''Fighting Father Dunne'' is a 1948 American biographical film about the life of Father Peter Dunne, and the creation of his News Boys Home in St. Louis, Missouri. Directed by

Ted Tetzlaff Dale H. "Ted" Tetzlaff (3 June 1903, Los Angeles, California – 7 January 1995, Sausalito, California) was an Academy Award-nominated Hollywood cinematographer active in the 1930s and 1940s. Career Tetzlaff was particularly favored by the ...

, the screenplay was written by

Martin Rackin Martin Rackin (31 July 1918 – 15 April 1976) was an American writer and producer who was briefly head of production at Paramount Pictures from 1960–64. In the late 1950s he wrote and produced a series of films with actor Alan Ladd. Ri ...

and Frank Davis, based on an original story by William Rankin. The film stars

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

as Fr. Dunne, along with

Darryl Hickman Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult. ...

Charles Kemper Charles Kemper (September 6, 1900 – May 12, 1950) was an American character actor born in Oklahoma. The heavy-set actor was for decades a successful stage actor. Movie career Like many actors in New York, Kemper worked in short comedies fil ...

, Una O'Connor,

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years old ...

, Harry Shannon,

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

Myrna Dell Myrna Dell (born Marilyn Adele Dunlap; March 5, 1924 – February 11, 2011) was an American actress, model, and writer who appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs over four decades. A Hollywood glamour girl in the early p ...

, and

Ruth Donnelly Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American film and stage actress. Early years and family Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Donnelly was the daughter of Harry Augustus and Bessie B. Donnelly. Her uncle, Freder ...

Plot

In St. Louis, renovations are about to begin on the News Boys' Home and Protectorate. Fred Carver approaches the men about to rip up the sidewalk out front, and asks that they preserve a slab of the sidewalk which contains two sets of footprints: his as a boy, and those of Father Dunne. The workers do not know who Father Dunne was, and Carver begins to relate the tale of the late priest, and creation of the building they stand in front of. In 1905 St. Louis, newspapers employ young boys, many of them orphans to deliver their papers. One brutally cold morning, one of the homeless boys, falls ill and can't work. His two friends, Tony and Jimmy, not knowing what to do, go to Father Dunne's parish where they tell the priest of their concerns. Dunne accompanies the two youths to where their friend lives: in a cardboard box. After he takes the three boys to his sister Kate's house, he convinces her and her husband Emmett to take the boys in on a temporary basis until he can figure out a more permanent solution. Dunne visits his Archbishop John Joseph Glennon and tells him of his intent to build a home for the newsboys and other children who live on the street. The Archbishop pledges to support Dunne's efforts, but makes it clear that the diocese is not in a financial position where they can contribute any money to the project. Undaunted, Father Dunne uses his winning personality and gifts of persuasion, to cajole, harangue, and otherwise convince local business people to support his project. Using the donations, Dunne rents a run-down townhouse, and begins to refurbish it, again convincing local businesses to donate the materials for the renovation. He also enlists the help of a local attorney, Thomas Lee, to help him in his negotiations, as well as providing free legal council. As the house gets more and more fixed up, the number of youths staying there grows. In addition to providing them food and shelter, Father Dunne also provides guidance to the young men, attempting to help them turn into productive members of society. Dunne particularly works hard on one of the more sullen, violent youths, Matt Davis, who has been physically abused by his alcoholic father. Eventually, Dunne becomes aware that the adolescents under his care are being violently bullied by some of the older teenagers who also compete in selling papers. He at first attempts to talk to the manager at the paper in charge of sales, but his efforts are frustrated. Matt then organizes the boys at the home to work as a group, in support of one another, in order to offset the larger, stronger teenagers. While it is initially successful, the violence begins to ratchet up, eventually leading to a violent confrontation which sees the horse which has been loaned to the boys to help them deliver the papers killed, and Jimmy's leg is crushed under a wagon wheel. Matt blames himself for the altercation, and flees the home in shame. Father Dunne then convinces Michael O'Donnell, who had loaned the boys the horse, to threaten to evict the newspaper from their building, since he owns it. The newspaper then relents and intervenes on the boys' behalf with the older delivery boys, averting further violence. Dunne then turns his efforts into raising money to build a larger, more permanent home for the boys. While he is doing that, he also continues to search for Matt. He eventually finds him, but cannot convince to him to leave his abusive father and return to the home. Eventually, O'Donnell and Lee help Dunne form a board of directors to help raise money for the permanent home, and it is eventually built. After it opens, Matt arrives to ask for help from Dunne. He is fleeing from the police, after having almost been caught during a robbery. Dunne agrees to help him, but convinces him that the first step is to turn himself in. Before he can, however, they are surprised by a police officer. Matt mistakes him for his drunken father and shoots him, killing him. Matt surrenders, but is sentenced to death. Even though Dunne intercedes on his behalf with the governor, the execution is carried out. While he was unsuccessful with Matt, Father Dunne is gets solace from all the boys waiting for him when he returns to the home, all of which he has saved.

