Broth of a Boy is an even-keel film version of a play by British dramatist Hugh Leonard.
Barry Fitzgerald plays the world's oldest man, a taciturn centenarian Irishman. Media representatives converge on Fitzgerald's village on the occasion of the old coot's 110th birthday. The eager TV exec who stages the event discovers that damage control is definitely in order: not only is Fitzgerald a widely despised poacher, but he also truculently refuses to participate in the ceremony. Broth of a Boy is a pleasant, easygoing satire of exploitive journalism--a target that is as viable today as it was in 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide