Love Laughs at Andy Hardy

Last updated
Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
Love Laughs at Andy Hardy.jpg
Directed by Willis Goldbeck
Written by Howard Dimsdale (story)
William Ludwig (writer)
Aurania Rouverol (characters)
Harry Ruskin (writer)
Produced by Robert Sisk
Starring Mickey Rooney
Lewis Stone
Bonita Granville
Cinematography Robert H. Planck
Edited by Cotton Warburton
Music by David Snell
Production
company
Distributed by Loew's Inc.
Release date
  • December 25, 1946 (1946-12-25)
Running time
93 minutes
95 minutes (2005 DVD release)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,001,000 [1]
Box office$2,359,000 [1]

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Willis Goldbeck and starring Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone and Bonita Granville. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is also known under its American promotional title Uncle Andy Hardy. This was the fifteenth and penultimate film in the Andy Hardy series. The final installment, Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958), would be released 12 years later.

Contents

This film was also noteworthy for being the last in the Andy Hardy series to feature veteran character actor Lewis Stone as Judge Hardy. Stone continued his career for the next seven years, appearing in 10 more films until his death in 1953 at age 73.

Plot

The story starts in the small town of Carvel, where the honorable Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) and his wife Emily (Fay Holden) eagerly await their son's return from the military. Andy (Mickey Rooney) has received an honorable discharge from the Army after a service of two years. His parents are unaware of the fact that Andy is looking to get back with his college sweetheart Kay (Bonita Granville). One day soon after Andy's homecoming, his mother Emily observes him looking at store window displays of wedding rings and baby clothing, and suspects that her son must be in love. Emily's suspicions are soon confirmed when Andy, who usually has had an eye for girls, barely notices the very attractive singer, Isobel Gonzales (Lina Romay), when they are introduced.

Isobel is a regular singer at the Carvel country club, and when Andy comes there and they are introduced to each other, she falls in love with him. Andy, however, isn't smitten by Isobel in the same way, still preoccupied with thinking about his college sweetheart. Andy wants to return to Wainwright college to finish his studies and meet his sweetheart as soon as possible. Andy is very determined though, to keep the romance a secret form his parents. When Andy is with his parents visiting the country club, he finds out there is a telegram, sent by Kay, that is supposed to be delivered to him at his parents' house. He panics, and in a desperate attempt to hide it from his parents, he makes up an excuse to leave the club to help out a friend. He convinces a friend to cover for him and spread a fake story about a broken water faucet. But in reality he rushes home to the house and intercepts the telegram before anyone else gets to see it.

A series of unfortunate events take place from this moment on. Andy is about to take a shower at the house when he realizes that the water is switched off. He goes outside in his robe to switch it on, when the front door shuts behind him and locks automatically. Andy is stranded outside in the garden, and has to wait in the shrubbery until his parents arrive home from the country club. Before he has a chance to get inside the house again, a passing police man discovers him hiding in the bushes. The police man doesn't believe Andy's story when he tries to explain his business in the garden, and insists on taking him inside to get a confirmation from his parents.

Emily is upset with her son's recent erratic behavior and blames the fact that he is blinded by love. She forces her husband to talk with his son and straighten him out on the subject of choosing the right kind of woman. Andy confesses his plan to ask Kay to marry him when he comes back to college. His parents don't approve of this plan and decide to follow him to Wainwright – to keep an eye on him and keep him away from his sweetheart.

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946).

The president of the school council, Duke Johnson (Hal Hackett), offers Andy the honor of being chairman of the freshman dance as soon as he gets back to the college. Andy accepts the offer, but finds out soon after that Kay cannot attend the dance. Because of a family emergency she is required to go home to her legal guardian, Dane Kittridge (Dick Simmons). Duke understands that Andy is in need of a date at the dance, so he sets up with a girl named Coffy Smith (played by 6'2" actress Dorothy Ford), who is a great deal taller than Andy, making him look ridiculous beside her.

