Misplaced Pages

#558441

21-548: 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. The original cast included Carleton Macy as Judge Hardy, Charles Eaton as Andy, Joan Madison as Myra, and Marguerite Churchill as Marion. Samuel Marx recommended to MGM that the play be adapted into a film. The initial Hardy film, A Family Affair (1937),

42-473: A comic book adaptation of the film Love Laughs at Andy Hardy . Andy Hardy was also the subject of a six issue comic series published by Dell in 1952–1954. Aurania Rouverol Aurania Rouverol ( née Ellerbeck ; August 13, 1886 – June 23, 1955) was an American writer best known for her play Skidding , in which she created Andy Hardy and his family, who were turned into a popular series of sixteen movies from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Aurania Ellerbeck

63-587: A factory there. When his plan to buy land from his old friend Beezy runs into difficulty, Andy brings his wife, Jane, and two children, Andy Jr. and Cricket, to bolster his resolve, and to help him live up to the lessons instilled in him by his late father. While all seems lost, the closing moments reposition the resurrected series for a new set of Andy Hardy films, but these never materialized. Songwriter Robert Donley and journalist Edward Hushting wrote an original Andy Hardy synopsis on speculation and brought it to Rooney's agent, Red Doff. He showed it to Rooney, who

84-489: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Andy Hardy Comes Home 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

105-575: 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

126-461: 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. 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

147-463: The Hardys – and who would like to see them again. And there are millions who never saw them on the big screen, but who are being presold by seeing them on TV. People like things nostalgic. We believe they'll be curious to see a re-creation of what they loved 15 and 20 years ago." Lewis Stone, who had played the beloved Judge James Hardy in the previous films, had died in 1953 and his character's passing

168-499: The film fell short of box office projections, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer did not continue the Andy Hardy series. Returning to his hometown of Carvel after several years' absence, Andrew "Andy" Hardy, now a high-flying West Coast lawyer, reminiscences (in flashbacks to earlier films) about his past. He also reconnects with his mother, aunt, sister, and nephew Jimmy as he attempts to convince the skeptical townsfolk to let his company build

189-848: 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

210-465: The movie earned $ 400,000 in the US and Canada and $ 210,000 elsewhere, making a loss to the studio of $ 5,000. Before the film was released, Hutshing and Donley worked on a sequel about Andy Hardy as a judge called Andy Hardy Carries On . There was also some talk of an Andy Hardy TV series. In the early 1960s, a pilot was shot for a prospective Andy Hardy sitcom for NBC, with a totally different cast and with

231-448: 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

SECTION 10

#1732772847559

252-453: 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

273-478: The screen debut of Esther Williams . A number of public service announcements involving the Andy Hardy character and his father were shown in theaters in the 1940s. A notable example had Andy trying to persuade his father to give him $ 200 for a car. Instead, his father took him on a tour of several charities that needed the money more. After each visit to a charity, the car Andy wanted to buy became more and more decrepit. From late 1949 into 1952, The Hardy Family

294-617: The two characters could be a married couple, but Rutherford's salary demands were too high, and the character was written out. Andy's wife in the film, Jane (played by Patricia Breslin), had no prior connection to the town of Carvel. In line with MGM's practice of introducing studio contract players in the series, contractee Pat Cawley was given a role. The role of Andy Hardy Jr. was played by Rooney's real-life son, Teddy. Filming began on 7 May 1958. The film premiered on 22 December 1958 in New York City. According to MGM records,

315-690: Was also in Ah, Wilderness! but not in A Family Affair , has a major role in the last two original Hardy films, Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble and Love Laughs at 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

336-537: 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. Several of the actors in this initial Hardy film had been in the 1935 film Ah, Wilderness! , based on Eugene O’Neill ’s only comedy: Barrymore, Byington, Rooney, Eric Linden , Cecilia Parker , Charley Grapewin , and Margaret Marquis. ( Bonita Granville , who

357-563: Was born, the 22nd baby, in Utah to Thomas Witten Ellerbeck, one of the chief clerks of Brigham Young . She went to Stanford University and studied playwriting at Radcliffe. She worked as an actress on stage. She died in Palo Alto, California , aged 68 years. She married Joseph Augustas Rouverol (Rouveyrol ) in 1946 and was the mother of actress and author Jean Rouverol (1916–2017). This article about an American playwright

378-403: Was enthusiastic, and they pitched the project to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a co-production with Rooney's own company, Fryman Enterprises. The studio, then under the control of Joseph Vogel, agreed to make the film. "We feel it's time for another Hardy picture", said Doff. "Time for a good, warm, wholesome family comedy – no violence, no monsters, no sex! There are millions who have seen and loved

399-741: 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). The Andy Hardy series served as a platform for MGM to introduce new performers, some of whom became stars themselves. 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

420-413: Was portrayed in the film. Fay Holden , Sara Haden , and Cecilia Parker all reprised their roles of Emily Hardy, Aunt Milly and Marian, respectively. (Parker had mostly retired from acting since the previous film in 1947, devoting herself to raising her children). Mickey Rooney tried to persuade Ann Rutherford to return as Polly Benedict, Andy's on-and-off sweetheart in most of the original movies, so

441-513: Was syndicated by MGM as a half-hour weekly series on radio, with a cast including Mickey Rooney , Fay Holden and Lewis Stone , and writers including Jack Rubin and Jameson Brewer, directed by Thomas A. McAvity. Radio historian J. David Goldin identifies the personnel and summarizes a dozen episodes, with episode numbers suggested more than 70 episodes were broadcast. Seven episodes of the series are preserved in an Internet Archive collection. In June 1947, Fiction House's Movie Comics published

SECTION 20

#1732772847559
#558441