Cast

as Father Peter J. Dunne *

as Matt Davis *

as Emmett Mulvey * Una O'Connor as Miss O'Rourke *

as Mr. Michael O'Donnell * Harry Shannon as Thomas Lee *

as Steve Davis *

Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...

as Mrs. Olaf Knudson *Donn Gift as Jimmy *

as Paula Hendricks *

as Kate Mulvey *James Nolan as Policeman Danny Briggs *Billy Cummings as Tony * Billy Gray as Chip *Eric Roberts as Monk *Gene Collins as Lefty *

Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...

as Archbishop John Joseph Glennon * Ray Walker as Fred Carver *

Griff Barnett Griff Barnett (born Manley Griffith, November 12, 1884 – January 12, 1958) was an American actor.(17 January 1958) ''The New York Times'' Barnett was born in Blue Ridge, Texas in 1884. In the early 20th century, Barnett was a member of the ...

as Governor * Jason Robards Sr. as J.J. Sonin *

Dot Farley Dorothea "Dot" Farley (February 6, 1881 – May 2, 1971) was an American film actress who appeared in 280 motion pictures between 1910 and 1950. She was also known as Dorothy Farley. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dorothea Farley was t ...

as Mrs. Monohan (uncredited) *Rudy Wissler as Boy Soloist

Production

RKO announced that they would be releasing the film for industry screenings on May 11, 1948. The film had two working titles, ''Father Dunne's Newsboys Home'' and ''Father Dunne's Home''. Actor

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

screen-tested for the cast, but did not appear in the film. In May 1948, Matthew L. Davis sued RKO for $300,000, stating his reputation had been damaged by the portrayal of the character Matt Davis (played by Darryl Hickman) in the film.

Reception

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' gave the film a positive review, calling it "well done", and saying it "seizes the audience's attention at the outset and maintains it until the very end and getting off en route a few dozen compassionate, comic, slick and at various times intense moments of drama." They praised O'Brien's performance, as well as both the direction by Tetzlaff and Phil Ryan's production. The magazine felt that Rackin and Davis had done a fine job of adapting the story by Rankin. The picture also received a good review from '' Harrison's Reports'', which called it a "fine drama, with strong emotional appeal". They compared it favorably to '' Boys Town'', which had been released a decade earlier. Calling O'Brien's performance excellent, they applauded the way the film blended pathos and comedy. ''

Modern Screen ''Modern Screen'' was an American fan magazine that for over 50 years featured articles, pictorials and interviews with film stars (and later television and music personalities). Founding ''Modern Screen'' magazine debuted on November 3, 193 ...

'' was less kind. Although they had an overall positive review, they felt that O'Brien's performance was simply adequate, and the script was mediocre. They did enjoy Una O'Connor's performance, and felt Hickman was brilliant as the young murderer. Not all reviews were positive. Thomas M. Pryor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called the film "too weighted with sentimentalism to be effective as drama," with performances "so deliberately calculated to wrench one's heart that they are ineffectual."

John McCarten John McCarten (September 10, 1911, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – September 25, 1974, New York City) was an American writer who contributed about 1,000 pieces for ''The New Yorker'', serving as the magazine's film critic from 1945 to 1960 and B ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' also dismissed the film, writing that Father Dunne's "work, although commendable, isn't very exciting."

References

{{reflist 1948 films RKO Pictures films 1940s biographical drama films American biographical drama films Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by Ted Tetzlaff Films set in St. Louis Films set in the 1900s Films about Catholicism Films about Catholic priests American black-and-white films 1948 drama films 1940s American films