Andy Hardy

Andy Hardy is the name of both a film franchise and its main character, played by Mickey Rooney, based on characters originally created by Aurania Rouverol.

From 1937 to 1958 MGM produced sixteen Andy Hardy films, all of them family comedies. The initial films centered around the whole Hardy family, headed by the stern but benevolent Judge James Hardy (played by Lionel Barrymore in the first film and by Lewis Stone from the second onward), but the character of teenage son Andy became more popular, and soon the movies centered and were titled after him. A very common plot in the films was that Andy embroiled himself in a complicated situation (usually about money or girls) due to his tendency to fudge the truth, and has a man-to-man conversation with his father that prompted him to do the right thing.

Rooney was the only member of the ensemble to appear in all sixteen films, as the other regular characters were recast often.

The films were very popular at their time of release and helped to launch and establish the career of several actors (Rooney included), but declined in popularity after World War II. An attempt to relaunch the series in 1958 with an adult, wiser Andy, turned out to be the last film of the franchise. NBC tried to create a TV series version in 1962, and filmed a pilot with Jimmy Hawkins as Andy, and veteran character actor Philip Ober as Judge Hardy; despite an apparently positive reaction to the pilot, it was ultimately not picked for a series.

Filmography:

The following tropes are common to many or all entries in the Andy Hardy franchise.
For tropes specific to individual installments, visit their respective work pages.

Early Installment Weirdness: The series format wasn't really nailed down until the fourth film, Love Finds Andy Hardy, so the first three have some unusual aspects in retrospect. Also, most of the recurring characters apart from Andy himself were recast for the second film.
Everytown, America: Andy's hometown, Carvel.
Happily Married: Andy's parents.
Non-Actor Vehicle: Swimmer Esther Williams started a screen career with a major supporting part in Andy Hardy's Double Life.
Retroactive Recognition: Because of MGM's habit of introducing new performers in Andy Hardy movies, some stars had early roles in these films:
- Love Finds Andy Hardy: Cynthia Potter, one of the girls that Andy dates, is played by then-unknown Lana Turner.
- Andy Hardy's Private Secretary: The titular secretary, Kathryn Land, is played by Kathryn Grayson in her first screen role. Four years later, she played the female lead in Anchors Aweigh alongside Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.
Work Off the Debt: In the Warner Brothers classic short, Hollywood Steps Out, Andy gets into trouble, and as usual has to ask his dad for help. Since they can't pay the bill, Andy and dad end up washing dishes to the rhythm of the music being played by the band.