Film fest spotlights 'Boys Town,' Rooney

DALLAS, March 24 (UPI) -- Hollywood icon Mickey Rooney is to be honored at an upcoming event in Dallas celebrating the 70th anniversary of his Oscar-winning film "Boys Town."

Boys Town, the youth care organization that inspired the movie, and planners of the 2008 AFI Dallas International Film Festival, are scheduled to mark the film's 70th anniversary by honoring Rooney and promoting the official Web site for the film -- http://www.boystownmovie.com/

Rooney, 87, is to receive the AFI Dallas Star Award for his contributions to cinema, especially his role in "Boys Town," while the movie will be screened Saturday afternoon at Southern Methodist University's Hughes-Trigg Theater.

Boys Town describes itself as a 90-year-old non-profit, non-sectarian organization that provides children and families with services in their own homes, or, when necessary, family-like out-of-home services to children with special treatment needs.

The group said it provides direct care to more than 47,000 children and assists nearly 1.4 million each year through its youth care and health care programs.