Love Laughs at Andy Hardy

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946) starring Mickey Rooney, Bonita Granville, Dorothy Ford, Lewis Stone

In a bittersweet entry in the series, Love Laughs at Andy Hardy takes the title seriously. Andy returns home from World War II, and hopes to return to college. And, to reignite his romance with Kay. There are the normal shenanigans, such as locking himself out of the house, or the big dance with 6’2″ Coffy. She’s one of the nicest people in the movie, in fact.

But his heart gets seriously broken when Kay marries another man. An older man — her guardian! He’s a successful man at 35, and even asks Andy to be the best man at his wedding. At Kay’s request.

Andy does so, but he’s truly heartbroken. And has lost his interest in college … He’s thinking of moving to South America to make his fortune. Until he meets a singing and dancing South American beauty. Some things never change, apparently …

Cast of characters

• Mickey Rooney (Requiem for a Heavyweight) as Andy Hardy. The young man come home from World War II, and tries to pick up his life. Interestingly, in real life this was Mickey Rooney’s first film made after his return from World War II.
• Lewis Stone as Judge Hardy. Still the voice of reason in Andy’s life.
• Bonita Granville (Merrily We Live) as Kay Wilson. Andy’s former girlfriend, who breaks his heart.
• Dorothy Ford (Jack and the Beanstalk) as Coffy Smith. The tall, pretty girl who becomes Andy’s true friend.
• Dick Simmons as Dane Kittridge. Kay’s legal guardian, who later marries her. More than a little creepy, actually …

Editorial review of Love Laughs at Andy Hardy courtesy of Amazon.com

Andy (Mickey Rooney) met his sweetheart Kay Wilson (Bonita Granville) at Wainwright College, but has since served in the military and is now being discharged. Naturally, things go awry as soon as he arrives back home. This was presumably the last film in the Hardy series, for 12 years would pass before Rooney would reprise the character in “Andy Hardy Comes Home“. In the meantime, keep an eye out for gorgeous 6’2” model Dorothy Ford, cast here as Andy’s substitute date for the college dance. As the dazzling Coffy Smith, Ford shows Andy that there is always fun to be had, even if your original plans go ka-blooey…

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Mickey Rooney reprises one of his most famous roles in his first film back from serving in World War II. Andy Hardy (Rooney) returns home from the service to his loving family with the intention of going to college, where he meets and falls in love with co-ed Kay Wilson (Bonita Granville). When she decides to wed another man, Hardy is heartbroken and contemplates running to South America to make ihs fortune. After a talk with his father, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone), Andy decides to stay and finds his luck changes when he meets another girl, a foreign exchange student from South America.