TCM Schedule for Thursday, December 16 -- Star of the Month -- Mickey Rooney

[Staph]

It's all Andy Hardy all day long, broadcast in reverse! We begin the morning with the last of the Andy Hardy films, and work backwards to the very first at 7:15 tomorrow morning. What a strange and interesting way to view the development of the characters. Enjoy!


5:15am -- TCM Presents Elvis Mitchell Under the Influence: Ed Norton (2008)
Celebrities reveal the classic movies that influenced their lives in interviews with acclaimed film critic/interviewer Elvis Mitchell.
C-26 mins, TV-MA

Norton was nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Primal Fear (1996) and American History X (1998).


5:50am -- One Reel Wonders: Salar The Leaper (1957)
An RKO Sportscope short about Atlantic salmon fly-fishing in New Brunswick, Canada.
Cast: Andre Baruch
Dir: Douglas Sinclair
BW-8 mins

André Baruch was a radio and TV announcer who provided the signature introduction for such radio programs as The Shadow, Your Hit Parade, and The Kate Smith Hour.


6:00am -- Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958)
In a sequel to the popular film series, Andy Hardy returns to Carvel to negotiate a land deal.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Patricia Breslin, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker
Dir: Howard W. Koch
BW-80 mins, TV-G

Instead of "The End," this film concludes with a title card saying "To Be Continued." But there were no further Hardy films and no continuation.


7:30am -- Love Laughs At Andy Hardy (1946)
A small-town boy returns to college after the war only to find his sweetheart engaged to another.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Sara Haden, Bonita Granville
Dir: Willis Goldbeck
BW-93 mins, TV-G

The last film in the Andy Hardy series in which Lewis Stone plays Judge Hardy.


9:15am -- Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)
A college boy has to cope with a pair of beautiful twins.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden, Sara Haden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-107 mins, TV-G

MGM originally intended to continue the Hardy family pictures without Mickey Rooney, who was overseas in the Army. The New York Times reported in February 1945 that author Booth Tarkington had been hired by MGM to write a film story to feature Lewis Stone, Fay Holden and Sara Haden in their usual roles. The film was never made and Mickey Rooney was back by the time the next Hardy family film went before the cameras.


11:15am -- A Courtship Of Andy Hardy (1942)
A teenager dates a girl whose parents' divorce is being decided by his father.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-95 mins, TV-G

Donna Reed's only appearance in the Andy Hardy series.


1:00pm -- Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942)
A new college student lets romance get in the way of his studies.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-92 mins, TV-G

First full length movie of Esther Williams.


2:45pm -- Life Begins For Andy Hardy (1941)
A small-town boy tries life in the big city before going to college.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-101 mins, TV-G

Four songs prerecorded by Judy Garland were not used in the film: Cole Porter's "Easy to Love" (available on the Rhino CD, "Judy Garland: Collectors' Gems from the M-G-M Films"); the patriotic "America (My Country Tis of Thee)" (written by Henry Carey and Samuel Francis Smith); plus two religious songs: "Abide with Me" and "The Rosary." Miss Garland's one musical moment in the release print was her unaccompanied rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" (music and lyrics by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill). The movie's original poster raves, "Mickey woos! Judy sings! Best Hardy yet!"


4:30pm -- Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941)
On the verge of graduation, a high-school boy decides he needs a social secretary.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-101 mins, TV-G

Kathryn Grayson's film debut.


6:15pm -- Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
A teenage boy goes into debt to court a Manhattan socialite.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-88 mins, TV-G

The picture on "last year's" high school magazine that is shown is that of Lana Turner, who was in the Hardy Family series movie, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). The character she played, Cynthia Potter, is also mentioned.


8:00pm -- Judge Hardy And Son (1939)
A small-town judge tries to save an elderly couple from eviction while coping with his wife's illness.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-90 mins, TV-G

Ann Rutherford, who plays Andy Hardy's sometime girlfriend Polly Benedict, is one of the three remaining actresses from Gone With The Wind (1939). The other two are Olivia de Havilland (Melanie Wilkes) and Alicia Rhett (India Wilkes).


9:45pm -- Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
A teenage boy falls in love with his drama teacher.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II
BW-86 mins, TV-G

The seventh of the sixteen Andy Hardy films.


11:16pm -- One Reel Wonders: Loews Christmas Greeting (Hardy Family) (1939)
Andy Hardy and the rest of the Hardy family wake up Christmas morning to gifts and give a holiday greeting to viewers.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
BW-3 mins

Cecilia Parker, who played Andy's big sister Marian, was born in Canada and became an American citizen in 1940.


11:30pm -- The Hardys Ride High (1939)
A small-town family inherits a fortune but has trouble adjusting to society life.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-81 mins, TV-G

Lewis Stone's death was a particularly tragic one. A group of rowdy teenagers had invaded his meticulously kept garden, and he ran out to prevent damage and ask them to leave. The effort proved too much for the gallant 73-year-old and he collapsed of a heart attack, dying almost instantly.


1:00am -- Out West With The Hardys (1938)
A small-town judge takes his family on a western vacation so he can help a friend negotiate water rights.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-84 mins, TV-G

Film debut of Tom Neal. In 1951, in a dispute over the on-again / off-again affections and the wavering allegiance of notorious actress / "party girl" Barbara Payton, Neal mixed it up with Payton's paramour, the aristocratic actor Franchot Tone. The former college boxer Neal inflicted upon Tone a smashed cheekbone, a broken nose and a brain concussion. Hollywood essentially blackballed Neal thereafter, but he would come to find a livelihood in gardening and landscaping. He was brought to trial in 1965 for the murder of his wife Gale, who had been shot to death with a .45-caliber bullet to the back of her head. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Neal, which at the time meant a trip to the cyanide-gas chamber. The trial jury, however, convicted him only of "involuntary manslaughter", for which he was sentenced to 10 years in jail. On 7 December 1971 he was released on parole, having served exactly six years to the day. Eight months later, Tom Neal was dead of heart failure.


2:30am -- Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
A small-town boy tries to juggle two girlfriends at once.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-91 mins, TV-G

Shot on a 19-day production schedule with an additional week allotted for Judy Garland's production numbers. Released a mere two months after production wrapped. This was the first of Judy's three appearances in Andy Hardy films.


4:15am -- Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
A small-town judge's Washington trip lands his son in hot water with a diplomat's daughter.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-77 mins, TV-G

The first of two appearances of Betsy Ross Clarke as Andy's Aunt Milly Forest. The character was played by Sara Haden in the other films.