Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958) User Reviews

Not A Bad Movie, But Just Not The Same...

[ErikRP · 6/10 · 22 December 2002]

I finally managed to watch this movie. I had seen every other movie in the Hardy family series and this would, fittingly I thought, close out the series for me.

I must admit I was disappointed in the movie. Perhaps I missed it, but I thought that a little more background should have been provided. There were a few people that were noticeably absent, particularly Andy's father, James Hardy (Lewis Stone). His long-time flame, Polly Benedict (played by Ann Rutherford) was also given little mention beyond seeing her in a clip and seeing her picture.

The Hardy movies made me feel like a part of the family. However in the 12 years since the previous film a lot had obviously happened and there was little or no recap. How did Judge Hardy die? What happened to Marion's husband? How did Marion and Jimmy come to live in the Hardy house? Where was Polly Benedict?

To me the movie seemed to not know whether to stand on its own or to be simply a nostalgia picture. It tries to capitalize on the past movies but is content to introduce several major new characters with little or no explanation. I would have loved to know where he'd met Jane, or how he came to go to California. A theme that seemed to run through the movie was Andy turning into his father: he is asked by his son for "a man to man talk", Andy doesn't understand the new "buzzwords" of his nephew Jimmy's generation. Andy is now a part of the awkward older generation.

I suspect that this movie was intended to relaunch Mickey Rooney's career. That is only my guess, however at the conclusion the words "To Be Continued" seemed pretty obvious that there were to be additional sequels - sequels never made. I imagine when this movie came out movie audiences no longer felt the chemistry that had existed with the original Hardy family. Andy had been the main focus of most of the earlier Hardy movies but now he was the anachronism. He was no longer an idol for younger, hipper audiences. At the same time the supporting cast wasn't up to carrying the lead. Like so many remakes that never really re-capture the magic of the original, Andy Hardy Comes Home just made me appreciate that the producers had been able to capture magic in a bottle in the original movies.

In short, this is the last movie in the series. It doesn't completely close out the series and leaves a lot of questions unanswered, however for Hardy fans, it is still a film worth seeking out. It will make the original movies all that much more special.

Nice Try MGM

[atlantic965 · 5/10 · 11 April 2006]

This movie hails from a time when MGM had fallen on hard times and was looking to relive it's glory days of the 30's and 40's by creating new versions of it's classic films. The Andy Hardy series was the role of Mickey Rooney's career. This film was a nice effort. A shame Lewis Stone who played Judge Hardy passed away in 1953, his absence really hurt this 1958 remake. Ann Rutherford's absence as Andy's old love Polly Benedict also hurt this film. This is strictly a trip down memory lane movie for old Andy Hardy fans. The problem is it is rarely shown. I saw it last one Saturday in 1987 and have not seen it since. Turner Classic Movies which owns the series does show the older Andy Hardy movies but not this one.

Leaves too many questions unanswered

[pcali · 5/10 · 23 April 2003]

Like another person who commented, I feel this film leaves too many unanswered questions as to what happened in the years between 1947 and 1958. It was fun to see a few of the original characters (Fay Holden, as Mrs. Hardy, had aged very well!), but the original flavor of the Hardy series was completely lost. The film does come to a satisfying conclusion, however.

One comment regarding archive footage used in the film: I've seen it said repeatedly that the footage of Mickey and Judy was from "Love Finds Andy Hardy", when actually the footage was taken from "Babes in Arms" and adapted with "dubbed-over" names. The footage seems to indicate that Andy and Betsy Booth were more romantically involved than they were in the earlier Hardy films. However, Mickey and Judy are always a treat to watch, whatever the film clip.

Although this film provides some closure, it seems it was intended to begin a new generation of Andy Hardy films; thankfully, film makers left well enough alone after this entry.

Andy sputters to a close

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 2 October 2017]

As a way to tie up the loose ends of the series this average entry is a passable movie but the old spark is gone. Easy to see why this was the final film of the run.

The clips hearkening back to previous Hardy adventures (really just an excuse to remind the viewer that Judy Garland, Lana Turner and Esther Williams had appeared in the films) only emphasizes how modest this one is. Nothing against the actress who plays Andy's wife but it is too bad that they couldn't convince Ann Rutherford to return as Polly Benedict as Mrs. Hardy which any fan of the series expected.

For series fans a nice piece of nostalgia but that's about it.

A gloomy postscript to a great series

[gerdeen-1 · 17 July 2010]

In his autobiography, Mickey Rooney indicated he had high hopes for this movie but really hated what it turned out to be. He didn't say why, but I have to agree with his sentiments. It's a downer.

