I read somewhere that the Andy Hardy movies were the apple of Leo B Mayer's eye. He tested out a number of up and coming starlets in them which is clear from checking the credits of the later movies. This is a 'pilot' of sorts to test out the formula but it's clear immediately that Mickey Rooney was born to play the irrepressible Andy - and Lewis Stone, Judge Hardy. These two have a rapport which would hold the series together throughout - and this became the case offscreen as well, with the two forming a friendship which lasted until Lewis Stone's death. The storyline is totally forgettable but that doesn't matter. What does matter is the Hardy Family; the way they go through life trying to do the right thing.
The one dated aspect of the movie, which may grate on female viewers, is the second-class treatment of the woman-as-housewife. It would take the injection of the one and only Judy Garland to liven things up in the later movies. Even Ann Rutherford had trouble standing up for herself!
The one dated aspect of the movie, which may grate on female viewers, is the second-class treatment of the woman-as-housewife. It would take the injection of the one and only Judy Garland to liven things up in the later movies. Even Ann Rutherford had trouble standing up for herself!