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NOTES: 16th and final film in the Andy Hardy series.
COMMENT: Produced by Mickey Rooney's business manager, Red Doff, this attempt to revive the Andy Hardy Series failed in its bid to win public support. The intervening years prove that Rooney is just as hammy an actor now as he was then (there are clips from Love Finds Andy Hardy and Andy Hardy's Double Life to prove it!). If you are not one of Rooney's fans, look out! The screenplay indulges him by having him almost continually on-stage, and the direction and camerawork, like the script, pander to him by framing him square in the middle of almost every camera set-up. Moreover, he is allowed to hog the camera in long, static takes.
Nostalgia-lovers will be disappointed by the small amount of footage Cecilia Parker has. Her part is almost a walk-on. We see a bit more of Sara Haden (looking hardly a day older) and a lot more of Fay Holden (who is completely unrecognizable). The producer muffed the opportunity to use the original "Beezy", George Breakston, which could have given the film some interest, and instead uses a ring-in, Joey Forman. The truth undoubtedly is that producer Red Doff would not meet Breakston's price - which explains the absence of other Hardy luminaries and the use of film clips (each introduced by a ghastly close-up of Rooney mugging "in recollection") to give his tawdry production some "class". Production values, in fact, are minimal. The original Hardy sets were struck long ago and no attempt has been made to reproduce them here. The film has only one asset in the extremely attractive Pat Cawley who enlivens every scene in which she appears. Otherwise, it's a dud.
score 4/10
JohnHowardReid 25 February 2018
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4073430/ |
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31-3-2021 04:37:15