Love Finds Andy Hardy
Encyclopedia
Love Finds Andy Hardy is a 1938 romantic comedy film which tells the story of a teenage boy
who becomes entangled with three different girls all at the same time. It stars Mickey Rooney
, Lewis Stone
, Fay Holden
, Cecilia Parker
, Judy Garland
, Lana Turner
, Ann Rutherford
, Mary Howard
and Gene Reynolds
.
The screenplay was written by William Ludwig
, from stories by Vivien R. Bretherton, and based upon characters created by Aurania Rouverol. It was directed by George B. Seitz
. In 2000, Love Finds Andy Hardy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
This was the first film in which MGM recorded at least part of the soundtrack in stereophonic sound
, a practice which was used for a number of MGM musical comedies beginning the late 1930s. Of course, the film and others were presented in standard monaural sound. Some stereo tracks have survived and a few were included in MGM's That's Entertainment
in 1974.
) is putting a $12 down payment on a used car. Andy, desperate to take his girlfriend Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford
) to the Christmas Eve dance in his own car, must pay an additional $8 by December 23 for it to be his.
When Polly tells Andy she will be visiting her grandmother for the next three weeks and will not be able to attend the Christmas Eve dance with him, Andy vows to attend the dance alone.
Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone
) later encounters his son, Andy, and Andy broaches the subject of car ownership, but Judge Hardy tells Andy that he cannot have his own car.
Returning home for the evening, Judge Hardy runs into Betsy Booth (Judy Garland
), who is staying with her grandparents for the Christmas holiday. Betsy’s grandmother has been effusive about Andy Hardy and Betsy is thrilled to learn he will be her next door neighbor during her stay.
Judge Hardy’s wife, Emily (Fay Holden
), receives a telegram that evening informing her that her mother had a serious stroke. Emily and her sister leave immediately to care for their mother.
Andy Hardy meets Betsy Booth while delivering some of his mother’s freshly canned preserves. Betsy is obviously taken with Andy but he does not reciprocate her admiration; he leaves as quickly as possible.
Beezy (George P. Breakston), Andy’s friend, asks Andy to date Cynthia (Lana Turner
), Beezy’s girlfriend, while Beezy is out of town over the Christmas holiday. Beezy promises to pay Andy $8 plus 50 cents a week for expenses for his efforts. Andy needs the money to purchase his car, so he agrees.
Andy starts going out with Cynthia but they find they only get along when they are busy kissing; after walking Cynthia home Andy stops in to visit Betsy Booth-only he’s covered in Cynthia’s lipstick. Betsy gives Andy a handsome new radiator cap for his anticipated car and after he leaves she sadly sings “In-Between.”
One morning Andy receives a telegram from Polly saying she will be home for the Christmas Eve dance after all. Andy telephones her saying he can’t take her to the dance because of a previous engagement. He thereafter opens a letter from Beezy. Beezy wrote saying he found a new girlfriend so he wasn’t going to pay Andy for dating Cynthia.
Betsy offers to help Andy pay for his car but he refuses her aid. That evening he tells his father about the mess he made. Judge Hardy explains his point of view about spending money on a car versus putting it aside as savings-and then discloses his deep concern for Andy’s mother. Judge Hardy would like to convey a message to his wife but there is no telephone at her mother’s home and Emily finds telegrams unnerving.
Andy suggests a message be sent to their mother via ham radio in lieu of sending her a telegram. Andy brings Judge Hardy to the home of 12 year-old ham radio operator James McMann Jr (Gene Reynolds
) and he sends a message to Mrs. Hardy. Judge Hardy is so impressed with James’ help and his son’s ingenuity that he pays the last $8 for Andy’s car.
Betsy deceives Cynthia into thinking that Andy’s car is an absolute wreck; Cynthia haughtily refuses to go to the Christmas Eve dance with Andy. Andy tries to clear things up with Polly but she angrily tells Andy that she won’t go to the dance with him because she has a date with a college boy.
Christmas Eve finds Andy wholly dejected at the prospect of not having a date for the dance-but when Betsy comes over in her evening gown he decides to take her to the dance.
At the dance Polly’s date recognizes Betsy as an accomplished singer and asks her to perform; Andy is scared that she will embarrass him but she proves to be a fantastic singer and quickly wins over the crowd with “It Never Rains But it Pours” and encores with “Meet the Beat of My Heart.” Betsy and Andy lead the dance in a grand march after Polly leaves in tears.
Late that evening at home after the dance, Betsy Booth and the Hardy family are gathered together around the Christmas tree when Mrs. Hardy unexpectedly returns home-her mother is getting better.