The Andy Hardy films of the '30s and '40s had an abundance of humor, or at least good humor. And a lot of the magic was the town of Carvel itself. It was an earlier version of TV's Mayberry -- a gentle, peaceful place that anyone would love to call home. In this movie, however, Carvel is a gloomy little backwater, left behind by postwar prosperity. You can't blame Andy for wanting to rescue it, even if his plan for accomplishing that is dubious.

If you're an Andy Hardy fan, you'll want to see this film out of a certain kind of loyalty. But don't expect it to be fun.

Mixed feelings

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 22 April 2015]

This is a fairly good film, but I don't see it as having much to do with Andy Hardy.

It's actually good to see Mickey Rooney in the late 1950s. His height had pretty much eliminated a serious film career. However, he maintained a modest career with run-of-the-mill flicks. The basic plot is decent -- a man (Rooney) comes home again, attempting to get land for employer's factory. But forces seem to be conspiring against him. They try to frame the story with the man being Andy Hardy 20 years later. But really, it has nothing to do with the Andy Hardy of old.

It was nice to see Fay Holden again as Mother Hardy and Sarah Haden as Aunt Milly.Marian Hardy Of course, Lewis Stone had passed quite a while (1953) before this film was made. But aside from their presence, the film just has little of the Andy Hardy persona. Even the father-son talk with Andy's son doesn't quite work, perhaps because Andy's son (Mickey's real son) is too young for that kind of chat.

And then, the ending is TOO happy. Then, it ends with the words "More to come" on the screen, but of course, due to the failure at the box office of this film, there were no more Andy Hardy films.

The film could have stood on its own without the Andy Hardy angle. In fact, it might have been admired more if it had.

failed to revive MGM's flagship series

[max von meyerling · 3/10 · 19 December 2002]

Andy Hardy Comes Home is pretty terrible. You know you're old when you can remember having seen an Andy Hardy film in the theater. I saw this with full knowledge of the Andy Hardy lore having seen them on TV. If anything this picture proves what Thomas Wolfe said about not being able to go home again.

However what is so interesting about this film is the default story about Andy Hardy wanting to bring an aircraft plant to Carvel against the objection of most of the town. This was done in the light of the complete faith of the time in favor of "progress". The objections of the towns people now seem eminently reasonable. What seemed to be progress now seems suicidal. The Carvels of this world were destroyed by exactly this type of development. Maybe sometimes the most bland film can be a significant social document over and above its quality as a film. Excruciating as drama or comedy, fascinating as social history.

If you've been a fan you should watch this film

[edeltoro56 · 7/10 · 23 November 2007]

If you've been a fan of the Andy Hardy films, you should watch this film. That being said, be warned: this film leaves a lot to be desired.

Andy Hardy is no longer getting himself into jams...he's way too responsible. His wife is bland. (I, too, think that his wife should have been Polly Benedict.) The nephew and his kids don't seem to "fit in" the movie either. Overall, the movie appears to be very disjointed.

So, if you are a sucker for nostalgia, as I am, watch this film. The films defects will not overshadow the general feeling of being-with-an-old-friend that this film inevitably evokes. If anything, when I first saw the words "To Be Continued", I got excited thinking that there were more Andy Hardy films. I guess I like old friends and never tire of them.

Sometimes you can come home again

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 4 March 2014]

Twelve years after Mickey Rooney did his last Andy Hardy film and left MGM he came back to his old stamping grounds to make what looked like a television pilot. It turned out to be a nice coda for the series.

Andy Hardy is now grown up, married with two children, and now in the practice of law following in his father's footsteps. He works for an aircraft company and has sold them on the idea of building a plant in his home town of Carvel. He thinks he has a deal with Vaughn Taylor who has moved there after he left, but Taylor tries to hold out for more. Andy who thinks that people are as decent as his late father held them to be mostly, neglects to get it in writing.

Up pops his old friend Beezy now played by Joey Forman and he's got a big inheritance of real estate and they think they have the problem solved. But Taylor starts spreading rumors and tries to get the City Council to rezone Forman's property against industrial use.

The whole question of the Hardy character comes into play here and I have to say Mickey Rooney handled it as well as any Frank Capra character would have like say George Bailey who was also trying to bring a factory to Bedford Falls. Taking a leaf from the old Judge's book, Lewis Stone would have been proud.

We got to see such people as Lana Turner and Judy Garland in flashback sequences from previous Andy Hardy films. That was of course to establish continuity. Other than Lewis Stone who was no longer with us all the rest of the Hardy family, mother Fay Holden, aunt Sara Haden, and sister Cecilia Parker are all here. Parker now has a teenage son played by Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. who is a tall skinny lad and quite the contrast to Rooney.

