La vita comincia per Andy Hardy

Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Eleventh film in the series is a pure delight as Andy (Mickey Rooney) decides to put off going to college even though Judge (Lewis Stone) feels that would be his best bet. Instead Andy travels to New York City to get a job and see what all life has to offer. He meets up with his old friend (Judy Garland) but quickly falls for a woman (Patricia Dane) who might not have his best interest in mind. I've read some critics who said this series handled dark subjects too lightly and perhaps that's true but that doesn't apply here. This film really shocked me at how mature it was and it even hit some rather dark subjects including suicide and what really makes a man. The movie has plenty of great laughs, some wonderful performances and an all around charm that makes this irresistible to fans of classic cinema. I'm still rather new to the series but the chemistry between Rooney and Stone is just marvelous and the two really come off as a real father and son. I'm not sure if it was just luck or if the two actors really did their homework but they are perfect together and really seem to know how to work off one another. This is certainly true during a brief scene at a table after Judge has come to visit Andy at work. The supporting cast is equally good and that includes Garland in her third and final appearance in the series. I've read she had four songs cut from the film but she doesn't have too much to work with except playing shoulder to Andy. Dane is the one who really surprised me because I thought she made for an excellent femme fatale years before that term would really take off. I think even those who aren't fans of the series would get a kick out of this one because it really does bring those "coming of age" issues up front and looks at them in a pretty serious manor. Even though there are laughs scattered throughout, for the most part the film is looked at in a serious way and this is a major plus.

If one accepts the proposition that life really does begin a high school graduation than Life Begins For Andy Hardy in this film. This marked the third and last appearance of Judy Garland in the Andy Hardy series as Betsy Booth.

Mickey Rooney has just graduated high school and he's been offered a scholarship at Lewis Stone's old alma mater. But as he always is in these films, the Mick's at loose ends and he wants to go to New York to experience life. He and Polly Benedict have once again broken things off so Judy Garland does have a shot with him.

But Mickey's wanting to be independent and not sponge off Judy Garland's hospitality. He gets a room at a male single's hotel and actually meets the guy he inherits the room from, Ray McDonald a talented dancer. Mickey goes looking for a job and eventually does get hired as an office boy in a brokerage firm. That's through the intervention of Patricia Dane who figures he might be good for a fling.

With Polly Benedict in Carvel which you know will get going in the next film of the series, Betsy Booth in New York, and Patricia Dane leaving him with his tongue hanging out, Mickey Rooney is once again in romantic complications. Of course these are all typical for an Andy Hardy film.

What's not typical is someone dying in the film. Ray McDonald who was supposed to commit suicide because of his despondency at not finding work of his choosing had his death changed to heart failure. That was a bit freaky because Ray McDonald, a most talented dancer with his sister Grace died of just that at the age of 37 in the Fifties. Mickey dealing with that was definitely a growing up experience.

One thing I really did like was as McDonald and Rooney are discussing their lack of job prospects, Mickey starts thinking back to some of his high school friends who were working and he comes to the conclusion that these kids knew what they wanted at an early age and were career oriented which he wasn't. I know I wasn't when I was in school and that's something that is desirable, but it doesn't occur in a lot of us. Hopefully the kids in 1941 watching this film took note and it ain't a bad lesson for today.

Judy Garland had a bunch of songs written for the film and they all ended up on the cutting room floor. That's my big complaint with Life Begins For Andy Hardy. I'll bet the movie-going public was disappointed in 1941 when Judy did not offer a note.

In the Citadel Film Series Book, The Films Of Judy Garland L.B. Mayer said this was the best of the Andy Hardy series. It might have been better if Judy's songs had been left in, but it's a bit more serious than most of the Hardy series and holds up well.

Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) is still obsessed with Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney). The Judge advises college to study law but Andy wants to get a job in New York City. He heads off with Betsy by his side but he still treats her as a kid. In the city, he sets his sight on receptionist Jennitt Hicks. He befriends terribly troubled Jimmy Frobisher.

It's the 11th installment in the Hardy family franchise and the last one with Judy Garland. The franchise missed a golden opportunity to make Judy a permanent part of the family. With the way Andy treats Betsy, I fully support her getting a fresh start away from him. He really needs to evolve his feelings for her or set her free. I'm guessing that they would eventually get there but Judy is way too big at this point. The franchise needs to either transition to a duo or she can't waste her time.

I am trying to rack my brain if this is the first death in the series. It seems to be trying for some darker tones. The night with Jennitt really surprised me. It's very adult and out of place for the franchise. This seems to be a fork in the road for the series in more than one way.

Andy Hardy has just graduated high school, and so he ponders what comes next. His father has dreams of him attending his own alma mater, Wainwright college, and going into law. Looking at the long journey that would be - seven years of college - he decides to break out on his own and see what life on his own would be like. So he drives to New York City in search of a job.

He gets a room in a kind of high-rise boarding house for guys, back when women were not allowed past the front desk. His search for a job, though, is arduous until he finally lands one as an office boy at a stock brokerage concern.

Before he gets the job though, he runs out of money, can't get his car out of hock in storage, and goes hungry for a few days. At one point, his roommate, unable to get a job in what he wants to do, even kills himself in the bathroom, with Andy discovering the body! So this is not your average Andy Hardy film.

There is one really odd scene between Andy and his father, the judge. Usually I can easily see the rather timeless lessons the judge is trying to teach, but this one seems mid Victorian. The judge has noticed the flirting going on between Andy and the woman a few years older - she's probably 25 or so - who also works at the brokerage. The judge says that people should be faithful to their spouses before they even meet them, because lots of casual "dating" - to be euphemistic about it - makes it hard to be faithful to a spouse once you have one. So much for sowing one's wild oats!

Having just graduated from high school, Andy has to make some big decisions about his life. Judge Hardy wants him to enroll in his old college and study law. Andy's not so sure what he wants so, with the Judge's blessing, he decides to spend a month alone in New York City to experience life. But he quickly finds being a grown-up isn't all it's cracked up to be. He struggles at his new job, falls in with an older woman, and has to deal with the shocking death of a friend.

Atypical entry in the Andy Hardy series is more "adult" and serious. While I enjoy all of the Hardy movies and don't feel the need to put down on them for their homespun Americana, this one is a nice change of pace. It's also almost entirely Mickey Rooney, with Judge Hardy and the rest of the cast having relatively minor roles. Mickey Rooney is fantastic, though. Patricia Dane is good as the worldly gold digger. Ray McDonald is great as Andy's friend. Last of the Andy Hardy movies to have Judy Garland as a guest star. She sang some songs for this but they were cut, much to the horror of today's classic film fans. But I think I can understand why they were cut, given the tone of the film.

There are light moments throughout the movie, don't get me wrong. It's just more cynical and less innocent than other entries in the series. The writing's very good, as is the acting. Not your typical Andy Hardy movie but one of the most interesting. If they hadn't chickened out and changed the cause of death for Andy's friend I would bump it up a notch.