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Rating:  - OLD FASHIONED FUN
AN OLD FASHIONED MOVIE WITH PLENTY OF LAUGHTER AND HUMOR THAT'S IDEAL TO WATCH WITH CHILDREN. MICKEY ROONEY AND JUDY GARLAND GAVE OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES HERE. THIS MOVIE FEATURES JUDY GARLAND'S INCREDIBLE SINGING TALENT AS A CHILD. THIS IS A MOVIE THAT I WILL WATCH OVER AND OVER.
Rating: - Excellent service and great movie!
The movie arrived within days and I enjoyed watching this "oldie but goodie". Great service!
Rating: - Charming and Lively
The story of a teenage boy, Andy Hardy, played by Mickey Rooney, and his family. Andy Hardy does a favor for a friend and ends up with two girlfriends at the same time, and some trouble.
The appeal is a pleasant series of relationships during a time in America, which I remember, when the towns were small, everyone knew each other, and the family sat down together for dinner. The stories are embellished for fun and interest. Andy Hardy is very enthusiastic, which fits Mickey Rooney's personality perfectly.
Another excellent episode is "Andy Hardy's Private Secretary", on VHS only so far. Kathryn Grayson sings an excellent song. The episodes with Betsy Booth played by Judy Garland are charming, and she always sings a song. I have seen six of the Andy Hardy films; five were good, the sixth, "Love Laughs at Andy Hardy" was just fair.
I wish that Warner Home Video would release the whole 17 episode series in a DVD set.
1.) "Love Finds Andy Hardy" 1938. Andy ends up with two girlfriends, while agreeing to take care of a friends girl (Lana Turner) while his friend is on vacation. With Judy Garland as Betsy Booth. Andy gets his first car. VHS. DVD.
2.) "Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever" 1939. Andy becomes infatuated with his drama teacher. VHS.
3.) "Andy Hardy Meets Debutante" 1940. Andy is infatuated with a New York Socialite, initially ignoring, Betsy Booth, played by Judy Garland. VHS.
4.) "Andy Hardy's Private Secretary" 1941. Class President Andy appoints himself a secretary who makes his girlfriend, Polly, jealous....... Kathryn Grayson does a great singing number. VHS
5.) "Life Begins for Andy Hardy" 1941. Andy goes to New York, and gets help from Betsy Booth played by Judy Garland. VHS.
6.) "Andy Hardy's Double Life" 1942. Boy in a wagon crashes into a lumber truck and sues. VHS.
7.) "The Courtship of Andy Hardy" 1942. Andy is a friend to a girl named Melodie, played by Donna Reed, whose parents file for divorce.
8.) "Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble" 1944. Andy goes to college, where twin girls give him trouble. Stars Bonita Granville of the Nancy Drew movies.
9.) "Love Laughs at Andy Hardy" 1947. Andy returns from the war to finish college. VHS. DVD.
Other Andy Hardy movies that have not yet been released on VHS or DVD:
10.) The first episode in the series: "A Family Affair" 1937. Judge Hardy fights for re-election while dealing with family problems.
11.) "You're Only Young Once" 1937. Andy Hardy and his sister find romance during a family vacation at Catalina island.
12.)"Judge Hardy's Children" 1938. A small-town judge''s Washington trip lands his son in hot water with a diplomat''s daughter.
13.)"Andy Hardy's Dilemma". 1938. Judge Hardy teaches his son Andy a lesson about charity while used-car shopping. Only 19-min.
14.)"Out West with the Hardys" 1938. The Hardys go on a western vacation to help a friend negotiate water rights.
15.)"The Hardys Ride High" 1939. The Hardys inherit a fortune but have trouble adjusting to society life.
16.)"Judge Hardy and Son" 1939. The Hardys try to save an elderly couple from eviction while coping with his wife''s illness
17.)"Andy Hardy Comes Home" 1958 A sequel made 11-years after the series ended. Andy Hardy returns to Carvel to negotiate a land deal. The original Judge Hardy, and Andy's girlfriend Polly Benedict have been replaced.
If you like Mickey Rooney in this series, you might also like to see him in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1939) VHS. I enjoyed this Huck Finn movie more as a kid, but there are several classic scenes that I enjoyed seeing again.
Rating:  - Andy Meets the Starlets
Love Finds Andy Hardy is the first film to feature Betsy Booth (Judy Garland), a sweet girl from New York that instantly takes a liking to Andy (Mickey Rooney). He is oblivious however, because he has to worry about two other girls. First, there is Polly (Ann Rutherford), his steady girlfriend who is going out of town for three weeks before Christmas. Then, there is Cynthia (Lana Turner), Andy's friend's girlfriend. Andy is being paid to take her out so no other guy tries to steal her away, but she's a pain in the neck.
This film is one of the better ones of the Andy Hardy series and it features a great cast. Mickey Rooney is insanely hyper in the movie, which can either be annoying or endearing. He certainly is a character, and although Andy Hardy is immature, it is funny to contrast the character to the man. Incidentally, the film sort of mirrors the real-life interactions of the stars. Rooney was taken by Turner's glamourous looks and claims to have gotten her pregnant when they were young in his book. Garland felt she was not glamourous enough so she hated the way she looked in movies, possibly because of lack of attention from Rooney. It is hard to see why she could not appreciate herself though; she is wonderful. Her singing is just as good here as in later years too.
All in all, this is a fun film, a great way to spend time with the family or alone. Any age can enjoy it.
Rating: - You Were Right Mr. Mayer !
Like the Little Rascals/Our Gang comedies the Andy Hardy series of films are ageless. Louis B.Mayer often liked sentimental films that idolized America and the Andy Hardy Series is an example of this. "LB" took a special interest in this series and his hand is all over it. Mayer was often criticized for ordering MGM to make these kinds of movies and musicals but history has shown he was right. After he lost control of MGM in 1951 the studio went on to produce message pictures and other kinds of films. The public hated them. The Worst was 1959's Raintree County which was a cheap rip-off of Gone With The Wind. Mickey Rooney was the star of the series but Silent Era superstar Lewis Stone comes in 2nd as Judge Hardy. Ironic that these kinds of films were viewed as hokey by the emerging young producers and directors of the late 40's and early 50's, that took over and ultimately ruined then destroyed MGM, are the kinds the studios have been scrambling to bring back since the early 1980's. Mr. Mayer was 50 years ahead of his time !.
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