ANDY HARDY MEETS DEBUTANTE

Andy meets the fowl Mrs. Fowler (Marjorie Gateson)

ANDY HARDY MEETS DEBUTANTE (1940). Director: George B. Seitz.

"Who was it who said only last Sunday that the epistles were the wives of the apostles?" -- Polly Benedict to Andy.

Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney), who works on the high school paper, has a massive crush on a New York debutante named Daphne (Diana Lewis). Andy has implied to everyone that he actually knows the young lady, so when it develops that he's going to visit New York for some of his father's (Lewis Stone) legal business, he is importuned to have his picture taken with her. Andy tries his best to get to know Daphne, but in an infuriating scene he is ever-so-gently shown the door by her terribly condescending mother (Marjorie Gateson of Lily Turner), who thinks he's just not their kind. Still contriving to meet Daphne, Andy goes to the veddy fashionable Club Sirocco with only eight dollars in his pocket, then orders the "special" -- starting off with caviar! In the meantime Betsy Booth (Judy Garland), who's had a crush on Andy ever since Love Finds Andy Hardy, gets some help in that department from -- who else? -- her old friend Daphne Fowler. [Talk about fantasies!] Humiliated by his experience in the Sirocco, Andy becomes deeply depressed that he's not good enough for society, and tells his father -- who tries to wake him up -- that "he's just a small-town judge that nobody's ever heard of." His father has his own troubles when he takes on New York lawyers in a case involving an estate versus an orphanage and is (temporarily) blown off. Naturally everything works out in the end. Andy Hardy Meets Debutante -- the "a" is missing from the title because it's meant to sound like a newspaper headline -- is another irresistible Hardy picture, with Mickey Rooney and Garland in top form, and a swell supporting cast. Garland does a semi-comical version of "Alone" [from A Night at the Opera]; Beezy (George Breakston) is still dating Cynthia (although Lana Turner is not seen]; and the little orphan boy, Francis (Clyde Willson) is adorable. Cy Kendall [Borrowing Trouble] plays the owner of the Sirocco and is adequate.

Verdict: Can't beat Rooney and Garland. ***.

TOO BUSY TO WORK

Florence Roberts, Spring Byington, and Joan Davis

TOO BUSY TO WORK (1939). Director: Otto Brower.

"If you sent her to Ripley I bet he wouldn't believe it!" -- Granny Jones on Lolly.

Mayor Jones (Jed Prouty) is alarming his wife (Spring Byington) and mother (Florence Roberts) because he's volunteering for too many duties as mayor and neglecting his drug store business to the point where he may lose it. Mrs. Jones decides to wake him up by neglecting her own duties and starring in a little theater production supervised by her old friend, Marge (Marjorie Gateson of Lily Turner). Added complications are the arrival of a niece, Lolly (Joan Davis of Around the World), who becomes the maid in exchange for food and board. Lolly has an eye on policeman Gilligan (Irving Bacon, Ethel's father on I Love Lucy) who loves her cooking but is preoccupied with the capture of safe cracker "Cracker" McGurk (Chick Chandler of Spy Train). Then the mayor discovers that his fellow board members have been behaving unethically and some money turns up missing ... Too Busy to Work is probably the funniest of the Jones Family films, with a good script and many amusing lines and situations to keep it consistently entertaining. Granny is especially acerbic in this entry. The entire cast, including Ken Howell and George Ernest, is top-notch, and Spring Byington certainly gets her chance to shine.

Verdict: Delightful! ***.

LILY TURNER

LILY TURNER (1933). Director: William A. Wellman.

Lily (Ruth Chatterton) has lousy luck with men. Her first husband, Rex (Gordon Westcott) deserts her after she gets pregnant and turns out to be a bigamist. Her second husband, Dave (Frank McHugh), marries her to make her respectable again, but prefers drinking to anything else and the marriage is never consummated. Finally Lily meets handsome, virile Bob (George Brent), while both are working for a shifty shiller of magical elixirs and the like, Doc McGill (Guy Kibbee). Frustrated horniness seems to be the sub-theme of this movie, with everyone -- including the demented strongman Fritz (Robert Barrat) -- either lusting for Lily or for Bob, who "sends" Mrs. McGill (Marjorie Gateson). This is an odd -- and oddly likable picture -- with good performances from the cast, and a somewhat poignant, if inconclusive, conclusion. This could have used an extra fifteen minutes or so to strengthen the story and characters, but it isn't half bad.

Verdict: Holds the attention. ***.