Watching Andy Hardy Comes Home I couldn't help thinking that Carvel was shortly going to move south, acquire a North Carolina accent and become Mayberry. The film had all the look and feel of the Andy Griffith Show north of the Mason/Dixon line. Clearly Andy was through a movie series, but why it wasn't picked up for television who knows. It's not like Mickey Rooney was typecast in his most well known part, he had done enough other things well to fall into that career trap.

Despite what the credits say in the end, this was not to be continued. It was a coda to a beloved film family.

Cheaply Done: Only for Andy Hardy Fans

[clipper965-582-331599 · 6/10 · 14 November 2009]

This film was made in 1958 as a coming of middle age nostalgia film for the depression/WWII generation of kids who grew up in the 30's and 40's. Mickey Rooney and the Andy Hardy series were the biggest thing in movies in those days. If you saw the original movies you will have fun seeing Andy Hardy as an adult in the late 50s. Too many major characters are missing. Lewis Stone who played Judge Hardy died in 1953, Betsy Booth and Polly Benedict are not in this film and they were major characters in the series. I hated they did not marry Andy Hardy to Bonita Granville's Kay Wilson. MGM could have done better by the Andy Hardy Series and done a better reunion movie.

Not to Be Continued

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 26 April 2015]

The town of Carvel is happy when lawyer Mickey Rooney (as Andrew "Andy" Hardy) comes home from Santa Monica, California. Andy is in town to secure land for an aircraft factory. All goes well until the greedy landowner ups his price. Andy's old friend Joey Forman (as Baker "Beez" Anderson) helps out, but the town is divided over the prospect of a factory being built in Carvel. It's good to see series semi-regular George P. Breakston's "Beezy" character receive a big part of the story, but the actor doesn't appear in the role. However, Mr. Forman fills his shoes well. Hardy family members returning are mother Fay Holden (as Emily), big sister Cecilia Parker (as Marian) and aunt Sara Haden (as Mildred "Milly" Forrest)...

It's nice to see "Judge Hardy's Family" more than ten years after they last appeared in "Love Laughs at Andy Hardy" (1946). Judge Hardy, the family patriarch previously played by Lewis Stone, appears only in a portrait. The actor passed away in 1953 and it was wise of MGM not to re-cast the role. This was clearly an attempt to re-start the Hardy family series, with Mr. Rooney assuming his father's job...

Joining the Hardy family are pretty Patricia Breslin (as Jane, his wife), real-life preteen son Teddy Rooney (as Andy Jr.) and cute preteen daughter Gina Gillespie (as Cricket). Tall and handsome Johnny Weissmuller Jr. plays Andy's typically teenage nephew (he's Marian's son, not Jane's). This was the first screen appearance for young Weissmuller, who was obviously the son of the "Tarzan" and "Jungle Jim" actor. Showing good judgment, MGM did not continue the Hardy movie series, which seemed better suited for 1950s television, anyway. Perhaps appropriately, the characters next appeared in an early 1960s TV series pilot, with Jimmy Hawkins as young Andy. Alas, the situation comedy stalled and the Hardys were history.

**** Andy Hardy Comes Home (12/22/58) Howard W. Koch ~ Mickey Rooney, Joey Forman, Patricia Breslin, Vaughn Taylor

Thank You, TCM!

[callie-5 · 8/10 · 30 September 2008]

TCM ran all but 2 of the Hardy Family movies a couple of weeks ago and, thank heavens for my DVR, I was able to watch them all and just finished up the series.

Watching Mickey Rooney "grow up" was wonderful; the turn around, I think, being in "Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever", and even more so in "Life Begins For Andy Hardy"; those two films in particular in the series contained some great character development for Andy and I loved seeing how Mickey Rooney handled it. And Andy Hardy Comes Home was a good conclusion.

I found that I didn't need to know the back story of how Andy met Jane or ended up in California; I enjoyed seeing the little bits and tributes to the earlier movies (Andy tossing his hat onto the peg, the clips of the girls, even the "Carvel Hi" banner in his bedroom) and Andy going in to his father's study when he needed to think... I got teary eyed seeing the portrait of Lewis Stone over the fireplace.

Because I was able to watch the movies so close together, I was able to notice little things that they missed in the continuity: the picture of "Betsy Booth" was different from the one Andy was originally given (see Andy Hardy Meets Debutant), and the front door of the house opened on the opposite side (see Love Laughs At Andy Hardy when he gets locked out of the house), but even that was fun to see. I found this to be a good place to end the series.

To see Andy taking on his father's mantel, literally, was very satisfying. Andy is no longer the skittish young boy/man that the audiences grew up with, but then, we all grow older and are not the same people we were in our youth.

I was glad to see that Andy Hardy came home!

