Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics - And Other Things

Fans of the Andy Hardy movies will want to see this interesting short about giving to charity. The set-up has Judge Hardy about to donate to the Community Chest but Andy thinks it'd be a better idea to spend the money on buying him a new car. Charity begins at home, as they say. Well the Judge decides to show Andy firsthand how there are people out there with bigger problems than needing a new hotrod to pick up girls. It's always fun to see Mickey Rooney and Lewis Stone playing these roles. They had a great old-school father & son dynamic that we don't see much anymore. If a father in movies or television today is shown to be anything other than a deadbeat dad or a child molester, it's a miracle. If you do come across one that isn't an awful human being, he still isn't allowed to give lectures or teach his children anything, lest he be called judgmental or preachy. Anyway, the purpose of this short was to encourage people to give more to charities to help the poor and unfortunate. Yes, there are amusingly dated elements ("In a midget washroom, everything is midget."). It's very easy to be cynical about these things today and mock them. But it's an earnest, well-meaning short that tugs at the heartstrings while also providing a little humor. Those interested in the past, as well as those who enjoy the Hardy films, will surely find some value in it.

Andy Hardy's Dilemma (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Andy (Mickey Rooney) wrecks his car so he asks the Judge (Lewis Stone) for two-hundred bucks so that he can get a new one. The Judge was planning on donating that money to charity so he must convince Andy that needy people need the money more. This is a fairly good education film that was clearly meant to teach rich people that the poor need help. I think the film started to lose its power at the half way point because it drops the comedy and goes for more over the top melodrama. The first part of the film does a good job at mixing comedy in with the serious nature of the topic with Rooney and Stone working great together.

I ran the department United Way Campaign several years before I retired. Some people have to be convinced to dig down and come up with the dough for charity. This would have been a great short film to show as a part of that campaign. The Judge did a masterful job convincing Andy to dig way down and I suspect that many people who saw this back in 1938 got the message. It makes it very clear that we can touch many lives in such a good way when we give to an organization such as this. The Judge and Andy managed to entertain and still put their lesson in what we need to do in plain view. I want to thank Turner Classic Movies for pulling this one out of the vaults. They should try to show it again when the national campaigns are running as it is still extremely timely. If they do, I also recommend that you take the time to watch.

This public service short, made to raise funds for Los Angeles charities, uses the two main characters from the enormously popular Andy Hardy film series. Here, as so often happened in the feature films, Andy (Mickey Rooney) gets a lesson from his father the judge (Lewis Stone) about doing the right thing.

In this particular case, Andy wants $200 to buy a car, but his father takes him on a tour of places that need the money more. While Andy and his dad stay in character throughout this little film, it dispenses with some fictional conventions. Judge Hardy notes that all the charities are in Los Angeles, "where Andy and I live," not the fictional small town of Carvel, where the movies are set. And an unseen narrator refers to Mickey Rooney, not Andy Hardy.

"Dilemma" offers an interesting look at how things have and have not changed in the United States. The narrator's portentous-sounding revelation about the many "Mexican, Gypsy or Chinese" youngsters in L.A. seems dated now, but it comes with a message of tolerance that was somewhat controversial in 1940 America. The scenes of disabled children in painful-looking medical contraptions are as moving today as they must have been then. And the visit to a home for unwed mothers, with its understated narration, is still powerful.

The kids we see here are part of the older generation now, if they are still alive. I hope this film did its part to make their lives better. Its message is timeless.