Mickey @ 100: "Mickey McGuire" and "Andy Hardy"
Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 5:00PM by Nathaniel R
While we've never been Mickey Rooney fans, per se, you know we love to celebrate anniversaries here at TFE so we're going to look at three of his most famous films this week. But first a bit of history. This pint-sized sensation, a household name for most of the 20th century, was born in Brooklyn on September 23rd, 1920. Though his career no longer holds the enduring caché of several of his contemporaries, he was the most popular star of the late 30s and early 40s. What's more he had the longest onscreen career of any American movie star -- he worked in the films from the time he was 6 years old until his death at the age of 93...
Like many famous actors of the Golden Age, his career actually began before the talkies, via vaudeville and then silent film. While franchise stardom is de riguer in the 21st century, it wasn't as common 100 years ago though Mickey Rooney was prime proof that the general concept has always been with us. He first came to popularity in serials, those shorts franchises that would play before features. His first big role was the titular character in the "Mickey McGuire" serials which ran from 1927 through 1934 as direct competition for the popular "Our Gang" comedies (which the wee Mickey had auditioned for). Here's a clip from one of the McGuire films...
After transitioning into features, he played all American teenager "Andy Hardy" in A Family Affair (1937) the son of the film's lead, Judge Hardy (Lionel Barrymore). Sadly this culturally significant film (it launched a giant film series which affected many careers) isn't available to rent anywhere online for our investigation or we would have focused on it right here to kick off this brief series of posts. Andy Hardy proved such a scene stealer that a franchise was born and would stretch across fifteen (!!!) more films.
You can amusingly track how thoroughly Mickey Rooney took over just by looking at the first four film titles...
- A Family Affair (1937)
- You're Only Young Once (1937)
- Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
- Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
Most of the films thereafter include Andy Hardy in the title. [Aside: 80s kids will understand this as a Family Ties type situation. That 1982-1989 sitcom was originally about the former hippie parents but Michael J Fox's young Republican character completely took over and essentially became the lead in that era of Reagan-worshipping.]
It's perhaps worth noting that Andy/Mickey's original screen parents, Barrymore and Spring Byington, who were already famous and respected character actors, were either replaced or choose to bolt after the original film, which was not intended as a franchise launch for their 17 year-old screen son. Lewis Stone and Fay Holden would be the judge and the mother thereafter.
Though the series is almost never spoken of now, outside of the context of Judy Garland's rise to stardom (she's in three of the fifteen films, most famously Love Finds Andy Hardy which Nick recently discussed) it was very popular at the time. MGM also used the series to test public reaction to young actresses, most successfully with Lana Turner (Love Finds Andy Hardy, 1938), Kathryn Grayson (Andy Hardy's Private Secretary, 1941) and Esther Williams (Andy Hardy's Double Life, 1942).
Here's a clip from Love Finds Andy Hardy featuring Judy Garland's sweet performance, and a very young Lana Turner as Andy's friend's girl Cynthia.
Tomorrow: Rooney's first Oscar nomination for Babes in Arms (1939)
Reader Comments (8)
Though I doubt it'll get covered in this tribute, The Strip (1951) is the movie that comes to mind when I think of Mickey Rooney (in a positive light). A crime noir set in the L.A., it features cameos by jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, and Rooney's drumming is sensational. Do a YouTube search for "Mickey Rooney Drums His @ss Off" and you can see a five-minute highlight reel. (The Strip fizzled at the box office, but "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" was nominated for the Best Song Oscar.)
Mickey Rooney is great but... can we skip any mention on his role in Breakfast at Tiffany's?
@ thevoid99: Umm...
I've always been somewhat mystified myself by his enormous popularity in his youth.
There's no question he was a talented man, he was musically gifted, sang after a fashion, could dance and when controlled could be a very affecting actor. BUT controlled is the operative word and that's where the real problem comes in. It's one thing to be outgoing and brash but he often tipped into mugging and clownishness. The public of the time apparently loved it but it has not aged well, It's especially glaring when he's paired with a more subtle performer-Judy, Lewis Stone, Spencer Tracy, Ann Rutherford or many of the MGM stock company of supporting players, then he comes across as cartoonish. His directors seemed either unable or unwilling to rein him in. Of course it was highly profitable so they were probably told to let Mickey be Mickey.
An 87 year career is nearly unfathomable. That he's just now approaching the centennial of his birth seems odd, like it should have come long before this. Part of that maybe that he aged prematurely (that fast living and the early retreat of that incredible head of hair he had when he was young) so even in his 30's he appeared older than he was.
Still he deserves the recognition. Even with the disaster his private life often was, and if you know anything about him behind the scenes it was that he was frequently his own worst enemy, he was an indefatigable trouper who kept on working no matter how low he was and clawed his way back from the bottom several times.
good share. thanks http://thefilmexperience.net
Rooney was amazing all around talent
I like Mickey Rooney a lot actually. I do agree that he needed to be "controlled" by his directors but I also find it funny that his best movies all seem to be about the entire family/town/industry trying to control Mickey. So much energy!
And I guess I don't know much about his personal life, but that much stardom that early in life is bound to mess with you. The examples are legion.
Hope National Velvet gets covered.