LIFE BEGINS FOR ANDY HARDY (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1941), directed by George B. Seitz, the eleventh installment to the "Andy Hardy" family series, and possibly the most dramatic and adult of all the episodes thus far. With the recurring cast headed by Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford and Sara Haden in their regular roles, Judy Garland, who previous appeared in LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY (1938) and ANDY HARDY MEETS DEBUTANTE (1940), returns for the third and final time to Carvel as Andy's companion and "playmate," Betsy Booth, who, in spite of her now advanced age and mature looks, is still looked upon her by Andy as a "child,"
Continuing where the last segment of ANDY HARDY'S PRIVATE SECRETARY (1941) left off, Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney), now 18 and a high school graduate, has broken up with his girlfriend, Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford), whose about to start her new life in college. Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) of New York City telephones Judge James K. Hardy (Lewis Stone) that she is returning to Carvel for a visit, and not to tell Andy. The following morning after returning home very late from his high school graduation dance, Andy decides that before he could make a decision about attending college or getting a job, he wants to have his experimental month during summer break by experiencing life in the outside world living on his own in New York City without any help nor financial support by his parents or anybody, for that what Andy tells his father, "Today, I am a man!" With Betsy to guide him through through big city living, the two drive in Andy's new roadster to New York to begin his new life adventure. He first registers and boards at the City House Residence for Young Men. Acquiring a room # 808, he meets Jimmy Frobisher (Ray McDonald), a tenant with tap dancing ambitions, about to leave. Learning he's quit his job as office boy at the Consolidated Stocks and Bonds Corporation at 5 West 48th Street, Andy decides to grab this position before it is taken. While waiting for an interview, Andy meets and becomes interested in its secretary, Jennit Hicks (Patricia Dane). After learning from its supervisor, Eric J. Maddox (Lester Mattjhews) that the position has been filled by his nephew, Andy spends the next few days job hunting, struggling to survive with money low and lack of food. He does offer assistance to Jimmy, homeless and living in Central Park, and has Jimmy move in with him. Things begin to look brighter when Jennit Hicks offers Andy a job at the firm after the boss's nephew gets fired. As Betsy telephones Andy's activities to his father, problems arise as Jimmy is discovered living in his apartment without permission from the management, followed by learning the true facts of life by woman of the world Jennit, adding to the worries for both Betsy and Judge Hardy. Others featured in the cast are: John Eldredge (Paul McWilliams); Pierre Watkin (Bob Waggoner); Joseph Crehan (Peter Dugan) and Sidney Miller.
Aside from being quite dramatic, LIFE BEGINS FOR ANDY HARDY is leisurely paced and lacks mood scoring during its long 101 minutes, There are those who regard this to be a "sleeper." Regardless of its excessive length for a film series, the story is quite interesting, finding this installment going against format material from the past. Scenes involving Judge Hardy, Emily and Aunt Milly are few and far between during Andy's venture to New York, though Judge Hardy still finds time to have his man-to-man talk with his son. Ann Rutherford's Polly gets only one scene here while older sister, Marian, played by Cecilia Parker, doesn't appear with no explanation given. Humor is very limited yet one wonders how the film itself might have worked had the situations been more comical.
As much as film historians claim THE CLOCK (1945) to be Judy Garland's first non-musical, it is actually LIFE BEGINS FOR ANDY HARDY. According to Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, where the movie has been shown often since 1994, that "Garland recorded four songs for the movie, but none were used in the finished print." The only time Judy sings anything is briefly to the traditional tune to "Happy Birthday." There is a short night club conga dance between Andy Hardy and Jennit (Dane), but other than that, no scoring is used. Had there been songs and added material. maybe the story itself might have gone beyond two hours. Rooney, Garland and McDonald would reunite again for the highly entertaining musical, BABES ON BROADWAY (1941).
In spite of its outcome, LIFE BEGINS FOR ANDY HARDY stands out among others in the series for daring to be different with realistic situations that could actually occur for someone wanting to experience what life is all about in New York City. Formerly distributed on video cassette in the 1990s, its also available on DVD. Next in the series: THE COURTSHIP OF ANDY HARDY (1942). (**1/2)