Some things are missing

[richspenc · 6/10 · 28 March 2016]

This could've been the perfect Hardy reunion film, but there are several things wrong or missing here. Andy Hardy is coming home to Carvel from out west 12 years after the last Hardy film. Hardy's dad Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) is absent but Lewis Stone passed away in 1953, 5 years before this film. But nothing is mentioned in the film about what happened to Andy's dad. Polly (Ann Rutherford) is not in this film, and she was a major character in the series as Andy's on again off again girlfriend. Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) is not in this film either, but that's most likely due to Judy having been fired from MGM in 1951 and the Hardy films are all MGM. I still wished Judy would've come back for "Andy Hardy comes home" considering all the years she and Mickey did films together. Then the flashback of Andy and Betsy(Judy) that Andy had on the plane was actually a clip from "Babes in arms", which was a Judy/Mickey film but not a Hardy film. There are a number of good clips with Judy they could've used from " Love finds Andy Hardy" or "Life begins for Andy Hardy". Patricia Breslin (Andy's mom) and Fay Holden really looked older here, but so did Mickey. 12+ years is enough time for noticeable aging. The juvenile, energized, rambunctious Mickey from the late 30s and 40s was gone. So was his slick womanizing ways, Andy always was a real girl magnet in all his earlier pictures. When Andy returns to Carvel, we see him in a soda shop trying to dance with the late 1950s teens and tire out a lot more easy than he would've 12-20 years earlier. I've realized here how Mickey, Judy Garland, Ann Rutherford, etc. are a level earlier to the late 50s jukebox generation and have passed by their heyday now. They were the late 30s and 40s "swing" generation. It's almost kind of sad to see Mickey here compared to how he was. There's a plot about plans for an aircraft plant being built in town and a lot of the townspeople objecting to it. That part was sorta OK. But a lot of the spirit from the earlier films seemed to have passed by now.

"Hey guys, dig this -- Ozzie Nelson with a band!"

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 26 May 2015]

Now older but not much wiser, Andy Hardy has returned home as a lawyer representing an aircraft company. The company hopes to build a factory in Carvel and Andy is there to convince the townsfolk that it's good for them. Progress, you know. Given that I grew up in one of the many small towns in America that were destroyed by just this type of situation in the decades after this movie's release, it's hard to watch this without some bitterness. It's all the more hard to swallow given that this is MGM's idealized representative of small town America, Andy Hardy, giving Carvel the shaft. Oh, but hey, he's moving back home with his family and becoming....well, you better watch the ridiculous ending for that.

The final Andy Hardy movie was released years after the series had ostensibly ended. This was an attempt to revive it for a new generation. I can understand why MGM would try, given that the Hardy series was hugely influential on early television. I mean, think of all of the popular nuclear family sitcoms that proliferated TV in the 1950s and you'll realize how much they all owe to the wonderful Hardy family movies of the '30s and '40s. But, try as they did, this was unsuccessful and there were no more Hardy movies. For us watching all these decades later we can view this as nothing more than a curiosity -- an unnecessary coda to a grand old piece of cinematic Americana.

Most of the cast from the original series is present. The notable exceptions being Lewis Stone, who died in 1953, and Ann Rutherford, who was retired at the time and wouldn't come back for this. Lana Turner, Esther Williams, and Judy Garland are present in flashback clips to remind us that paunchy middle-aged toupee-wearing Andy was once something of a Romeo. One laughable scene has a pretty young blonde's jerk boyfriend being jealous of her spending time with Andy. My favorite scene in the whole movie is when Andy walks into his old room to be met with a wall covered in pictures of his previous "conquests." They used a clip of Garland and Rooney from the movie Babes in Arms, not from one of the Hardy movies. Presumably this is because they were trying to pass off a romantic relationship between their two characters even though none was present in their Hardy films together. It's funny to watch this as there is an obvious dub of the name 'Betsy' into the old clip. Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker, and Sara Haden return as Andy's mother, sister, and aunt. All are fine but it's Holden who really nails her character. She's the only one, including Mickey, who still feels like their former self. I suppose with Mickey it was often hard to draw the line between when he was playing a character like Andy Hardy and when he was just being Mickey but I feel like, in the older films, there at least was a line. Here it's just Mickey being Mickey. Some won't notice the difference but others will.

