Love Finds Andy Hardy

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.

These low budget teen comedies practically carried MGM throughout the 30s and 40s. If they lost money on another movie, they would just invest in another Andy Hardy picture, and they would be guarantee a comfortable return on their investment. Out of all the Hardy films, this comedy of errors in the best. Mickey Rooney is in top shape as the girl crazy Andy Hardy, who winds up with more girls than he can handle. Ann Rutherford, Lana Turner and Judy Garland are all exceptional, and Judy busts out some memorable songs during this movie that will stick in your mind even when the movie is over. This movie is a reflection of more innocent times, the pre-WWII era of the world, where everyone was full of hope and dreams about what lay ahead in the world. Movies like this are rare and the people making contemporary teen comedies would do themselves a favour to watch this movie, amongst other Hardy pics, to see precisely what makes a good comedy. No foul language, no nudity, just a good solid story and great performers to carry it. Not to be missed. Now, I can only hope for an Andy Hardy box set on DVD.

On my trip to America this summer I decided to do I a little shopping. One on the DVD's I bought was Love Finds Andy Hardy, you see I am a big Judy Garland fan and I really wanted to buy as many Judy DVD's as I could afford while I was over there, as they only sell one or two in the UK.

Anyway when I watched this DVD later on I was amazed. I didn't not think it was going to be very good but it was amazing, not only that it was very funny. Judy has three numbers (In Between, It never Rains but What it Pours, Meet the Beat of my heart) which she sings brilliantly. Judy's acting in this film is also very good, and her continuous attempts to impress Andy are a mixture of comedy and sadness.

As for Mickey Rooney, I have never seen him in a film before and he too is also very funny. So with Judy and Mickey you have the perfect pair. I now understand why they did so many pictures together and it is a shame they don't sell more of them on DVD.

Lana Turner and Ann Rutherford also are great comedy stars, acting as posh, spoilt brats.

All in all I think Love finds Andy Hardy is a amazing film and everyone should own a copy of it on DVD or Video!

This is very corny in spots, especially with the goofy faces Mickey Rooney makes with the girls. They are so childish they get annoying quickly. However, he stops doing that fairly soon, thankfully.

Even though these Andy Hardy films are sappy, there is a certain charm to them. Of note in this film is a very young Lana Turner and a young Judy Garland, whose songs are so-so in here. She plays an appealing role but is not convincing as a 12-year-old. She looks physically more mature than pre-teen.

Lewis Stone, meanwhile, is perhaps the best character in this film as he was in most movies in this series. I really liked his hear-to-heart talk with Rooney. In an old-fashioned way, it's nice to see a teen with a great rapport with his parents. Some may not believe it, but it DOES happen in some families!!

The Andy Hardy series, based on Vivien R. Bretherton's stories, proved to be a favorite of the public at the time they came out. It was a different and innocent America. These were the teen agers of that era, and their world, as Hollywood interpreted it. This picture was directed by George B. Seitz.

Andy loves Polly, but when a friend asks him to take care of the beautiful Cynthia, he complies. Enter the girl-next-door, Betsy, and the problems begin. As usual, the fatherly figure of Judge James K. Hardy, is there to guide his young son into doing the right thing. In fact, Andy and his parents didn't suffer from the generation gap that became prevalent later on; the openness of family relationships of that time is so refreshing and shows how much has been lost. It probably had to do with a loving mother, Emily, who stayed home and supervised her children.

The cast is delightful. Mickey Rooney shows why he was one of the most loved actors of the time. Judy Garland is a sweet Betsy and has an opportunity to sing three songs in the film. Lewis Stone and Fay Holden as the Hardy parents, are good and solid. Cecilia Parker is sister Marian. A young Lana Turner is seen as Cynthia and finally, Ann Rutherford was perfect as Polly.

A delightful comedy that about a more happy era in America.