On Christmas Day Betsy explains everything to Polly. Polly and her date from the dance come over to the Hardy home, and Polly’s date turns out to be her cousin. Betsy expresses her gratitude to Andy for a wonderful evening and leaves. Polly and Andy make up.
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy was a fictional character played by Mickey Rooney in an MGM film series from 1937 to 1958. Spanning over 20 years, the 16 movies were based on characters in the play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol....
who becomes entangled with three different girls all at the same time. It stars Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, Lewis Stone
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone was an American actor.Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball. Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting...
, Fay Holden
Fay Holden
Fay Holden , was a British-born American-based actress. She was known as Gaby Fay early in her career....
, Cecilia Parker
Cecilia Parker
Cecilia Parker was a Canadian-born American film actress.-Early life and career:Born in Fort William, Ontario, she was brought to southern California as a child by her mother, Mrs. Naudy Anna Parker. Her father was an English soldier. Parker graduated from the Convent of the Immaculate Heart in...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
, Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and on The Bob Newhart Show as Newhart's character's...
, Mary Howard
Mary Howard de Liagre
Mary Howard de Liagre, née Rogers was an American actress usually credited as Mary Howard....
and Gene Reynolds
Gene Reynolds
Gene Reynolds is a former American actor turned award-winning television writer, director, and producer.-Early life:He was born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal on April 4, 1923 to Frank Eugene Blumenthal and Maude Evelyn Blumenthal in Cleveland, Ohio, he was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where his...
.
The screenplay was written by William Ludwig
William Ludwig
William Ludwig was a screenwriter. He won, with Sonya Levien, an Oscar for "Best Writing, Story and Screenplay" in 1956 for Interrupted Melody. Other notable works include the screenplay for the 1955 production of Oklahoma!.-External links:...
, from stories by Vivien R. Bretherton, and based upon characters created by Aurania Rouverol. It was directed by George B. Seitz
George B. Seitz
George Brackett Seitz was an American playwright, screenwriter, film actor and director. He was known for his screenplays for action serials, including:*The Perils of Pauline *The Exploits of Elaine...
. In 2000, Love Finds Andy Hardy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
This was the first film in which MGM recorded at least part of the soundtrack in stereophonic sound
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
, a practice which was used for a number of MGM musical comedies beginning the late 1930s. Of course, the film and others were presented in standard monaural sound. Some stereo tracks have survived and a few were included in MGM's That's Entertainment
That's Entertainment
That's Entertainment may refer to:* That's Entertainment!, a 1974 compilation film celebrating the films of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, followed by two sequels* "That's Entertainment!" , a song from the musical film The Band Wagon...
in 1974.
Plot
It is December, 1938 in the town of Carvel. Andy Hardy (Mickey RooneyMickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
) is putting a $12 down payment on a used car. Andy, desperate to take his girlfriend Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and on The Bob Newhart Show as Newhart's character's...
) to the Christmas Eve dance in his own car, must pay an additional $8 by December 23 for it to be his.
When Polly tells Andy she will be visiting her grandmother for the next three weeks and will not be able to attend the Christmas Eve dance with him, Andy vows to attend the dance alone.
Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone was an American actor.Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball. Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting...
) later encounters his son, Andy, and Andy broaches the subject of car ownership, but Judge Hardy tells Andy that he cannot have his own car.
Returning home for the evening, Judge Hardy runs into Betsy Booth (Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
), who is staying with her grandparents for the Christmas holiday. Betsy’s grandmother has been effusive about Andy Hardy and Betsy is thrilled to learn he will be her next door neighbor during her stay.
Judge Hardy’s wife, Emily (Fay Holden
Fay Holden
Fay Holden , was a British-born American-based actress. She was known as Gaby Fay early in her career....
), receives a telegram that evening informing her that her mother had a serious stroke. Emily and her sister leave immediately to care for their mother.
Andy Hardy meets Betsy Booth while delivering some of his mother’s freshly canned preserves. Betsy is obviously taken with Andy but he does not reciprocate her admiration; he leaves as quickly as possible.
Beezy (George P. Breakston), Andy’s friend, asks Andy to date Cynthia (Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
), Beezy’s girlfriend, while Beezy is out of town over the Christmas holiday. Beezy promises to pay Andy $8 plus 50 cents a week for expenses for his efforts. Andy needs the money to purchase his car, so he agrees.
Andy starts going out with Cynthia but they find they only get along when they are busy kissing; after walking Cynthia home Andy stops in to visit Betsy Booth-only he’s covered in Cynthia’s lipstick. Betsy gives Andy a handsome new radiator cap for his anticipated car and after he leaves she sadly sings “In-Between.”
