Andy Hardy

The Hardy family first appeared in Aurania Rouverol's play Skidding, which debuted on May 21, 1928, at the Bijou Theatre and ran until July 1929.[2] The original cast included Carleton Macy as Judge Hardy, Charles Eaton as Andy, Joan Madison as Myra, and Marguerite Churchill as Marion.[3] Samuel Marx recommended to MGM that the play be adapted into a film.[4]

The initial Hardy film, A Family Affair (1937), was based directly on Rouverol's play and was produced without a view to producing a series. It featured Lionel Barrymore as Judge Hardy and Spring Byington as Mrs. Hardy, Andy's parents, and Margaret Marquis as Andy's on-again-off-again sweetheart, Polly Benedict.

Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in Love Finds Andy Hardy

When the series was launched, most of the cast was changed, with the exception of Rooney, Cecilia Parker as Andy's older sister Marian Hardy, and Sara Haden as Aunt Milly (except for two films when Betty Ross Clarke appeared as Milly). The second and subsequent films starred Lewis Stone as Judge Hardy, Fay Holden as Mrs. Hardy, and Ann Rutherford as Polly Benedict. The Hardys' oldest child, married daughter Joan Hardy Martin, appeared only in the first film and was not mentioned in the subsequent films.

Most of the movies were set in the Hardys' fictional hometown of Carvel, located in Idaho in the original play, but described in the films as being in the Midwest. (In the short film Andy Hardy's Dilemma, the Hardys are described as living in Los Angeles, with no mention of Carvel.) All of the films were sentimental comedies celebrating ordinary American life. The people in Carvel were generally pious, patriotic, generous, and tolerant. The town represented MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer's idealized vision of his adopted country.

The early movies focused on the Hardy family as a whole, but the character Andy soon became the center of the series, and his name was featured in the title of the fourth film and all films from the seventh on.[5] They were instrumental in Rooney's rise to stardom. The first two Hardy films dealt with the danger of adultery among the younger generation, but the later ones avoided such controversial themes.

The central relationship in the movies was between Andy and his father. Judge Hardy, played by the grandfatherly looking Stone, was a man of absolute morality and integrity, with a stern demeanor, but a kind heart and droll sense of humor. A typical plot involved Andy getting into minor trouble with money or girls, usually because of youthful selfishness and a willingness to fudge the truth. This would lead to a "man-to-man" talk with his father, after which Andy would do the right thing.

In three films, Rooney was paired with Judy Garland, beginning with Love Finds Andy Hardy, and continuing with Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) and Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941). Garland's character, Betsy Booth, is an aspiring singer and she sings in the first two of these films. However, although Garland songs were planned for the final film, they were eventually dropped. Unlike Garland-Rooney films outside of the Andy Hardy series, Rooney's Hardy character is not a musician, so Garland and Rooney do not perform together in the Hardy films.

Rooney played the character continuously from age 16 to 25, when he appeared in Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946), in which Andy returned to civilian life after fighting in World War II. Twelve years later, an attempt to revive the series with an older, wiser Andy was made in 1958 with Andy Hardy Comes Home, but it turned out to be the final film in the series. Thus, the Andy Hardy series ended with a "To Be Continued", which indeed has yet to be continued.

Also, a 1940 short subject promoting the Community Chest was called Andy Hardy's Dilemma (18 minutes).[7]

• Names in white rectangles show which actors appeared in each film. A dark grey rectangle indicates that the character did not appear in that film.

The Andy Hardy series served as a platform for MGM to introduce new performers, some of whom became stars themselves.[5] As examples, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) featured Lana Turner in one of her first film appearances, while Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941) launched Kathryn Grayson's movie career, and Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) marked the screen debut of Esther Williams.