Editing Spencer Tracy (section)

====Oscar wins====

Tracy appeared in four films released in 1937. ''[[They Gave Him a Gun]]'', a crime-drama, went largely unnoticed,<ref name="curtis 316">Curtis (2011) p. 316.</ref> but ''[[Captains Courageous (1937 film)|Captains Courageous]]'' was one of the major film events of the year.<ref name="curtis 316"/> Tracy played a Portuguese fisherman in the adventure movie, based on the novel by [[Rudyard Kipling]]. He was uncomfortable feigning a foreign accent,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 300.</ref> and resented having his hair curled,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 305.</ref> but the role was a hit with audiences and Tracy won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. ''Captains Courageous'' was followed by ''[[Big City (1937 film)|Big City]]'' with [[Luise Rainer]] and ''[[Mannequin (1937 film)|Mannequin]]'' with [[Joan Crawford]], the latter of which performed well at the box office.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 339.</ref> With two years of hit movies and industry recognition, Tracy became a star in the United States. A 1937 poll of 20 million people to find the "King and Queen of Hollywood" ranked Tracy sixth among males.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 333. The poll was conducted by 55 metropolitan newspapers. Ahead of Tracy in the poll were [[Clark Gable]], [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]], [[Tyrone Power]], [[William Powell]] and [[Nelson Eddy]].</ref>

Tracy was reunited with Clark Gable and Myrna Loy for ''[[Test Pilot (film)|Test Pilot]]'' (1938). The film was another enormous commercial and critical success,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 347.</ref> permanently cementing the notion of Gable and Tracy as a team in the public imagination.

[[File:Captains courageous tracy and bartholomew.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Tracy and [[Freddie Bartholomew]] in ''[[Captains Courageous (1937 film)|Captains Courageous]]'' (1937)]]

Based on the positive response he had received in ''San Francisco'', MGM again cast Tracy as a priest in ''[[Boys Town (film)|Boys Town]]'' (also 1938).<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 343.</ref> Portraying [[Edward J. Flanagan]], a Catholic priest and founder of [[Boys Town (organization)|Boys Town]] in Nebraska, was a role Tracy took seriously: "I'm so anxious to do a good job as Father Flanagan that it worries me, keeps me awake at night."<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 345.</ref> Tracy received strong reviews for his performance, and the movie grossed $4 million worldwide.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 362.</ref> For the second year running, Tracy received an Academy Award for Best Actor. He was humble about the recognition, saying in his acceptance speech: "I honestly do not feel that I can accept this award&nbsp;... I can accept it only as it was meant to be for a great man—Father Flanagan".<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 363.</ref> Although he did keep his Oscar, a second statuette was struck and immediately sent to Flanagan.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 364.</ref> Tracy was listed as the fifth biggest box office star of 1938.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 359.</ref>

Tracy was absent from screens for almost a year before returning to Fox on loan and appearing as [[Henry M. Stanley]] in ''[[Stanley and Livingstone]]'' (1939) with [[Nancy Kelly]]. Curtis maintains that Tracy's non-visibility did little to affect his standing with the public or exhibitors.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 390.</ref> In October 1939, a ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine survey of the nation's favorite movie actors listed Tracy in first place.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 391.</ref>