The new cast is forgettably bland. It was the '50s, after all. It may be a decade remembered for James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, but trust me those were exceptions not the rule. Cardboard was the formula of the day and the new cast members represent that. Patricia Breslin plays Andy's wife Jane, a poor substitute for my eternal crush Polly Benedict. Joey Forman plays Andy's old friend Beezy, replacing George P. Breakston, who had moved onto producing & directing by this time and I suppose was not interested in returning. Forman was in a short-lived TV series of Mickey's so I guess that explains his casting. Mickey's son Teddy plays Andy, Jr. and Tarzan's son Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. plays his nephew. Both are unimpressive although I think Weissmuller, Jr. might have missed his calling as the next Frankenstein's monster. Irritating Jerry Colonna is also in this. The film tries to pass him off as an existing character from the previous movies but he's nothing of the sort. I've never been a fan of his but some are, so proceed as you will.

The whole thing feels like a drawn out TV episode more than one of the wonderful old MGM movies. That's especially true with regard to the production values. Listen to those awful Foley effects. I suppose in some ways it's like a reunion movie for a family sitcom you watched when you were growing up, like The Brady Bunch or Growing Pains. Some of the people may be the same but it just doesn't feel the same. You can never really go home again, they say. I guess that's one lesson Andy Hardy had to learn without his father's help.

Andy Hardy's Finale

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 17 May 2018]

After an absence of fourteen years, the Andy Hardy series is resumed with this attempt to regain the magic of the previous fifteen episodes. A series of flashbacks reminds the viewer of the beautiful and talented women who were Andy's former flames. Most of the original cast returns. But this film feels entirely different.

The original script would have had Andy reconnect with Polly, but instead he returns to dear old Carvel a married man, with a family on the west coast. And I am glad for the change, because I never thought of Polly as a pleasant, reliable young woman.

The story is about Andy returning home on a business trip, to locate land for a manufacturing plant. His efforts are thwarted by an unscrupulous businessman and small-town fears. Andy yearns to rediscover the hometown of his youth, but finds that emotional ties can fray.

The story lacks the energy and comedy of the earlier Andy Hardy installments. And the dramatic tension is rather weak, despite intimations that Andy's job is on the line. Still, it's fun to see Andy Hardy again, now serving as head of the family patriarchy.

Andy Hardy Comes Home was an okay reunion of the Hardy family

[tavm · 6/10 · 22 July 2015]

It's now been 12 years since the last Andy Hardy movie-Love Laughs at Andy Hardy. At the end of that one, Andrew swore to his father-in front of pictures of his past girlfriends-he'd never go crazy over a woman again. Well, we find out in this one he eventually settled with one named Jane (Patricia Breslin) who bore him two kids, Cricket (Gina Gillespie) and Andy Jr. (played by Mickey Rooney's own son, Teddy). We also find out he moved to LA and is now coming back to his hometown of Carvel in order to work out a deal to build a factory there as a lawyer representing a plane company. Nice reunion with Fay Holden as his mom, Sara Haden as Aunt Milly (who it seems is still unmarried), and sis Marian (Cecilia Parker). Looks like other older sis Joan from A Family Affair is conveniently forgotten. (Chuck Cunninghamed, in other words!) No Judge Hardy since Lewis Stone had long passed but his portrait is prominently displayed in his room so that was a nice touch. Also nice to see those pictures of those old girlfriends since they are of Big Stars before becoming so though a little retconning was done concerning Judy Garland's character Betsy Booth since the clip shown of her with Mickey wasn't from any of the series entries but from the musical Babes in Arms. (With Mickey dubbing "Betsy" in place of the actual name of Judy's character there!) Also, before the clip of Mickey with Lana Turner was shown, his friend Beezy (played not by the actor who portrayed him in the previous series entries-George Breakston-but by someone who was Rooney's co-star in a TV series years earlier-Joey Forman) mistakenly ID'd her as a blonde and not a redhead as she was referred as in Love Finds Andy Hardy. As with the previous one-Love Laughs at Andy Hardy-there's a little joke done about Rooney's height when contrasted with someone way taller. In LLAAH, it was Dorothy Ford he towered under, here it's Johnny Weissmuller Jr. as his nephew, Jim. He's probably the weakest of the new players especially during a later sequence when he decides to play music at the Hardy home-when much of the family is gone-while Andy's children are asleep there which he acknowledges to his friends beforehand! Jerry Colonna makes a nice appearance as a soda jerk proprietor who's known Andy for years despite this being his only appearance in the series. It's during this sequence that Andy cuts a little rug with the teens there before "splitting". As series reunions go, this wasn't bad though I had to wonder why Ann Rutherford wouldn't even make a brief appearance as former girlfriend Polly Benedict. I know she didn't think she should be married to Andy but couldn't they have briefly talked about what they've been doing since the last time they saw each other? Oh, and why wasn't the original David Snell theme music used? Okay, in summary, Andy Hardy Comes Home was pretty enjoyable but its time was long past and didn't warrant a "To Be Continued" to be used at the end of this one.

Let me now make note of what happened to the series players: Fay Holden retired after this and died on June 23, 1973.

