I have never understood MGM's push in the 1940s to make Butch Jenkins their next big child star. While the studio was very successful with Margaret O'Brien and a few other child stars, Jenkins never gained the same sort of favor with the public. I honestly think it was for two big reasons. First, he was a homely child and not freakin' adorable like Natalie Wood or other big child stars. Second, I really don't think he was a very good actor and much of the time on screen he just looked dull and lost. Why MGM put him in so many films (some of which were BIG productions, like "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes"), I have no idea....but as you can see for the poster on IMDB for the film, the studio pushed hard to make the boy a star. Oddly, however, he doesn't appear in "Boy's Ranch" for the first half hour! And, while not being top billed, Skip Homeier was the actual star of the film.
Considering the great success the studio had with "Boys Town" back in 1938, it's not all that surprising that they'd later try to duplicate this success. Both stories are nearly identical in many ways but the setting and stars were different. So, instead of Spencer Tracy as a kind priest who runs a Catholic orphanage, James Craig plays a pro baseball player who starts a ranch for homeless boys. Both have the punk who refuses to be rehabilitated who is the star (Mickey Rooney in the former and Skip Homeier in the latter) and a 'cute kid' (Bobs Watson in the former and Butch Jenkins in the latter). So, don't expect a lot of originality or surprises in "Boys' Ranch"....though it is pleasant and entertaining.
When the story begins, Don Walker (Craig) is taking a break from baseball and ends up becoming involved with a couple troubled homeless teens (Skip Homeier and Darryl Hickman). After Walker convinces locals to provide land and funds for a home for boys, he makes his first two residents these boys. Hank (Hickman) buys into the ranch life, Skip (Homeier) is a cynical jerk....just looking for a chance to take off. Soon more boys are welcomed to the ranch and things appear to be going well....but what about evil Skip, the school bully, thief and all-around jerk?
This is a modestly entertaining film. Homeier and Hickman were very good and the story kept my interest. But on the other hand, it was too much like "Boys Town" to make it a must-see film and Jenkins was, once again, not particularly good or even necessary.