''Life Begins for Andy Hardy'' is a 1941 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

and the 11th installment of the 16 popular Andy Hardy movies. Directed by George B. Seitz, ''Life Begins for Andy Hardy'' was also the last Andy Hardy movie to feature

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 ...

Plot

With high school behind him, Andy Hardy ( Mickey Rooney) decides that as an adult, it's time to start living his life on his own. Judge Hardy (

Lewis Stone Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...

) recommends that his son would go to college and study law, but Andy isn't sure that's what he wants to do so he heads off to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to find a job. With high spirits and a new car, he drives to

with his childhood friend Betsy Booth (

). Andy soon meets there another young man who had just been fired as an "office boy" at a midtown firm. When Betsy rushes Andy there unannounced to apply for the vacancy, Betsy patiently circles the congested streets for hours waiting for him to come out. She eventually runs out of fuel, and Andy does not land the job due to a family member acquiring it before him. Andy lives without a job for several weeks, too proud to accept financial help from well-to-do Betsy until the office receptionist visits his apartment to inform him the job is free, the nephew having lost the job. He even gets to repeatedly date the office receptionist, a more worldly woman who (in addition to the office staff) is amused at his naivete and sometimes clumsiness. He learns that daily expenses, including gifts and dates for his new girlfriend, quickly add up. He also mourns over the death of his new friend. Andy is nearly fired after, due to drowsiness, he mixes up two outgoing letters in the office mail. Although ashamed to let his parents know of his difficulties, they hear of his circumstances from Betsy, and his father goes to bring him home. After facing these several lessons of life, Andy concludes that he may still have some growing up to do and gets a job at the car repair shop in his hometown, knowing he is knowledgeable about them.

Cast

as Judge James K. 'Jim' Hardy * Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy *

Fay Holden Dorothy Fay Hammerton (26 September 1893 – 23 June 1973), known professionally as Fay Holden, was a British-born, American-based actress. She was known as Gaby Fay early in her career. Biography Holden was born in Birmingham, England. After ...

as Mrs. Emily Hardy *

Ann Rutherford Therese Ann Rutherford (November 2, 1917 – June 11, 2012) was a Canadian-born American actress in film, radio, and television. She had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict during the 1930s and 1940s in the And ...

as Polly Benedict *

Sara Haden Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden, November 17, 1898 – September 15, 1981) was an American actress of the 1930s through the 1950s and in television into the mid-1960s. She may be best remembered for appearing as Aunt Milly Forrest in 14 entrie ...

as Aunt Milly Forrest * Patricia Dane as Jennitt Hicks *

Ray McDonald Raymondo Antoine McDonald (born September 2, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida, where he was a member o ...

as Jimmy Frobisher *

as Miss Betsy Booth

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,684,000 in the US and Canada and $810,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $1,324,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Life Begins For Andy Hardy 1941 films 1941 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films Films set in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by George B. Seitz 1940s English-language films 1940s American films