Judge Hardy and Son (1939)

Director:

George B. Seitz

Writers:

Aurania Rouverol (characters)
Carey Wilson (writer)

Release Date:

22 December 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Judge Hardy, trying to find a relative of an aged couple to prevent them from losing their home, enlists the aid of his son Andy.

Plot Keywords:

Italian | Blackmail | Fourth Of July | Italian Immigrant | Pneumonia

Cast

Mickey Rooney	...	Andrew 'Andy' Hardy
Lewis Stone	...	Judge James K. Hardy
Fay Holden	...	Mrs. Emily Hardy
Cecilia Parker	...	Marian Hardy
Ann Rutherford	...	Polly Benedict
Sara Haden	...	Aunt Mildred 'Millie' Forrest
June Preisser	...	Euphrasia 'Phrasie Daisy' Clark
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Mrs. Judith Volduzzi
Henry Hull	...	Dr. Jones
Martha O'Driscoll	...	Leonora V. 'Elvie' Horton
Leona Maricle	...	Mrs. Maria Horton
Margaret Early	...	Clarabelle V. Lee
George P. Breakston	...	'Beezy' Anderson (as George Breakston)
Egon Brecher	...	Mr. Anton Volduzzi
Edna Holland	...	Nurse Trowbridge

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

The eighth of sixteen Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney.

Movie Connections:

Follows Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)

One of the best films in the Andy Hardy series and still fun to watch.

This film uncharacteristically introduces a lot of pathos in the plot when Mickey Rooney's mother, Fay Holden, gets pneumonia halfway through the film. It makes Mickey realize that his problems pale in significance to a real problem of life and death; it brings the family closer together and makes Mickey grow up a little. There's a touching scene with his sister, Cecilia Parker, where they admit to one another they really like each other despite their constant fighting. I loved that scene, which made the film so different from most of the others. It did not, however, detract from the good comedy throughout, with Mickey getting into hot water through his actions, going deeply into debt thinking he'll win a prize, inviting two girls to the Fourth-of-July fireworks celebration and constantly battling with his car to keep it running. Lewis Stone also shines as his father, looking for the daughter of an elderly Italian immigrant couple to keep them from losing their home, and getting Mickey to help find her. If you see only one film from this very popular series, this one would be a good choice. It's also a good chance to see Mickey in the first scene he played with his real-life father, Joe Yule, who plays Munk, the tire man.