The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942) Film Review - Mickey Rooney

Plot Summary - Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) is busy in court with a case of this bitter and bickering divorced couple who are parents of a high school aged daughter Melodie (Donna Reed), caught in the middle. Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) is out of school now and working at a local garage where he is trying to start up his own towing business. His tow-truck isn't in the greatest of shape and Andy ends up in a mix-up while towing a sedan - now accused of stealing it! Judge and son make an exchange - the judge will help Andy with his latest legal trouble if Andy will ask poor, troubled, unsociable Melodie out on a date to help brighten her so-called drab life. Andy considers her "droopy" and a bore - a bit of a "sad apple" as he calls her - but asks her to the school alumni dance. Unfortunately for her, she's considered too out-of-style for Andy or the male stag line (Andy has to bribe all but one of these guys to "break" in). Melodie hasn't been out much and falls for Andy, invites Andy to the upcoming "Spinster's Skip", gives herself a makeover, and arrives at the dance looking like a gorgeous and stylish glamour girl, making the guys now want to pay Andy to dance with her! Side story involves sis Marian, just back home from living in NYC, now sophisticated in short skirt - with plans to wear her new nightgown as an evening dress, causing the family some grief.

Review - Well this is yet another entertaining and fun film in the Andy Hardy series. One thought - okay, Melodie is played by a very young and beautiful Donna Reed (not much is done to hide her beauty either) and it struck me as extremely unrealistic that the fellows all refuse to dance with her just 'cause she's not wearing the latest dress and hairstyle (and unless you know a lot about fashions of 1942, even that's sort of hard to detect watching this now)! This film includes a lot of the latest 40s slang and, as usual, parents and kids clashing over new ideas and the old-fashioned way. Line from Andy to Marian "It's not your fault God made women's brains lighter than men's". Okey Dokey, Andy. Rating - 7.5/10 stars

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) Film Review - Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland

Plot Summary - In this one seventeen year-old Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) has a big crush on New York society's Number 1 Deb, glamour girl Daphne Fowler (Diana Lewis). Andy keeps a secret scrapbook of magazine clippings featuring Miss Fowler, and he goes so far as to brag to his schoolmates Beezy and sometime steady girlfriend Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford) that he knows Daphne Fowler and she's crazy about him. Well, dad Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) has to go to NYC on a case and decides to bring the whole family - as local small town paper headlines "Hardy Family Goes to New York" (wow - that is a small town!). Now Andy's pals want a photo of Andy with Daphne as proof (they even plan to use it on the school newspaper's cover). While in New York, Andy enlists the aid of old friend Betsy Booth (Judy Garland), now fifteen and still considered "just a kid" by Andy - Betsy still has that crush she had on him a couple years earlier (seen on film in "Love finds Andy Hardy"). Betsy loans him use of her parents car and chauffeur in his pursuit to meet Miss Fowler. He ends up getting the brush by the girl's mother, then spending a fortune - $37.25 - in the over-priced Club Sirocco where he dines on caviar served in an ice sculpture and hopes to see Miss Fowler at a benefit being held there later that evening. Nothing but troubles come to Andy, until helpful Betsy manages to save the day again.

Review - This is quite an entertaining film, with a cute plot - lots of fun. Judy Garland charms yet again and sings two songs in this, "Alone" and "I'm Nobody's Baby". With Judy's presence in this film (she certainly is the golden girl - her star quality just shines here, as usual), it's certainly one of the better ones of the series. And I love Mickey and Judy together - all their films are favorites for me! Line from Andy "Gosh how one's women do mount up!". Gotta love that guy. Rating - 8.5/10 stars

The Hardys Ride High (1939) Film Review - Mickey Rooney

Plot Summary - Another adventure following sixteen year-old Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) and his family. In this one, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) falls heir to two million dollars and the family heads for Detroit to claim the inheritance and take residence in their new 12-bathroom mansion, butler Dobbs included. They do have to wait for the proof that the Judge is a true descendant before they actually get the money, but nobody seems too worried. Meanwhile, the ladies are all living it up, ordering breakfast in bed, opening charge accounts, buying expensive new dresses. Andy - formerly used to living on his one and a half buck a week allowance - turns into self-dubbed "millionaire-playboy", goes to the Paradise nightclub in tuxedo and opera hat, where he's about to be tricked by a cousin who will inherit the estate if the Hardy's do not. A bad and beautiful chorus girl uses her wiles to try to help trick Andy. Side story involves aunt Milly (Sara Haden) "cutting loose" and meeting a man.

Review - This film is cute, but quite predictable as the good Hardy family sort of realizes that perhaps loads of money is not what they really want. It's not one of the better films in the series, but is still quite entertaining. While I have seen the majority of the films in the Andy Hardy series before (some a number of times), I'm not sure if I had seen this particular one before, in any case I did not recall the plot. Rating - 7/10 stars

Andy Hardy Film Series - Mickey Rooney - MGM

A series of sixteen feature films produced by MGM from 1937 to 1958, based around the Family Hardy - - Judge Hardy, teenage son Andrew aka Andy, older sister Marian, devoted but somewhat daffy mom Emily, along with a spinster aunt named Milly - live together in a nice suburban house in the small town of Carvel. Andy is a bit cocky, completely girl crazy, and constantly getting into various scrapes - but he's actually quite a nice kid, Andy and Marian are usually involved in sibling bickers, the Judge calls his wife "Mother" and is forever honest, wise, and fair - he usually helps Andy out of some sort of trouble and Andy learns some sort of lesson. Andy has a sometimes steady girlfriend named Polly Benedict and a pal named "Beezy". All of these films are cute, light entertainment - sort of early versions of 50s/60s TV sitcoms like "Father Knows Best" or "Leave It To Beaver". Mickey Rooney brings a freshness and energy to the role of Andy Hardy that makes the character extremely likable, the family comes across as a real one - it's fun to spend a few hours (or more) with the Hardy's!

Turner Classic Movies featured a marathon of some of these films on December 26th - being the day after Christmas what with a dinner party at my house that lasted until midnight and too much food and drink, I could only manage to get up in time to see the last three they showed - I could easily sit through all sixteen films in a row, I find them that entertaining! Following is my reviews for the three films I watched, two of them I have seen a number of times before. By the way, I mentioned on Christmas that I was going to watch Andy Hardy films on TCM the next day and there were about seven people all over forty (some approaching sixty) at the table, not one had ever heard of Andy Hardy or these films!! (obviously this was not a movie buff crowd!)