The Bay Boy is a 1984 Canadian drama film. It is a semi-autobiographical film based on director Daniel Petrie's experiences of growing up in Glace Bay, a mining town on Cape Breton Island, during the Great Depression. It features the screen debut of Kiefer Sutherland as the film's central character, alongside Liv Ullmann as his character's mother.

Plot

In 1937, Donald Campbell (Kiefer Sutherland) is a sensitive 16-year-old boy coming of age in a dark and uncertain time for both his community and life. His mother (Liv Ullmann) wants him to continue his education after high school and become a priest, but Donald is more interested in girls than prayerbooks. After an unsuccessful attempt by a visiting priest to molest him, followed by losing his virginity to a local girl, Donald politely informs his mother (without revealing why) that he is not going to be a priest.