''Andy Hardy Meets Debutante '' is a 1940 American romantic comedy film directed by

George B. Seitz George Brackett Seitz (January 3, 1888 – July 8, 1944) was an American playwright, screenwriter, film actor and director. He was known for his screenplays for action serials, such as '' The Perils of Pauline'' (1914) and ''The Exploits of ...

. The film stars Lewis Stone,

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

Cecilia Parker Cecilia Parker (April 26, 1914 – July 25, 1993) was a Canadian-born American film actress. She was best known for portraying Marian Hardy, the sister of Andy Hardy in eleven of the Andy Hardy film series. Early life and career Cecilia ...

, Fay Holden and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

. It is the ninth of the ''

Andy Hardy Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The films were released from 1937 to 1946, except for a final one made in 1958 in an unsuccessful att ...

'' full-length film series.

Plot

Andy Hardy from Carvel becomes infatuated with a well-known young socialite, Daphne Fowler, from New York City. Even though he hasn’t met the woman in person, he drops her name to his friends and tells them that they are very well acquainted. He even lets his friends believe he is romantically involved with Miss Fowler. Hardy’s senseless namedropping gets him into trouble when his father, the honorable judge James K. Hardy, decides to move to New York with the whole family, to work on a case involving an orphanage. The judge has to appear in court against a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

that is disputing payments from a

trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the " sett ...

that supports the

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or a ...

. Andy’s friends, who happen to be editors at a paper, want to print the story about the romantic couple, and Andy is forced to get to know the socialite to avoid embarrassment. He goes off on a pursuit to meet Daphne and become friends with her. In New York, Andy encounters an old female friend, Betsy Booth, who happens to have a crush on him. Soon Andy has to evade romantic propositions from Betsy, while he is trying to meet with the popular and seemingly unattainable Daphne. Against all odds, Andy hears on radio that Daphne is to attend a function at a restaurant. He manages to get into the restaurant where Daphne is present, but he gets into trouble when he can’t live up to his own story about being a wealthy man, not being able to pay his bill. Things look dark for Andy, but his father goes from despair to success when he wins the orphanage case. Andy is inspired by his father’s successful litigation, and in a moment of honesty, he tells his friend Betsy about his situation. It turns out Betsy is friends with Daphne, and she agrees to introduce Andy to her. Thus, Andy avoids all embarrassment when the article about him and Daphne is published. In the end, Andy finds the high society life too expensive, and realizes that Betsy is the one for him. They have their first kiss, and they promise to write to each other regularly.

Cast

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned USD$1,945,000 in the US and Canada and $678,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $1,409,000.

References

External links

* * * *
The Judy Garland Online Discography "Andy Hardy Series" page.
{{Rooney Garland films 1940 films 1940 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by George B. Seitz Films set in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films