Judge Hardy's Children (1938)

Captivating movie !

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

In this installment of the Andy Hardy movies, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) is sent to Washington to act as chairman of a special committee about power company monopolies. Hardy's daughter is used in social circles to hear what the committee is thinking. Meanwhile, Andy (Mickey Rooney) falls in love...again...this time with the daughter of a French diplomat. The climax is the film is how the judge clears his name regarding the potential scandal on the committee.This is average or better in the series. Mickey Rooney is good, and we do get to see him cut a rug here. Lewis Stone is totally reliable as the judge and father, even correcting his own decisions when they are off base. Fay Holden is good as the mom, as is Cecilia Parker as Andy's sister. This time around it's Betty Ross Clarke as the aunt. Ann Rutherford again plays Polly Benedict, although she doesn't have much screen time.It's an interesting plot, and worth watching if you remember this venerable film series.

This was the third in the Hardy family series. It's also the third written by Kay Van Ripper who made an appearance in the trailer of this one with the other cast members in scenes made only for that short theatre ad-a rarity for a writer. In this one, Judge Hardy is invited to Washington, D.C. for a committee hearing so the rest of them come along too. As usual, that means Andy and Marian also meet members of the opposite sex they get smitten with there with most of the emphasis on Andy's courting a French diplomat's pretty daughter. Mickey Rooney is, as always, very funny as Andy and it's sooooo cool seeing him cut the rug here with that French girl! Oh, and Betty Ross Clarke takes over the Aunt Milly role in this and the next installment. Also, while I didn't recognize him here while watching, Jonathan Hale has a role in this as one of the corrupt politicians. Later in the year, he'd begin a regular role as J.C. Dithers in the Blondie series. I'll review those concurrently with these Hardy reviews chronologically by release dates. So on that note, Judge Hardy's Children is another winner in the Hardy series!

As this screenplay (based on characters created by Aurania Rouverol) is credited solely to Kay Van Riper, we now know who to blame for the judge's smart little speeches and his seemingly endless man-to-man talks. In this entry, Judge Hardy is called to Washington (a most unlikely scenario, but we'll let that pass) to head a commission on monopolies (at least that has the right Roosevelt flavor) for the handsome reward of $200 a day! The judge takes his family with him, of course. Mickey falls for a French girl while Marian is given a whirl by the villains, Hale and Hussey. Alas, this promising scenario is all but drowned in such a welter of verbiage, I unhesitatingly nominate this entry as the worst of the series, despite the valiant efforts of its players, and its attractive sets (Stan Rogers) and costumes (Jeanne).As usual, this one was yawnfully directed in a super bland style by George B. (for boring) Seitz.

Judge Hardy's Children (1938) *** (out of 4) The third film in the MGM series has Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) taking a job in Washington, D.C. where he's to work for ten days on a special project. While there Andy (Mickey Rooney) falls in love with a French girl (Jacqueline Laurent) while his sister gets involved with a dirty politician. Those who find these Andy Hardy movies to be too clean or pure for their tastes certainly aren't going to change their opinion with this early entry but fans of the series should find enough charm and entertainment here. At just 78-minutes the film moves by extremely quickly as director Seitz keeps everything going at a fast pace. The weakest aspect of the film is the political stuff because Judge is brought to the Capital to do work on a big project and this talk often gets brought up and it even has a major part in later events in the film but we're never really told anything about it. Often it seems as if something about this project was simply left on the editing room floor and it just seems like Judge spends the majority of his time in a hotel when he's suppose to be working. Outside of that this film has pretty much everything fans would expect and of course a lot of the comedy comes from Rooney who once again delivers a fast and fun performance. One of the highlights of the film happens when Andy seeks advice from his father on whether or not it's normal to want to kiss every beautiful girl you see. Another high mark for Rooney comes during a dance sequence where he tries to teach the French girl the Big Apple. Rooney handles all the charm without a hitch and his father-son stuff with Lewis are well done by the actors. Stone is terrific as usual and Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker and Ann Rutherford are all fine in their roles. Laurent didn't seem to have much of a career in America and only seems to have been in a few French films after this one but I found her to be very charming and a nice match for Rooney. Betty Ross Clarke plays Aunt Millie in this entry and doesn't have the same punch as Sara Haden but this is just a minor issue. Overall, JUDGE HARDY'S CHILDREN is a good entry in the series, which still had many high points to follow for the Hardy clan.