How sad is this?

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A lot had happened between Judy Garland's first appearance in the Judge Hardy's Family series-in 1938's Love Finds Andy Hardy-and her second appearance in this one that I'm now reviewing. The year before this one, she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz which, while not a blockbuster on the Gone with the Wind scale, would eventually become a classic perhaps due to CBS's annual showings from the '50s to the late '90s. She had also teamed equally with Mickey Rooney in the first of their "let's-put-on-a-show" musicals called Babes in Arms. So when she appeared as Betsy Booth again here, she seemed more poised and naturally sophisticated. And her scenes with Rooney were among the best in the movie culminating in a possible romance between them near the end. In fact, unlike previous entries, this one doesn't start with Judge Hardy in court session nor end with Andy reuniting with Polly by kissing her (though, of course, they do get back together). While Andy does seem to fall for Betsy though, most of the plot concerns his getting in trouble by lying about knowing New York socialite Daphne Fowler (Diana Lewis) and trying to get to her. The humor is more subdued here but it's still there like when Andy goes to a fancy restaurant and just orders the specials without considering the prices! It's especially noticeable when Andy and Marion don't argue like they usually do! Anyway, largely because of the special bond between Judy and Mickey and of hearing Judy's wonderful singing voice on two songs here, I highly recommend Andy Hardy Meets Debutante.

Andy's got a crush on famous New York socialite Daphne Fowler (Diana Lewis) and brags to Polly and Beezy that he knows her. Judge Hardy has to go to New York to save the Carvel orphanage and decides to bring the family along. When Andy's friends hear about this, they expect him to bring back photographic proof of his romance with Daphne. Once in New York, he gets help from his friend Betsy Booth (Judy Garland), who's grown up some and still in love with Andy.The ninth entry in the MGM Andy Hardy film series is a good one. Probably the most quotable of the Hardy movies. Lots of funny lines ("We're not hillbillies. We wear shoes every day."). Mickey Rooney is terrific. Andy always had to learn life lessons in these movies but here he learns them all the hard way and Mickey does a fantastic job making Andy sympathetic while making us shake our heads at him at the same time. Judy Garland reprises her role as Betsy Booth from earlier in the series. She's a joy to watch and has great chemistry with Mickey. She gets to sing a couple of nice songs, too. Clyde Wilson steals his few scenes as the orphan Francis, who gets man-to-man advice from Andy. Cy Kendall has a good part as the owner of a fancy restaurant who gives Andy a tongue lashing for running up a bill pretending to be a big shot ("I've got eight dollars in my bankroll and with eight dollars I could buy the Club Sirocco."). A really good entry in the series with quality writing and solid performances from everybody.

What were the most memorable parts of the film? 1. The title, which could probably benefit from a "the." 2. The goofy scene where the judge gives a small child to a strange man, who will keep the boy for the day and have fun with him. OK...3. The fact that when the Hardys visit New York City, there's a story about it in the local newspaper. And it's the lead story on the front page. (Man, that must be a small town, if people going away constitutes news.) I hope nobody broke into their house while they were away.4. The final image of the film, which seems to hint at Mickey Rooney's future marital life. (He was married a lot.)

Andy Hardy may have been the shining member of his class in Carvel, but when his family goes to New York with the Judge on business, he finds he can't take it on as he did the less sophisticated people in his home town. He has lied to his girlfriend Polly that he has made friends with a rising young New York débutante named Daphne Fowler (Diana Lewis). She expects evidence or will put a doctored picture of Daphne and Andy on the school's newspaper. I guess Polly had access to some pre-historic version of photo shop because she sends him a copy of the cover she intends to use unless he comes back with proof. In New York, Andy runs into old pal Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) whom he still considers a little girl. But two years have turned Betsy into a lovely teenaged girl and she has moved gracefully out of adolescence into being rather sophisticated herself. She looks like Jane Wyman in the later "Lost Weekend" in her leopard coat and hat. Of course, she still gets two songs belittling her attempts to find romance-"Alone" and "I'm Nobody's Baby". She adds some comic twists to the first song in order to get Andy's attention, and finally does when she starts swingin' to the latter. Andy finally opens his eyes to what he has been missing and sees his feelings for the débutante for the infatuation it was.As far as the other Hardy's, Andy and Marian don't argue all that much in this one which is a nice omission from the previous films, and Fay Holden's ma finally is the more gentle "would you care for more pie?" type mom rather than the lightly nagging wife she was in the beginning of the series. Sara Haden is back as Aunt Millie although she doesn't appear in the opening credits. She is actually more sympathetic to Andy than his parents are, while some of Lewis Stone's fatherly advice is laughably preachy. French born George P. Breakston is the little boy (whom Andy first assumes is a little girl) who is used in a silly plot twist involving Judge Hardy's attempts to keep funding for the Carvel orphanage from being stopped.I can't highly recommend this film other than for die-hard Judy fans. It's another MGM moral lesson from Louis B. Mayer's one-sided mind of what the American family should be, never has been, and never could be. The saving grace in this aspect of the film is that Andy does get himself into a shopping cart load of trouble and is less than the peppy All-American teenager Andy was in his home town. Look for references and a photo of Lana Turner's character Cynthia, who is mentioned several times, and referenced to no longer living in town.