The Courtship of Andy Hardy

When this film was first screened, viewers were aware of two major changes since the last Andy Hardy film. First, Mickey Rooney had married Ava Gardner. Secondly, the country had just entered World War II after the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor. One might surmise that they were curious to see Rooney and they yearned for the comfort of an Andy Hardy film to remind them of life before the harsh realities of wartime.

The stories in this film have to do with the return of sister Marian to the small-town life of Carvel and a divorce case being handled by Judge Hardy.

Marian rebels against the provincial ways of Carvel, trying to assert her new-found sensibilities and her freedom as an adult.

Meanwhile, Judge Hardy involves Andy in his case, asking him to date the socially awkward daughter of the bitterly divorcing parents. The daughter, Melodie, is played by Donna Reed in her sixth film role. At age twenty or twenty-one, Miss Reed plays a younger girl who has never been on a date. Her performance is excellent. In only four years, she will appear in "It's A Wonderful Life'.

As always, this Hardy family film delivers morals to warm the heart and, perhaps, to remind America of its central values. The virtues of the family unit and sobriety are promoted quite strongly.

The central themes compete. An ancillary story about a mail order purchase by Mrs. Hardy serves to further complicate the narrative. Still, this is a satisfying Hardy story with a pleasant resolution.

Another wonderful entry in the immensely enjoyable Andy Hardy series, even if this one's plot strains credulity at times. Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) handles a case where divorced parents are so busy hating each other they're turning their daughter Melodie (Donna Reed) into a bitter and lonely young woman. So the Judge asks his son Andy (Mickey Rooney) to date Melodie, whom Andy refers to as a droop and a sad apple. The Judge hopes outgoing and fun Andy can bring some happiness to Melodie. Meanwhile, daughter Marian (Cecilia Parker) has returned home from the big city, seemingly more mature and sophisticated with some newfangled ideas that don't sit well with her conservative parents.

The idea that high school boys wouldn't fall over themselves to date Donna Reed, one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen, is a bit of a joke but these types of plots were and still are common in Hollywood. Some of the ideals and morals in these Hardy films may be mocked by cynical modern viewers but there's something to be said for them, I think. They're good old-fashioned wholesome stories with a nice mix of drama and comedy. The cast of regulars is great. Frieda Inescort plays Reed's mother. In an amusing bit of trivia, Todd Karns plays a boy interested in Donna Reed's character. In Reed's most famous movie, It's a Wonderful Life, Karns played her brother-in-law Harry Bailey.

Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) is in charge of the contentious Nesbit divorce. Their daughter Melodie Nesbit (Donna Reed) had become a ward of the state. The Judge orders that she sees her father but she refuses. Marian Hardy (Cecilia Parker) is back home from the big city. Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) is operating a tow truck and gets mistaken in a car theft. He's also not happy with Marian's new city style.

The franchise seems to be going back to the basics. It's back to the family. It's back to the small town of Carvel. It's back to the comfort of the all-knowing Judge. It does try to deal with the changing styles and divorce. It also has newcomer Donna Reed in one of her early roles. I do wonder if the franchise is getting stale. It's the 12th of 16 movies in the series.

In The Courtship Of Andy Hardy, Lewis Stone gets Andy to actually help him out with one of his troubling domestic cases. In small town Carvel where everybody knows everybody and everybody's business, I guess this extralegal activity is expected especially from one who takes his obligations of office seriously as Judge Hardy did.

The ongoing battles between divorced parents Harvey Stephens and Frieda Inescourt are having deleterious effect on their daughter Donna Reed. Donna plays a plain Jane sort who doesn't socialize much. As Stone knows the parents he fixes Andy up with Reed. He can do so because Andy's steady girl Ann Rutherford is out of town. That's a running Hardy series gimmick, Polly Benedict goes out of town and Andy gets to play around.

Not all the family problems are with Andy in this film. Cecelia Parker as sister Marian has herself involved with William Lundigan, a decent enough fellow, but with a severe drinking problem. Again the personal and professional roles of Judge Hardy get kind of mixed in this situation as well.

The Courtship Of Andy Hardy is not a bad example of what this series was all about. But were families ever as wholesome as the Hardys?

The Courtship of Andy Hardy might be my absolute favorite in the entire Andy Hardy series. It's not silly, but instead offers serious lessons to the audience as Judge Hardy tries to do good both in the courtroom and within the entire town. In this one, Lewis Stone asks his son Mickey Rooney to date young Donna Reed to give her some happiness while her parents are involved in a difficult divorce case, but as you might suspect-because Andy Hardy is hormone-crazed and because Donna is very beautiful-what starts out as a fake romance turns into real feelings. At the end of their first date, during which Mickey has to literally pay other fellas to dance with her, she tells him how wonderful a time she's had. Her face lights up, she smiles, she looks like Kiera Knightley, and you can actually see Mickey fall in love with her in the seconds before he kisses her.

Meanwhile, Marian-aka Cecilia Parker-returns from New York sophisticated and modern, and she shocks her family with her new makeup and clothing. She wears a nightgown as a dress, and everyone gives their own little quips as to how improper it is. The judge says it's "dizzy", Mama Hardy claims she thought her daughter was only joking, Aunt Millie quotes philosophy, and Andy rattles off everything from "Is that your stomach staring at me?" to "I can see right through you, old girl." Yes, she has her hair dolled up and quotes the got-it-flaunt-it mantra, but doesn't anyone remember her party dress five years earlier in You're Only Young Once? It was a very revealing, practically see-through number, and Lewis Stone told her she looked beautiful. Their revenge is hilarious: when Marian's fancy gentleman caller comes to dinner, everyone dresses in their nightclothes. "Hot diggity dog!" Fay Holden grins after rattling off a slew of modern slang.

The theme of this movie seems to be the generational clash, and during one of their man-to-man talks, Mickey and Lewis compare slang. "You can say that again," Mickey mutters, and immediately Lewis bristles. "Why should I say it again? I just said it!" The clash within the Hardy family reflects the clash between Donna's parents, and anyone else in the audience whose home might be or about to become broken. Rather than being outwardly comical, The Courtship of Andy Hardy is witty and clever, with somber lessons and wise words from Judge Hardy. Plus, it introduces Donna Reed to Hollywood audiences! If you've never seen an Andy Hardy movie, you'll love this one-but it'll probably spoil you for the rest of them.