George B. Seitz Movies

College boy Andy continues his studies in this comedy. Well, at least he should be studying. Unfortunately, he seems to be more interested in the pretty co-eds, especially the rambunctious Wilde twins. They cause poor Andy so much trouble that he begins plotting to drop out of school. Fortunately, Judge Hardy arrives at the last minute and gives his boy a good talking-to and sets things to right. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

First filmed in 1914, Edgar Selwyn's venerable North Country yarn Pierre of the Plains was thawed out once more in 1942. John Carroll plays the title role, a French-Canadian guide with an accent one could cut with a double-edged knife. Always in trouble with the law, Pierre manages to swagger through life with a smile on his lips and a song (the interminable "Saskatchewan") in his heart. Our hero proves that he's a splendid fellow by clearing Val Denton (Phil Brown), brother of heroine Daisy Denton (Ruth Hussey), of a murder charge. Bruce Cabot and Sheldon Leonard are the scowling villains, while Henry Travers (Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life) steals the show as a canny cardsharp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mercenary taxi driver Joe Tracy (Barry Nelson) is the Yank on the Burma Road in this MGM second feature. For strictly monetary reasons, Joe agrees to shepherd a caravan of medical supplies through Burma and into China. Going along for the ride is Gail Farwood (Laraine Day), who'd been stranded in Burma without passport when the Japanese invaded the country. Ultimately, Joe's patriotism takes precedence over his greed, and he begins striking back at any and all enemy soldiers with a vengeance. The hero's conversion takes place in a scene obviously added after the film's completion: hastily reading a letter from home, Joe mutters "So they bombed Pearl Harbor, did they?" Shoehorned in though it may have been, this little scene turned out to be the very first mention of Pearl Harbor in any American feature film, earning A Yank on the Burma Road a niche in the overall history of the cinema. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Number ten in MGM's heart-warming (and immensely profitable) "Andy Hardy" series was the 1941 entry Life Begins for Andy Hardy. Upon his graduation from high school, Andy (Mickey Rooney) decides to seek his fortune in New York City without benefit of a college education, much to the consternation of his father Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone). Moving to the Big Apple, Andy lands a job in a stockbroker's office, where he falls in love (at least he thinks it's love) with fickle telephone operator Jennitt Hicks (Patricia Dane). Alas, Andy is unable to cope with life in the fast lane, but it takes the combined efforts of his father and his hometown sweetie Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) to convince him of this fact. For reasons that defy logic, each of Judy Garland's four songs in Life Begins for Andy Hardy were cut from the final release print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The debutante whom Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) meets-after falling in love with her photograph -- is blonde Diana Lewis (the real-life wife of William Powell). It all comes about when Andy accompanies his dad Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) to New York. Plunging into the Manhattan social whirl, Andy is introduced to the wealthy Diana by his hometown chum Betsy Booth (Judy Garland), who finds time to sing "I'm Nobody's Baby" and "Alone". Meanwhile, Andy's steady Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford) sits home and fumes. It takes a few personal disillusionments and public embarrassment for Andy to realize that his true heart's desire is back in his own back yard (Judy Garland could have told him as much; after all, she previously said those lines in Wizard of Oz). Andy Hardy Meets Debutante was the ninth in MGM's "Hardy Family" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The last of MGM's "Nick Carter" trilogy, Sky Murder is a tad too cute and clever for its own good, but its mystery angle holds up pretty well. Returning from a weekend party, amateur sleuth Nick Carter (Walter Pidgeon) boards a private plane, where urbane Fifth Columnist Andrew Hendon (Tom Conway) is murdered in a locked compartment. Suspicion immediately falls upon refugee Pat Evans (Kaaren Verne), who was being blackmailed into helping Hendon smuggle secrets to the Nazis. Dividing his time between the land and the air, Carter is eventually able to expose the real murderer, and to smash the Nazi spy ring for good and all (or at least until the next spy movie). The film is hampered by the excessive comedy relief of Carter's self-appointed assistant Bartholomew the Bee Man (Donald Meek), who once upon a time was an amusing character. Far better attuned to the film's framework is perennial dumb blonde Joyce Compton, here cast as deceptively scatterbrained female detective Chris Cross. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

If Judge Hardy and Son had been filmed in the 1990s, it would have been titled Andy Hardy VII. In this latest edition of MGM's "Hardy Family" series, the kindly Judge (Lewis Stone) wrestles with two problems. He must rescue an elderly couple from eviction, and he must cope with his wife's (Fay Holden) life threatening illness. This time around, the romantic entanglements of son Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) take second place to Andy's anguish over his mother's condition. It needs hardly be said that Mom recovers and the family is happy again at fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thunder Afloat is set during the first world war. Wallace Beery plays an veteran tugboat captain who harbors a grudge against younger ex-pal Chester Morris. When Morris joins the navy as an officer, he runs across Beery, who resparks the feud. Both men bury the hatchet and work shoulder to shoulder when German U-boats threaten innocent shippers. Though the action takes place in 1918, the film was intensely topical in 1939 given the renewal of maritime hostilities in Europe and the Far East. Thunder Afloat made money by the bushel basket, as did most of Wallace Beery's formula vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Hardys are off to Washington DC in this third entry in MGM's "Hardy Family" series. Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) has been appointed chairman of a special committee, and on occasion offers a subtly "liberal" political observation that the writers have slipped by MGM's ultra-conservative head man Louis B. Mayer. The Judge's daughter Marian (Cecilia Parker) is intoxicated by Washington's social life, while son Andy (Mickey Rooney) falls for a pretty daughter of a French diplomat. Thus, the Judge is obliged to juggle his committee duties with his efforts to keep his children from making fools of themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sequel to the first Andy Hardy picture, A Family Affair, this light comedy stars Mickey Rooney in the role that would bring him his greatest fame. Judge Hardy's role is no longer played by Lionel Barrymore, as in the original, but by Lewis Stone. Fay Holden is his loyal wife, and Cecilia Parker portrays the daughter, Marian. The judge decides to take his family on a vacation to Catalina Island, off the coast of California. He muffs several opportunities to land a big fish. Andy tries to land a local girl, Jerry Lane (Eleanor Lynn), with as much success as his father. Marian keeps flirting with a hunky lifeguard, but he turns out to be married. The Hardy family saga would continue for 14 more features over 20 years. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The Sidney Howard/Paul de Kruf Broadway play Yellow Jack was transferred to the screen by MGM in 1938. The film is set at the turn of the century, when yellow fever was the Number One killer in Latin America. Army doctors Lewis Stone, Charles Coburn and Stanley Ridges gather in Cuba to attempt to find the cause and cure of the dreaded disease. Five US soldiers--Robert Montgomery, Buddy Ebsen, Alan Curtis, Sam Levene and William Henry--volunteer to expose themselves to yellow fever as a means to test the experimental vaccines. In a very well handled close-up setpiece, the audience discovers long before the medical staff that the humble mosquito is the disease carrier. The "Let me be the first to die" brand of heroics is sometimes hard to take, but otherwise Yellow Jack is inspiring entertainment in the grand old Hollywood tradition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide