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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Love Finds Andy Hardy" is
the third film in the Andy Hardy series about a
Judge (Lewis Stone) and his irrepressibly manic
son, Andy (Mickey Rooney). In this film young Andy
gets a run for his money when his steady (Anne
Rutherford) goes on holiday, leaving Andy open to
play the field with the new girl in town (Lana
Turner). But a reprieve of sorts materializes in
the embodiment of wholesome Betsy Booth (Judy
Garland) who pulls cupid's arrow with sincerity
and comes out the winner.
This was the first film in which Garland's
character appeared and perhaps it's the best in
the whole series. The hokum and corn is deep and
laughable but hey, that's part of the film's charm
and truly, you have to be a die-hard cynic not to
fall for Andy's overwhelmingly patriotic schmaltz.
Garland sings two rousing songs that would become
her standards -- "It Never Rains But When It
Pours" and "Meet The Beat of My Heart" -- to good
effect at a debutante ball and easily steals the
show. This is a winner through and through.
Warner gives us a mediocre transfer with a solid
b&w picture. The grayscale is nicely balanced.
Age-related artifacts are sometimes very heavy.
There is some minor shimmering of fine details
that is distracting at times. Blacks are solid.
Contrast levels are well represented. The audio is
mono but nicely cleaned up for this DVD. This is a
must have for collectors. One only wishes that
Warner had had the foresight to release the entire
Andy Hardy series as a box set. Ditto for "The
Thin Man"! |
