Out West with the Hardys

OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1938), marks the fifth entry to the "Judge Hardy's Family/Andy Hardy" series, following its previous installments of A FAMILY AFFAIR (1937), YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE (1937), JUDGE HARDY'S CHILDREN (1938) and the immensely popular, LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY (1938). Featuring the standard cast of Lewis Stone (Judge James K. Hardy), Mickey Rooney (Andrew Hardy), Cecilia Parker (Marian Hardy), Fay Holden (Emily Hardy), this edition also welcomes back Sara Haden as the family's Aunt Milly Forrest, the role recast in two previous installments by Betty Ross Clark. As in many a film series, there would be a matter of time before its title characters would venture out west, and this is it, though not in a sense of cowboys, horses and bar room brawls found in many a western, but another vacation for the family where the father helps with another family's situations.

The story starts off briefly in the courtroom before Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) receives a telegram from his friend's wife out west who is in need of financial assistance. Later, in the Hardy household, the family is gathered together or dinner before the lights suddenly go out. Son Andy (Mickey Rooney) solves the darkness problem by placing a penny in the fuse box. Situations ensue as Mother Hardy (Fay Holden), upset over her personal problems, feels she needs a rest. To assist his wife, Hardy packs up the family for rest and relaxation out west so Hardy can assist Dora and Bill Northcole's (Nana Bryant and Ralph Morgan) with their troubles. While in Medville, Arizona, Hardy attempts in helping the Northcole's settle their water rights problem with H. R. Bruxton (Thurston Hall), or else they will face eviction from their ranch. Then there's daughter, Marian, who recently had broken up with her boyfriend, Dennis Hunt (Don Castle) back home, becoming romantically involved with Ray Holt (Gordon Jones), a foreman rancher and widower father of an eight-year-old daughter, Jake (Virginia Weidler). Now in love with Ray and contemplating marriage, Marian decides to try out country living by awaking at 5 a.m., and making long preparations of the day starting with breakfast. Jake, however, disapproves of Marian with possibilities of her becoming her new mother, while she has taken a liking to her younger brother, Andy, who rather become involved with a girl closer to his own age. Others in the cast consist of Tom Neal (Aldrich Brown); Anthony Allan (Cliff Thomas); and Gordon Douglas (Mr. Carter). Series regulars Ann Rutherford (Polly Benedict, Andy's girlfriend) and Erville Alderson (Dave, the courtroom bailiff) can be seen in smaller roles.

Though not as successful nor memorable as LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS is standard comedy-drama. Though there are some moments of humor involving Andy trying life as a cowboy, there's also some serious moments involving Andy's accident while riding Jake's Calico horse, resulting to a broken leg, bringing tearful moments involving little Jake. Rooney and Weidler. Who work well together, would team up together again in YOUNG TOM EDISON (1940) and BABES ON BROADWAY (1941).

As with YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE, where the Hardy's take time away from their hometown of Carvel, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS returns to similar material involving Andy's antics and Marian's new romantic interest. A bit slow-moving at 84 minutes, the film is worthy viewing by fans of the series. Never distributed on video cassette but available on DVD, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS can be seen from time to time, along with 15 additional episodes in the series, on Turner Classic Movies. Next installment: THE HARDY'S RIDE HIGH (1939) (***)

Though this Hardy Family film is listed as a comedy, it includes a healthy dose of tears, which may be why it gets lesser marks than others in the series. Still, Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) brings his brand of teenage silliness to the proceedings.

The family goes out west to visit friends who own a working ranch. They are having problems that Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) might be able to help with. Daughter Marian (Cecilia Parker) is smitten with a ranch hand, and Andy reluctantly pals around with a spunky cowgirl named Jake, played by Virginia Weidler (who appears in two other films with Rooney).

The show business adage says you should never work with children or animals, but Rooney does both here and, though Virginia is a real scene-stealer, he holds his own. A better film that shows Rooney's western talents is "Girl Crazy" (1943).

Judge Hardy and his family take off for Arizona when one of dad's close friends runs into some legal trouble and may lose her ranch. The elder daughter Marian falls for a foreman at the ranch (Gordon Jones), whose 8-year-old tomboy daughter "Jake" starts to get a crush of sorts on Andy Hardy. This wasn't an exceptional entry but it has its moments of comedy (Jake tries to sabotage Marian's efforts to impress the girl's father) and drama (Andy unintentionally causes Jake's favorite horse to break its leg). I am beginning to become aware already that Mickey Rooney mugs to wild extremes as Andy Hardy.

**1/2 out of ****

In this entry of the popular series, the Hardys visit a ranch in Arizona.

Judge Hardy gets a letter from an old friend, Dora Northcote, who owns a ranch in Arizona along with her husband Bill. She is having a problem with water rights to her land that may lead to her and her husband having to sell out to a neighboring landowner who has designs on the property. The complicating factor is that years ago, in his single days, the Judge and Dora got lost after a picnic and caused a minor scandal. The judge says this one secret is one he wants to continue to keep from Mrs. Hardy.

In a separate subplot, Andy Hardy has recently gotten a letter in high school basketball, and it's given him a swelled head, making him think for some reason that his opinion, time, and general athletic prowess are above that of everyone else. Judge Hardy decides that going to the ranch would be a fine vacation for the family, plus it would give him a chance to look into the water rights problem firsthand, so off they go.

This entry gives the characters the opportunity to have many humorous "fish out of water" moments. MGM contract child actress Virginia Weidler plays Jake, the daughter of the Northcote ranch's foreman, who has some humorous moments outsmarting and outdoing Andy Hardy who goes around dressed in a ridiculous western outfit complete with chaps. I wonder if he even knows what the chaps are for? Weidler was always a cut above most child actors of the time, being genuinely engaging and not participating in so much of the cornball sicky sweet stuff that child actors did during the early production code era.

Also note that in the opening scene Judge Hardy is sentencing a well-groomed young man - obviously not a hooligan - for acting precisely like a hooligan. That unapologetic young man is played by Tom Neal in his screen debut. Unfortunately, Neal's screen career was cut short for actually acting like a hooligan.

If you like the Andy Hardy series and like the characters you will like this entry.

The fifth entry in the Hardy family series is set out west on a ranch and uses a lot of fish-out-of-water comedy that many films employ when they involve city folks being placed out west. Mickey Rooney dresses up in chaps and even tries to walk bow-legged when he sees a ranch hand walk that way; Cecilia Parker is suckered into boiling Gordon Jones' boots and polishing them with molasses by Jones' jealous daughter, Virginia Weidler; and even Lewis Stone wears a cowboy hat. Unfortunately, most of the comedy is predictable, especially if you've seen City Slickers (1991) and other films of that type. The comedy is intermixed with some drama (Rooney causing Weidler's horse to break a leg, for example) and suspense.

I enjoyed the story and the resolution of all the problems that arose. Mickey Rooney seems to mug a bit more than usual, but he's fun to watch. Lewis Stone gives his usual fine performance dispensing his sage advice and Virginia Weidler is very good as the precocious eight-year old who out-slickers Rooney and Parker. If you're into the Hardy series, you'll enjoy the film.