André Hardy va dans le monde

Just by the title alone you know that Mickey Rooney is once again going to have some woman trouble. Andy Hardy Meets Debutante has the Hardy family going to New York to make a holiday of it because Lewis Stone has a court case there. Judge Hardy is stepping off the bench in Carvel and going to New York to represent an orphanage in Carvel that is in danger of closing due to a loophole in a trust agreement the Judge drew up while he was still in private practice.

Rooney is once again putting his steady girlfriend Ann Rutherford on hold again while he fantasizes about Diana Lewis who is a Paris Hilton type débutante. When the Hardys arrive in New York they stay with Judy Garland's family whom we met in a previous Hardy film. And of course Andy in his naive way makes a huge fool of himself a few different ways in the film.

Judy Garland's two songs are the highlight of the film. She sings I'm Nobody's Baby written for this film and Alone which MGM owned the copyright for having been sung most memorably by Allan Jones in A Night At The Opera. As it turns out she knows Diana Lewis and Judy plays little Miss Fixit and cures Rooney of his puppy love. Of course you know the next Hardy film, he'll be back and involved in some other romantic mess. Why Ann Rutherford just didn't give that boy the heave-ho is one of the screen's greatest mysteries.

There is also a very touching scene one of the best father and son moments with Lewis Stone and Mickey Rooney when they visit New York City's Hall Of Fame at New York University Bronx campus. Rooney is wishing that the Hardys who are big-shots in Carvel had a little more class and were mixing easily in society with Diana Lewis's crowd. Stone gives him a most stern lecture about all the people in that Hall of Fame who started from nothing and made the country what it is. It was one of the best patriotic moments in an era where the screen was starting to fill with such sentiments I've ever seen.

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante still holds up well and should be seen for Judy Garland's singing and Lewis Stone's very unsentimental but very real lecture on the spirit of America.

A movie made 60yrs ago, is still one of my favourites. If you want a light-hearted comedy, superbly acted & directed this may be the movie for you. Judy Garland was beautiful (as ever!) & her radiance in this film is one of the highlights. One could wax lyrical for ages about this film, but I won't. Just when you get the opportunity to view this film, do it. You won't be disappointed.

In the ideal Midwestern town of Carvel, high school teenager Andy (Mickey Rooney) uses books to hide pictures of New York socialite Diana Lewis (as Daphne Fowler). When friends discover his pin-up pictures in a botany book, Andy covers embarrassment by pretending to be intimately acquainted with the glamorous debutante. Meanwhile, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) finds out that a local orphanage may lose its funding. Hoping to protect the orphanage's trust funds, Judge Hardy takes the family to Manhattan. Intending to strike up a real romance with Ms. Lewis and impress his classmates, Andy pretends to be wealthy...

Andy does get to meet his female infatuation in New York, but the young woman getting most of the screen time with Mr. Rooney is Judy Garland (as Betsy Booth)...

Returning from her appearance in the series' "Love Finds Andy Hardy" (1938), Ms. Garland is a little older and has "filled out" (like they used to day). Garland beautifully sings "Alone" and "I'm Nobody's Baby". She still likes Andy, although he doesn't seem to notice. It doesn't matter what they do, the chemistry is clearly evident. The story is a little thin for its length, but good. By the time this picture was released, Rooney and Garland were the top box office "teen idols" in the country. They made other films, but were never fresher. Their scene near the end, with Rooney and Garland riding in the back of a coach, is a career highlight.

****** Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (7/5/40) George B. Seitz ~ Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Lewis Stone, Ann Rutherford

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The ninth film in the series (if you don't count the two shorts) has the Hardy family going to New York so that the Judge (Lewis Stone) can help keep an orphanage open. Andy (Mickey Rooney) has gotten into some trouble because he told people back home that he knows a famous model (Diana Lewis) and that she has the hots for him. While he tries to track her down he's too stupid to realize that there's one young woman (Judy Garland) who really does care for him. Outside the two shorts, this here was my first film from the series and it was pretty much what I expected even though I've read this wasn't nearly one of the best of the series. There's enough charm and good will for two movies so it's hard to imagine someone not getting some entertainment out of the film. I think it goes without saying that this film, and the series for that matter, was built around moral lessons for young people as Andy has a problem and then Judge is there to help him. The problem here is Andy being poor and from a small town feeling as if he isn't good enough to be around those who might look down on him. The importance of social standing and money is something Judge has to explain and this scene, while over-dramatic, does deliver a nice message. Rooney is in top form and delivers another winning performance. His comic timing is just right and his attitude perfectly mixes in with the stern Stone. The two of them work well together but that's to be expected considering how long this series ran. Garland is also pretty good here and manages to get off two songs. Rutherford, Fay Holden and Cecilia Parker are also winning in their roles. The scene stealer is the young Clyde Willson who plays one of the orphans and gets a big laugh each time he says a line given to him by Andy.

I am a huge fan of Judy so this review may be biased. I enjoyed this very much. "I'm Nobody's Baby" was typical early Judy. She and Mickey make a delightful team. They just make me smile when they come on screen. You can tell they had a blast working together. I especially like when Mickey goes out on the town and his shirt stud...I like at the very end of the movie when he looks at his photographs and says, "How one's women do mount up!" Just priceless.