In Love Finds Andy Hardy, love descends upon Mickey Rooney like an invading army. It's amazing how he managed to get free from all of his romantic entanglements. But when you've got Judy Garland, Lana Turner, and Ann Rutherford all chasing you in the same film, you must be doing something right.
Those who followed the doings of the Hardy family in the theaters back in the day and on TCM now are aware of Mickey's girl friend Ann Rutherford who plays Polly Benedict in the series. Ann's going away from Carvel for the Christmas holidays and Andy has no one to take to the winter dance. Then at the same time he meets Judy Garland who is staying next door to the Hardys visiting an aunt and gets introduced to his friend Beezy's girl friend Lana Turner. Somehow the image of Lana Turner ever going out with a person named 'Beezy' doesn't compute.
Still Beezy who is played in the series by George Breakston is also going out of town and before long Rooney's got two dates to the dance with Garland and Turner and an unexpected Ann Rutherford returning home.
Now since this was right in the beginning of the Hardy series, you know Mickey got out of it and lived to romance another day. But Love Finds Andy Hardy if it belongs to anyone in the cast, the film is definitely Judy Garland's. Her personality so winning, there was never a question about her becoming a great star. She has some good songs to sing with In-Between and It Never Rains, But What It Pours which she sings well, but should have been Mickey's theme for this film.
What I liked best in the film is how Judy with a little psychology managed to get Rooney out of his entanglement with Turner. That's worth seeing the film alone for. There is also a couple of nice subplots involving a wayward juvenile before Judge Hardy played by Gene Reynolds and the fact that Mother (Fay Holden) is away at Christmas time tending to her mother.
Love Finds Andy Hardy is an average film for the series, but it's a milestone in that two screen legends who were very different types on the screen got significant career boosts from this film.
Those who followed the doings of the Hardy family in the theaters back in the day and on TCM now are aware of Mickey's girl friend Ann Rutherford who plays Polly Benedict in the series. Ann's going away from Carvel for the Christmas holidays and Andy has no one to take to the winter dance. Then at the same time he meets Judy Garland who is staying next door to the Hardys visiting an aunt and gets introduced to his friend Beezy's girl friend Lana Turner. Somehow the image of Lana Turner ever going out with a person named 'Beezy' doesn't compute.
Still Beezy who is played in the series by George Breakston is also going out of town and before long Rooney's got two dates to the dance with Garland and Turner and an unexpected Ann Rutherford returning home.
Now since this was right in the beginning of the Hardy series, you know Mickey got out of it and lived to romance another day. But Love Finds Andy Hardy if it belongs to anyone in the cast, the film is definitely Judy Garland's. Her personality so winning, there was never a question about her becoming a great star. She has some good songs to sing with In-Between and It Never Rains, But What It Pours which she sings well, but should have been Mickey's theme for this film.
What I liked best in the film is how Judy with a little psychology managed to get Rooney out of his entanglement with Turner. That's worth seeing the film alone for. There is also a couple of nice subplots involving a wayward juvenile before Judge Hardy played by Gene Reynolds and the fact that Mother (Fay Holden) is away at Christmas time tending to her mother.
Love Finds Andy Hardy is an average film for the series, but it's a milestone in that two screen legends who were very different types on the screen got significant career boosts from this film.