“Love Finds Andy Hardy”

Northern Advocate, 24 December 1938, Page 14

“Love Finds Andy Hardy”

The Judge Hardy Family is loose again! In “Love Finds Andy Hardy” they create another alternately humorous and dramatic episode from the life of a typical family. The picture impresses with its youthful charm, its exuberance and scintillating moments of high comedy. The fourth episode in the life of the Hardy family is by far the most amusing and entertaining to date. Once more it affords the family, consisting of Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney- Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden and Betty Ross Clarke, every opportunity for capitalising on the homespun drama cf everyday life. In addition, Juay Garland makes her appearance as one of Mickey’s three girl friends. In one climatic scene, she grows up for a night, attends the big cance or the year with

Mickey and takes it over with her rendition of three new songs. George Seitz handled the direction of the picture expertly, with a sure knowledge of the inner workings of average family life in America.

Mickey Rooney again proves himself one of the most versatile actors on the screen with a characterisation surpassing his best previous efforts. Lewis Stone is superb as the head of the family, handling his role adroitly and with an innate understanding of the problems of family life. Judy Garland growing up, gives the finest performance of her career. . The story centres around a secondhand car purchased by Mickey without his father's knowledge. In order to pay for the car he becomes entangled in a series of puppy-love affairs that are at once ludicrous and tragic. With the aid of Judy, he extricates himself from a seemingly hopeless dilemma, makes a triumphant appearance at the big dance of the year, and brings forth some of the most spontaneous laughter hoard in many a moon.