Thanks for the memories!

I'll tell you why so serious

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Something happened between Love Finds Andy Hardy and Andy Hardy Meets Debutante. Mickey Rooney's ridiculous mugging to the camera is in the past, and while this one still isn't a good movie, at least it's not painfully torturous whenever he's on the screen. And, since he's the lead, that's a plus.The Hardy family returns, including Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker, and Mickey Rooney. Mickey, with his hormones still raging, has a collection of magazine clippings of the famous New York debutante, Diana Lewis, and when his friends tease him about his crush, he's humiliated. Then, when he goes to New York to visit his friend Judy Garland, he tries to meet Diana in person-but of course, his plans go awry. If you're a teenager and you think the biggest problem in the world is getting teased by your friends for having a celebrity crush, you might like this very silly teen comedy. If you don't get annoyed by a hormone-struck Mickey Rooney, a loud Judy Garland, and a pointless plot, you might like this. I didn't like it, but it's not nearly as painful as the earlier films.

In the ideal Midwestern town of Carvel, high school teenager Andy (Mickey Rooney) uses books to hide pictures of New York socialite Diana Lewis (as Daphne Fowler). When friends discover his pin-up pictures in a botany book, Andy covers embarrassment by pretending to be intimately acquainted with the glamorous debutante. Meanwhile, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) finds out that a local orphanage may lose its funding. Hoping to protect the orphanage's trust funds, Judge Hardy takes the family to Manhattan. Intending to strike up a real romance with Ms. Lewis and impress his classmates, Andy pretends to be wealthy...Andy does get to meet his female infatuation in New York, but the young woman getting most of the screen time with Mr. Rooney is Judy Garland (as Betsy Booth)...Returning from her appearance in the series' "Love Finds Andy Hardy" (1938), Ms. Garland is a little older and has "filled out" (like they used to day). Garland beautifully sings "Alone" and "I'm Nobody's Baby". She still likes Andy, although he doesn't seem to notice. It doesn't matter what they do, the chemistry is clearly evident. The story is a little thin for its length, but good. By the time this picture was released, Rooney and Garland were the top box office "teen idols" in the country. They made other films, but were never fresher. Their scene near the end, with Rooney and Garland riding in the back of a coach, is a career highlight.****** Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (7/5/40) George B. Seitz ~ Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Lewis Stone, Ann Rutherford

What were the most memorable parts of the film? 1. The title, which could probably benefit from a "the." 2. The goofy scene where the judge gives a small child to a strange man, who will keep the boy for the day and have fun with him. OK...3. The fact that when the Hardys visit New York City, there's a story about it in the local newspaper. And it's the lead story on the front page. (Man, that must be a small town, if people going away constitutes news.) I hope nobody broke into their house while they were away.4. The final image of the film, which seems to hint at Mickey Rooney's future marital life. (He was married a lot.)

The Judy Garland many venerate today is the post-Plaza Theater (c.1951) Judy --damaged, pill-popping, alcoholic, overweight--the inspiration for female-impersonators everywhere because of her unique way of pouring out a broken heart in song while living life on the brink as Liza's mother. But the real Judy, the Judy who won America's heart back in the late 1930s is this incandescent teenager, eighteen years old at the time of this film. Those who find the later Judy's manner of acting and singing over-the-top, a bit vulgar, should listen here to the sheer beauty and purity of her soprano voice, her flawless enunciation and phrasing, her feeling for jazz, her utter simplicity. What's more she was a superb actress; witness the scene in the Central Park hansom cab with Mickey, so touchingly real and affecting. It is said that Stella Adler, who was to become Marlon Brando's teacher, but working for Arthur Freed at MGM at that time, was a great supporter of her amazing talent; perhaps Stella coached her acting. The story of this film is typically silly and dated but Judy and Mickey together are as always wonderful!