Sara Haden guested on various TV series before retiring in 1965. She died on September 15, 1981.

Cecilia Parker rarely acted after this, her last role being in 1984. She passed away on July 25, 1993.

What can one say about Mickey Rooney that hasn't been said many times before. Well, he has worked the longest in film having started when a toddler during the '20s up to the time before his death when he appeared in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. When it was released months after his death on April 6, 2014, it carried a dedication to him as well as Robin Williams who also died after filming his appearance in it but before its release. So with that, we say goodbye to Judge Hardy's Family from the town of Carvel....

Or "Mr. Hardy Goes to Town"

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 21 December 2010]

This old fashioned reunion of the surviving Andy Hardy cast came at a time when movie viewers wanted "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Desire Under the Elms". On TV, Andy Hardy like family sitcoms were the thing with Donna Reed, Barbara Billingsley, Robert Young and Danny Thomas as the matriarchs and patriarchs with Judge Hardy attributes. But now the Judge (Lewis Stone) has passed on, and his widow (Fay Holden) continues to live in their old home with her sister (Sara Haden). Andy, now a lawyer in L.A. has come back to Carvel on a secret mission to try and arrange a deal to buy property for his company. At first, many of his old friends are ecstatic to see him, but after a greedy landowner reneges on his original offer of cheap land, Andy is accused of deceiving the citizens. Andy must then defend not only himself but his family's honor.

The years have matured not only Mickey Rooney, but his character of Andy Hardy as well. Other than a sequence where he keeps up with the young kid's dances by showing what he's capable of, this is a much less hyper Andy, now a devoted husband and father. Halfway through the film, his wife (Patricia Breslin) and children (which includes Rooney's real-life son Ted) come to town when it becomes apparent that Andy's business will keep him there longer. Throughout the film, there are references to Andy's old female friends as seen in flashbacks. While his old girlfriend Polly is only seen in an old MGM still, sequences show such now famous stars as Judy Garland, Lana Turner and Esther Williams in scenes from the early years of the series. Back, in addition to Haden and Holden, is Cecilia Parker as Andy's sister, looking more matronly and the mother of an extremely tall son cast obviously as a visual joke with the 5'2" Rooney.

The film's ending gives the impression that this could be the start of a new Andy Hardy series, but that would not happen. The ending brings though a nice little twist that wraps up the series very respectfully. Rooney is still working at this writing at the age of 90, which makes me wonder what Andy Hardy would be doing today as the patriarch of his family.

You Can't Always Recapture Magic

[Michael_Elliott · 10 May 2010]

Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958)

** (out of 4)

The sixteenth and final film in the series has a middle-aged Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) returning to his hometown where he wants to build a factory so that the small town can expand. This doesn't go over too well with some of the town folk who set out to stop the building, which causes Andy to try and think of what the right thing to do would be. In fairness, the series pretty much ended in 1946 with LOVE LAUGHS AT ANDY HARDY but for some reason MGM thought it might be a good idea to bring this back for a new generation. I honestly don't understand why they brought the series back as it would be clear those teens in the late 50s would have no use for the moral, family loving tradition of Andy Hardy. This film even ends with a "To be Continued...", which of course never happened as this film really didn't do much when released. I must admit that I admire the attempt but in the end the screenplay is just way too weak to work. One problem is that we get three or four flashbacks to previous films and this just makes this film seem lazy. It also doesn't help that the best moments in this film are those flashbacks. Another problem is that the screenplay never really knows what it's trying to do because it wants to show Andy as the father now yet during other scenes they seem to be using him as a joke. We get all sorts of jokes about him being old and his mingling with some teenagers comes off rather silly, if slightly entertaining. We have Rooney returning to his part and we also get Fay Holden as mother, Patricia Breslin as Jane and Sara Haden as Aunt Milly as well as several other small characters. I must admit that I thought all of them struggled with their roles and didn't really recapture the spirit and feeling of the previous films. Some of this might be due to the fact that Lewis Stone passed away five years before this film was made and his talent is certainly missing here. Rooney's real-life son plays his kid here and Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. plays his nephew. There's no question MGM was trying to capture some of their old spirit but this here certainly comes as a failure. Perhaps had they tried something earlier or at least came up with a better screenplay.

Return to Carvel

[lugonian · 6/10 · 9 March 2021]

ANDY HARDY COMES HOME (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958), a Fryman Enterprise Production directed by Howard Koch, returns Mickey Rooney to his iconic role of Andy Hardy and home studio of MGM. In a title role he originated in A FAMILY AFFAIR (MGM, 1937) starring Lionel Barrymore and Spring Byington, followed by fifteen subsequent comedy-dramas through 1946 featuring the recast Lewis Stone and Fay Holden, this latest installment not only resumes the outlook of the Hardy family for the first time since LOVE LAUGHS AT ANDY HARDY (1946), but an attempt to revive the movie series which actually put an end to it.

