~ Skip Homeier, James Craig, Daryl Hickman, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins