in such a powerhouse company could only serve to advance Tracy's standing". Libeled Lady was his third hit picture in the space of six months. Oscar wins Tracy appeared in four films released in 1937. They Gave Him a Gun, a crime-drama, went largely unnoticed, but Captains Courageous was one of the major film events of the year. Tracy played a Portuguese fisherman in the adventure movie, based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling. He was uncomfortable feigning a foreign accent, and resented having his hair curled, but the role was a hit with audiences and Tracy won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Captains Courageous was followed by Big City with Luise Rainer and Mannequin with Joan Crawford, the latter of which performed well at the box office. 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. Tracy was reunited with Clark Gable and Myrna Loy for Test Pilot (1938). The film was another enormous commercial and critical success, permanently cementing the notion of Gable and Tracy as a team in the public imagination. Based on the positive response he had received in San Francisco, MGM again cast Tracy as a priest in Boys Town (also 1938). Portraying Edward J. Flanagan, a Catholic priest and founder of 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." Tracy received strong reviews for his performance, and the movie grossed $4 million worldwide. 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 ... I can accept it only as it was meant to be for a great man—Father Flanagan". Although he did keep his Oscar, a second statuette was struck and immediately sent to Flanagan. Tracy was listed as the fifth biggest box office star of 1938. 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