After receiving a telegram from her son, Andy, that he is coming home for a visit, his mother, Emily (Fay Holden), Aunt Milly Forrest (Sara Haden), sister Marian, Marion (Cecilia Parker) and his nephew, Jimmy (Johnny Weissmulelr Jr.) arrive at Carval Municipal Airport for a family greeting. Andy (Mickey Rooney), a popular teenager in his day, now married with two children living in Santa Monica, California, is a top executive in legal department for the Gordon Aircraft Corporation. As a favor to Mr. Gordon (Sydney Smith), the company president, Andy returns to Carvel seeking for undeveloped property for a proposed missile factory site, something that could have Carvel grow and prosper with plenty of employment. With the assistance of courthouse clerk Betty Wilson (Pat Crawley), he proposes buying land belonging to Thomas Chandler (Vaughn Taylor), offering him a set price. However, Chandler goes back on his promise with a higher selling price. With the help of his best friend, "Beezy" Anderson (Joey Foreman), he offers to sell him his Puddle Creek property at a lower cost. When news gets out, a petition is used to stop the deal by rezoning the property. Complications develop when Betty's jealous boyfriend, Jack Bailey (William Leslie) misinterprets her spending too much business time with Andy. With the arrival of his wife, Jane (Patricia Breslin) and his children, Andy Jr. (Teddy Rooney) and Marian, better known as "Cricket" (Gina Gillespie), for moral support, Andy feels betrayed by his friends, let alone the possibility of still being employed. For this production, four songs, written by Mickey Rooney and Harold Spina, are credited, including the opening theme song of "Lady Summer Night," "Ugotia Soda," "Unk WInk" and "The Octavian Song." Also in the cast are Jerry Colonna ("Doc"); Frank Ferguson (Mayor Benson); and Tommy Duggan (Councilman Warren).

With movie and later television reunions seldom doing well, ANDY HARDY COMES HOME is no exception. Yet for those who have become accustomed to the series at its prime (1937-1946), would view this reunion for nostalgic reasons, especially through film clips of MGM starlets who later prospered as major leading ladies as Judy Garland as Betsy Booth (who appeared in three entries in the series), Esther Williams's underwater kissing sequence with Andy from ANDY HARDY'S DOUBLE LIFE (1942), and Lana Turner from LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY (1938), all featuring upscale 1950s style underscoring not used in the movie originals.

While Fay Holden, Sara Haden and Cecilia Parker retained their original roles, only the Beezy Anderson character earlier portrayed by Georgie Breakstone, was recast and enacted by Joey Forman. The now deceased Lewis Stone, as Andy's father, Judge James K. Hardy, is presented through a still photograph placed in the family study. It is through his photograph that Andy seeks guidance and strength to do what he thinks is right. Interestingly, for Andy's sister, Marian, her character is rather undeveloped. Now a mother to a giant-size teenage son (played by son of Tarzan screen legend, Johnny Weissmuller) there is no mention about her husband to whether she is a widow or divorced. Naturally there hasn't been any mention about Andy's older sister, Jane (Julie Hayden), since the series introduction of A FAMILY AFFAIR. It would be natural having Mickey's own son, Teddy, as Andy Hardy Jr., and wanting to have a man-to-man talk with him in the similar manner between Judge Hardy and son. Sadly, Teddy's performance, along with Jeanne Baird as Beezy's wife, Sally, somewhat weakens the proceedings through their lackluster acting. Gina Gillespie as Andy's daughter is very cute, however. Patricia Breslin was satisfactory as Andy's wife, Jane, but many familiar with the series would have preferred Ann Rutherford's Polly Benedict, Andy's girlfriend, to have returned and assumed her role of Mrs. Hardy instead.

While ANDY HARDY COMES HOME at 83 minutes is done in the style and tradition of television family shows (minus laugh track) as "Father Knows Best," it appears much of this dramedy with updates showing the Hardys watching television, for instance, along with new teenagers/characters just didn't jell in 1958 as it might have in 1948. Though this installment isn't really all that bad, it was probably best watching the older Hardy Family movies on late night television instead, indicating the sixteenth and final installment that nothing really stays the same. Never distributed on video cassette, ANDY HARDY COMES HOME has become available on DVD and occasional broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies cable channel. (**1/2)

You can never go home....