Andy is quite embarrassed by their appearance together, but soon warms up to the bigger girl and they become good friends. Andy is shocked however, when Kay comes back to Wainwright and tells him that she has fallen in love with her guardian Dane, and that she is planning on marrying him the very next day. Andy is heartbroken, but as a sign of good faith he nevertheless agrees to be Kay's best man at the wedding. When the wedding is over Andy makes plans to go to South America and forget his sorrows, but his father talks to him and convinces him to go back to Wainwright and complete his degree. [2]

Cast

Production

While Mickey Rooney was in the army, MGM announced Booth Tarkington had developed a story for a Hardy movie without Andy, The Hardy Family's Country Cousin. Andy would not appear but would be referenced in conversations. The film was not made. [3]

This was Mickey Rooney's first film after he got out of the army. It was originally entitled Uncle Andy Hardy. [4]

Soundtrack

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $1,656,000 in the US and Canada and $733,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit to the studio of $529,000. [1]

This movie is in the public domain in the United States as of 1974 because Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer neglected to renew the copyright. [5]

Comic book adaptation

Related Research Articles

<i>Love Finds Andy Hardy</i> 1938 film by George B. Seitz

Love Finds Andy Hardy is a 1938 American romantic comedy film that 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Rooney</span> American actor (1920–2014)

Mickey Rooney was an American actor, producer, radio entertainer, and vaudevillian. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era. He was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941, and one of the best-paid actors of that era. At the height of a career marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed the role of Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films in the 1930s and 1940s that epitomized the mainstream United States self-image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Hardy</span> Fictional character played by Mickey Rooney

Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The main film series was released from 1937 to 1946, with a final film made in 1958 in an unsuccessful attempt to continue the series. Hardy and other characters initially appeared in the 1928 play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol. Early films in the series were about the Hardy family as a whole, but later entries focused on the character of Andy Hardy. Rooney was the only member of the ensemble to appear in all 16 films. The Hardy films, which were enormously popular in their heyday, were sentimental comedies, celebrating ordinary American life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Rutherford</span> Canadian-born American actress

Therese Ann Rutherford was a Canadian-born American actress in film, radio, and television. She had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict during the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and appearing as one of Scarlett O'Hara's sisters, Careen O'Hara in the film Gone with the Wind (1939).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonita Granville</span> American actress and producer (1923–1988)

Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather was an American actress and producer.

<i>Babes in Arms</i> (film) 1939 film by Busby Berkeley

Babes in Arms is the 1939 American film version of the 1937 coming-of-age Broadway musical of the same title. Directed by Busby Berkeley, it stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, and features Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, Grace Hayes, and Betty Jaynes. It was Garland and Rooney's second film together as lead characters after their earlier successful pairing in the fourth of the Andy Hardy films. The film concerns a group of youngsters trying to put on a show to prove their vaudevillian parents wrong and make it to Broadway. The original Broadway script was significantly revamped, restructured, and rewritten to accommodate Hollywood's needs. Almost all of the Rodgers and Hart songs from the Broadway musical were discarded.

<i>Andy Hardy Meets Debutante</i> 1940 film by George B. Seitz

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante is a 1940 American romantic comedy film directed by George B. Seitz. The film stars Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden and Judy Garland. It is the ninth of the Andy Hardy full-length film series.

<i>Youre Only Young Once</i> 1937 film by George B. Seitz

You're Only Young Once is a 1937 American comedy film directed by George B. Seitz. Following A Family Affair, it is the second film of the Andy Hardy series. Lewis Stone replaces Lionel Barrymore as Judge Hardy while Fay Holden replaced Spring Byington as his wife since both Barrymore and Byington were too expensive for the sequel's modest budget. Mickey Rooney would repeat his role as Andy while Cecilia Parker, as his sister, and Sara Haden, as Aunt Milly, would also reprise their roles from the original film. They were the only original actors transferred to the series.