One morning Andy receives a telegram from Polly saying she will be home for the Christmas Eve dance after all. Andy telephones her saying he can’t take her to the dance because of a previous engagement. He thereafter opens a letter from Beezy. Beezy wrote saying he found a new girlfriend so he wasn’t going to pay Andy for dating Cynthia.
Betsy offers to help Andy pay for his car but he refuses her aid. That evening he tells his father about the mess he made. Judge Hardy explains his point of view about spending money on a car versus putting it aside as savings-and then discloses his deep concern for Andy’s mother. Judge Hardy would like to convey a message to his wife but there is no telephone at her mother’s home and Emily finds telegrams unnerving.
Andy suggests a message be sent to their mother via ham radio in lieu of sending her a telegram. Andy brings Judge Hardy to the home of 12 year-old ham radio operator James McMann Jr (Gene Reynolds
Gene Reynolds
Gene Reynolds is a former American actor turned award-winning television writer, director, and producer.-Early life:He was born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal on April 4, 1923 to Frank Eugene Blumenthal and Maude Evelyn Blumenthal in Cleveland, Ohio, he was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where his...
) and he sends a message to Mrs. Hardy. Judge Hardy is so impressed with James’ help and his son’s ingenuity that he pays the last $8 for Andy’s car.
Betsy deceives Cynthia into thinking that Andy’s car is an absolute wreck; Cynthia haughtily refuses to go to the Christmas Eve dance with Andy. Andy tries to clear things up with Polly but she angrily tells Andy that she won’t go to the dance with him because she has a date with a college boy.
Christmas Eve finds Andy wholly dejected at the prospect of not having a date for the dance-but when Betsy comes over in her evening gown he decides to take her to the dance.
At the dance Polly’s date recognizes Betsy as an accomplished singer and asks her to perform; Andy is scared that she will embarrass him but she proves to be a fantastic singer and quickly wins over the crowd with “It Never Rains But it Pours” and encores with “Meet the Beat of My Heart.” Betsy and Andy lead the dance in a grand march after Polly leaves in tears.
Late that evening at home after the dance, Betsy Booth and the Hardy family are gathered together around the Christmas tree when Mrs. Hardy unexpectedly returns home-her mother is getting better.
On Christmas Day Betsy explains everything to Polly. Polly and her date from the dance come over to the Hardy home, and Polly’s date turns out to be her cousin. Betsy expresses her gratitude to Andy for a wonderful evening and leaves. Polly and Andy make up.
Cast
- Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
as Andrew 'Andy' Hardy - Lewis StoneLewis StoneLewis Shepard Stone was an American actor.Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball. Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting...
as Judge James K. Hardy - Fay HoldenFay HoldenFay Holden , was a British-born American-based actress. She was known as Gaby Fay early in her career....
as Mrs. Emily Hardy - Cecilia ParkerCecilia ParkerCecilia Parker was a Canadian-born American film actress.-Early life and career:Born in Fort William, Ontario, she was brought to southern California as a child by her mother, Mrs. Naudy Anna Parker. Her father was an English soldier. Parker graduated from the Convent of the Immaculate Heart in...
as Marian Hardy - Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
as Betsy Booth - Lana TurnerLana TurnerLana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
as Cynthia Potter - Ann RutherfordAnn RutherfordAnn Rutherford is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and on The Bob Newhart Show as Newhart's character's...
as Polly Benedict - Mary HowardMary Howard de LiagreMary Howard de Liagre, née Rogers was an American actress usually credited as Mary Howard....
as Mrs. Mary Tompkins - Gene ReynoldsGene ReynoldsGene Reynolds is a former American actor turned award-winning television writer, director, and producer.-Early life:He was born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal on April 4, 1923 to Frank Eugene Blumenthal and Maude Evelyn Blumenthal in Cleveland, Ohio, he was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where his...
as James 'Jimmy' MacMahon, Jr. - Don CastleDon CastleDon Castle American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Castle started his acting career as a stage actor, then moved to films. The actor, who resembled Clark Gable , became close friends with The Guilty co-star Bonita Granville and her husband Jack Wrather who was a successful businessman and...
as Dennis Hunt - Betty Ross ClarkeBetty Ross ClarkeBetty Ross Clarke , was an American actress. She appeared in 33 films between 1920 and 1940. Her most noteworthy silent film was the 1920 Fox Film If I Were King with William Farnum...
as Aunt Millie Forrest - Marie Blake as Augusta, the Cook
- George P. Breakston as Francis Bacon 'Beezy' Anderson (as George Breakston)
- Raymond HattonRaymond HattonRaymond William Hatton was an American movie actor who appeared in almost five hundred movies, including a stint of being paired in 1920s comedies with Wallace Beery....
as Peter Dugan - Frank Darien as Mr. Barnes, Bill Collector