Charming and brutal

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

An MGM Picture, copyright 18 July 1939 by Loew's Inc. Release dates: 21 July 1939 (U.S.A.); 25 December 1939 (U.K.). New York opening at the Capitol, 18 July 1939. Australian release: 12 October 1939. 9 reels. 7,683 feet. 85 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Andy falls for the new schoolteacher.NOTES: Number seven in the 16-picture "Hardy Family" series which garnered a special retrospective award in 1943 "for representing the American Way of Life".Film debut of Helen Gilbert. An extraordinarily lovely girl, Helen Gilbert was a cellist in the M-G-M studio orchestra and had recorded many a soundtrack before being discovered by producer Lou Ostrow. Although she never hit the big time, she did make more than a dozen movies over the years, including that staple of Saturday matinees, "Florian" (1940).COMMENT: This one starts as do most of the others, with Judge Hardy handing down some cracker-barrel wisdom in his court room. Then, as with the others, we go behind to the judge's chambers. There, the judge decides to pay some of his bills. The first on the list is the rates and taxes on some property the judge owns. The judge has no sooner signed the check then who should walk in the door, but two gentlemen interested in buying said property. This ridiculous start warns us straightaway that this entry is certainly not one of the better efforts in the series, although the presence of Helen Gilbert lends it a curiosity value and Lester White's photography is unusually attractive. But, as often happened, Lewis Stone is permitted to over-act in a most garrulous fashion. In fact, there is far too much talk altogether in the script. It is worth noting that George B. Seitz made such a hash of this one, MGM was not game to release it and Louis B. Mayor had to call in his favorite director, W.S. Van Dyke, who was asked to "doctor" it up. Van Dyke was not willing, but Mayor pleaded with him to take the assignment as a personal favor. All the same, Van Dyke's efforts have not been particularly successful, although he has made a game attempt to liven up the corny script with tracking shots and pans and much more stylish compositions than rabid Hardy fans are used to. And for once, production values are also top-notch, thanks to Van Dyke's influence with Louis B. Mayer.

As before, once again Andy and Polly are on the outs after the beginning sequence, Andy falls for someone else, and then he comes back to Polly at the end. Previously, they were other teenage girls but here, it's a drama teacher who's several years older. Meanwhile, his dad gets involved in a deal that doesn't turn out well. I'll stop there and just mention that while there's some funny scenes, there's also some drama concerning Andy's crush on this teacher which is handled sensitively. (None of this Mary Kay Letourneau stuff here!) Mickey Rooney truly shines in portraying Andy as hurt when the pain comes. The man-to-man talks he does with Lewis Stone are even more compelling than before as a result. And the actress-Helen Gilbert-who played the teacher certainly has charms aplenty. In summary, Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever is another worthy series entry. P.S. This was the first entry to be directed by someone other than George B. Seitz. W.S. Van Dyke II did the duties here.

It's spring and a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love. We all know what that means for our favorite teenage heartthrob Andy Hardy. After Polly Benedict turns her attentions to a handsome naval officer, Andy is dejected. But that changes when he meets his pretty new drama teacher (Helen Gilbert) and falls head over heels for her. Meanwhile, two con men put one over on Judge Hardy. Nice continuity in this subplot involving the aqueduct land that figured prominently in an earlier Hardy film.The cast is great, as they always were in these movies. This is one of the best in the series for Mickey Rooney to showcase his acting chops. Lovely Helen Gilbert is terrific. Director Woody Van Dyke films her with an almost angelic glow about her. The plot of the teenage boy with a crush on his teacher is hardly original, even for the time, but it's handled with a remarkable sensitivity and maturity. That should come as no surprise to fans of this great series from MGM. All too often these movies are dismissed as corny sentimentalism but they're actually well written and acted dramas with touches of comedy and, yes, homespun Americana that is extinct today. Oh and dig that old-timey lawnmower Lewis Stone uses in one scene. Love little windows into the past like that.

Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939) *** (out of 4) The seventh film in the series finds Andy (Mickey Rooney) heartbroken after Polly (Ann Rutherford) refuses to see him because she gets a crush on a Navy guy. Andy's heartache quickly turns around when he gets a new drama teacher (Helen Gilbert) and quickly falls for her. Meanwhile, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) finds himself in trouble when he gives his life savings for a business plan, which turns out to be a scam. If the innocence of the Andy Hardy series is something that's going to bother you then I'm sure this entry isn't going to change your opinion but fans of the series should find enough good things here to make it worth viewing. I was actually quick shocked to see how much more drama there is rather than comedy. When you think 1939 and hearing a plot about Andy getting a crush on his teacher you pretty much expect it to be handled in a slapstick, silly manor but that's not the case. The film is extremely serious about Andy's love for this teacher and there are a couple quite dark scenes where the two talk about certain boundaries that shouldn't be crossed with a teacher and her student. I thought the screenplay handled the drama extremely well and this is especially true towards the end of the film when the kids are putting on a play written by Andy and he gets to spill his emotions out for everyone to see. Rooney's performance during this dramatic sequence is actually some of the best acting I've seen from him as the power is certainly there. With that said, Rooney also gets to show off his comic timing early on and no one could ever say he didn't bring fire and energy to the role. Rutherford is also excellent here and thankfully her character is given a much more important role than what she had previous seen. The two of them make for a great team and really sell the film well. Stone, as you'd expect, delivers another very strong performance as does the other regulars like Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden and Sara Haden. Gilbert didn't have a very large career but I found her to be very good here as well. ANDY HARDY GETS SPRING FEVER isn't the best of the MGM series but it has enough charm and good will to make it worth viewing.