<i>Andy Hardys Private Secretary</i> 1941 film by George B. Seitz

Andy Hardy's Private Secretary is a 1941 American comedy film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Rutherford and Fay Holden. It was the tenth of the 16-film Andy Hardy series. Marian Hardy does not appear in this film.

<i>A Family Affair</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by George B. Seitz

A Family Affair is a 1937 American comedy film directed by George B. Seitz. It was the first of 16 movies now known as the Andy Hardy series, though Andy Hardy, played by Mickey Rooney, did not become the main character in the series until a few more installments had been made. The movie features Lionel Barrymore as Judge Hardy and Spring Byington as his wife, who are Andy's parents. Barrymore and Byington were replaced in their roles by Lewis Stone and Fay Holden in the subsequent films.

<i>Ah, Wilderness!</i> (film) 1935 film

Ah, Wilderness! is a 1935 American comedy-drama film adaptation of the 1933 Eugene O'Neill play of the same name. Directed by Clarence Brown, the film stars Wallace Beery and features Lionel Barrymore, Eric Linden, Cecilia Parker, Spring Byington, and a young Mickey Rooney. Rooney stars as Richard in MGM's musical remake Summer Holiday (1948).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fay Holden</span> American actress

Dorothy Fay Hammerton, known professionally as Fay Holden, was a British-born, American-based actress. She was known as Gaby Fay early in her career.

<i>Life Begins for Andy Hardy</i> 1941 film by George B. Seitz

Life Begins for Andy Hardy is a 1941 American comedy film and the 11th installment of the 16 popular Andy Hardy movies. Directed by George B. Seitz, Life Begins for Andy Hardy was also the last Andy Hardy movie to feature Judy Garland.

<i>Andy Hardys Blonde Trouble</i> 1944 film by George B. Seitz

Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble is a 1944 romantic comedy film directed by George B. Seitz, the fourteenth in the series starring Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy. In the film, Andy goes to college, but soon gets in trouble with some pretty female students.

<i>Andy Hardy Comes Home</i> 1958 film

Andy Hardy Comes Home is a 1958 American comedy film directed by Howard W. Koch. It is the 16th and final film in the Andy Hardy series, with Mickey Rooney reprising his signature role. It was produced 12 years after the previous Hardy film, and was an attempt to revive what had once been an enormously popular film series. Because the film fell short of box office projections, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer did not continue the Andy Hardy series.

<i>Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever</i> 1939 film by W. S. Van Dyke

Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever is a 1939 American romantic comedy film directed by W. S. Van Dyke. The plot is about Andy Hardy having a crush on his high school drama teacher, Miss Rose Meredith. It is the seventh of sixteen Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney.

<i>Andy Hardys Double Life</i> 1942 film

Andy Hardy's Double Life is a 1942 comedy film directed by George B. Seitz. It was the thirteenth installment of MGM's enormously popular Andy Hardy film series starring Mickey Rooney as the title character.

<i>The Courtship of Andy Hardy</i> 1942 film by George B. Seitz

The Courtship of Andy Hardy is a 1942 film, part of the Andy Hardy series. It gave an early role to Donna Reed although Mickey Rooney had lobbied for his then-wife Ava Gardner to have her part. Within a few months of the film's release, she filed for divorce.

<i>Out West with the Hardys</i> 1938 film by George B. Seitz

Out West with the Hardys is a 1938 American comedy film directed by George B. Seitz and the fifth film in the Andy Hardy series of sixteen films.

Judge Hardy and Son (1939) is the 8th film, of 16, in the Andy Hardy series. It is the last MGM film in the 1930s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. "Love Laughs at Andy Hardy".
  3. Schallert, E. (March 9, 1945). "Hardy series heroine evolved by tarkington". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest   165597576.
  4. "ROONEY TO RESUME ANDY HARDY ROLE: Out of Army, He Will Return on Screen as Freshman-- Six Openings This Week". New York Times. March 11, 1946. p. 19.
  5. Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1940–1949), page 222.
  6. "Fiction House Movie Comics #3". Grand Comics Database.
  7. Fiction House Movie Comics #3 at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original )