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 9 July 2018]

Andy Hardy has grown up and become a lawyer. He also works for an aircraft manufacturer in California. When he returns to Carver to buy land so that a new manufacturing plant can be opened there, he meets unexpected problems. The man who agreed to sell his property now wants to double his price and when Hardy won't agree to this last minute change, the nasty guy starts a campaign to stop the plant entirely. Andy is shocked, as he sees the nice folks of Carver acting like a bunch of jerks. Is there any hope for the plant? And, what about Andy and his family...will they stay in California or will they move back to Carver?

Twelve years passed since the last Andy Hardy film. Now, in 1958, someone had the bright idea of reviving the series...which is tough for a variety of reasons. The biggest is that many of the old actors had died or did not participate in the production. But another problem is that the movie tried too hard to keep Andy young....and those moments are a bit difficult to watch (such as Andy showing the teens how to dance and every time Andy reminisces he gets a real dopey look on his face as they show old clips). Watchable? Yes. But you can see how folks at the time didn't welcome the picture, as you just can't come home.

A dud!

[JohnHowardReid · 4/10 · 25 February 2018]

NOTES: 16th and final film in the Andy Hardy series.

COMMENT: Produced by Mickey Rooney's business manager, Red Doff, this attempt to revive the Andy Hardy Series failed in its bid to win public support. The intervening years prove that Rooney is just as hammy an actor now as he was then (there are clips from Love Finds Andy Hardy and Andy Hardy's Double Life to prove it!). If you are not one of Rooney's fans, look out! The screenplay indulges him by having him almost continually on-stage, and the direction and camerawork, like the script, pander to him by framing him square in the middle of almost every camera set-up. Moreover, he is allowed to hog the camera in long, static takes.

Nostalgia-lovers will be disappointed by the small amount of footage Cecilia Parker has. Her part is almost a walk-on. We see a bit more of Sara Haden (looking hardly a day older) and a lot more of Fay Holden (who is completely unrecognizable). The producer muffed the opportunity to use the original "Beezy", George Breakston, which could have given the film some interest, and instead uses a ring-in, Joey Forman. The truth undoubtedly is that producer Red Doff would not meet Breakston's price - which explains the absence of other Hardy luminaries and the use of film clips (each introduced by a ghastly close-up of Rooney mugging "in recollection") to give his tawdry production some "class". Production values, in fact, are minimal. The original Hardy sets were struck long ago and no attempt has been made to reproduce them here. The film has only one asset in the extremely attractive Pat Cawley who enlivens every scene in which she appears. Otherwise, it's a dud.

I love Andy Hardy Comes Home

[madformickey05 · 10/10 · 26 October 2005]

Andy Hardy comes home is one of my favorite Andy Hardy films. I also really love the music in it. The story is great as well. It just gives me a warm feeling to see all of the Hardy family together again. Of course, Judge Hardy is gone and that leaves a sad feeling inside. When Andy keeps going to the place where he had his mad to mad talks with his father, I get teary eyed. There was not a better series than the Andy Hardy series. This serious made Mickey Rooney a major star and has remained a major star since. For a sweet, enjoyable evening, check out Andy Hardy Comes Home. It's not quite like the original but still very pleasant. Also, Mickey Rooney's real life son plays Andy Jr.

Too bad they didn't make this movie in about 1950 or so !

[HoferPM-1 · 9/10 · 23 November 2007]

Mickey Rooney is as cute as ever and smart too. Mickey (Andy) makes a lot of sense in this movie and his mum looks great. It's not as zany as the earlier ones and the plot is really kind of serious and not funny. The boyfriend of this girl looks really nasty and mean and I don't like seeing Andy involved in this scenario at all. I have never seen this last Hardy movie and it's actually playing right now on TCM. I think they played all the Hardy movies from the beginning. I don't see what's wrong with starting an airplane parts factory in the town. It would create jobs for many people. It's my opinion that most people leave small towns because they can't find jobs. I wish they could have gotten Ann Rutherford to play his wife in the movie, not that there's anything wrong with Patricia Breslin, but it would have been much cuter if they saved his marriage for a surprise at the end of the movie and his wife should have been Rutherford.

I really liked it and wish they had made more.

[billriii · 10/10 · 22 April 2015]

There are many new cast members but that is to be expected. Andy had grown up and thus acts the part with the maturity I would expect. I liked that his values mirrored his fathers, which most reviewers did not appreciate. Thought it was warm and fuzzy but hey I like that in these kind of movies. Happy endings are not always a bad thing. It could have gone on but in itself was a good conclusion to the Hardy series. That a person can still watch and enjoy these movies on internet mediums is really great. When I was a kid there of course were only reruns. Now there are so many choices of classic movies to enjoy and cherish. Also this site should be commended for the wonderful work they do in helping find these classics and sending you to sites to view them.