MartinHafer The plot to "Judge Hardy's Children" is very odd. Apparently, some folks in D.C. have been impressed with Judge Hardy and they invite him and his family to the capital in order to have the judge chair a committee. The children jump right into it, as Marian meets a man who appears infatuated with her and Andy hits it off with a French diplomat's daughter! Pretty weird stuff...especially since one of these people they meet has a hidden agenda. What it is and how it impacts Judge Hardy is for you to see.An interesting episode in a series that is usually very enjoyable...and this is no exception. Well worth seeing.

bkoganbing Because of an opinion rendered in a case involving public utilities Judge Hardy gets an offer he can't refuse, counsel to a Congressional committee investigating public utilities. So the whole family gets packed up to Washington, DC where they get exposed to a far more sophisticated crowd.This was a very topical topic in those New Deal years with among other things the founding of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Private utility companies resented being put under a microscope. The president of one such company became a candidate for president, that would be Wendell Wilkie. Audiences watching this on TCM can't appreciate that now in the way that ticket buyers could and did.Judge Hardy's iron integrity and homespun values from Carvel come up against a real DC operator in Jonathan Hale. Even daughter Cecilia Parker who spills some information unknowingly about the investigation gets dragged into a potential scandal.As for Mickey Rooney he gets involved with the French Ambassador's daughter Jacqueline Laurent and at a cotillion he's invited to shows that crowd what swing and the Big Apple is all about. Chaperone Janet Beecher is not amused.In the end the whole family thinks that Carvel is the place for them. They sure went back in time for the next Hardy family feature from MGM.

vincentlynch-moonoi In this installment of the Andy Hardy movies, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) is sent to Washington to act as chairman of a special committee about power company monopolies. Hardy's daughter is used in social circles to hear what the committee is thinking. Meanwhile, Andy (Mickey Rooney) falls in love...again...this time with the daughter of a French diplomat. The climax is the film is how the judge clears his name regarding the potential scandal on the committee.This is average or better in the series. Mickey Rooney is good, and we do get to see him cut a rug here. Lewis Stone is totally reliable as the judge and father, even correcting his own decisions when they are off base. Fay Holden is good as the mom, as is Cecilia Parker as Andy's sister. This time around it's Betty Ross Clarke as the aunt. Ann Rutherford again plays Polly Benedict, although she doesn't have much screen time.It's an interesting plot, and worth watching if you remember this venerable film series.

Michael_Elliott Judge Hardy's Children (1938) *** (out of 4) The third film in the MGM series has Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) taking a job in Washington, D.C. where he's to work for ten days on a special project. While there Andy (Mickey Rooney) falls in love with a French girl (Jacqueline Laurent) while his sister gets involved with a dirty politician. Those who find these Andy Hardy movies to be too clean or pure for their tastes certainly aren't going to change their opinion with this early entry but fans of the series should find enough charm and entertainment here. At just 78-minutes the film moves by extremely quickly as director Seitz keeps everything going at a fast pace. The weakest aspect of the film is the political stuff because Judge is brought to the Capital to do work on a big project and this talk often gets brought up and it even has a major part in later events in the film but we're never really told anything about it. Often it seems as if something about this project was simply left on the editing room floor and it just seems like Judge spends the majority of his time in a hotel when he's suppose to be working. Outside of that this film has pretty much everything fans would expect and of course a lot of the comedy comes from Rooney who once again delivers a fast and fun performance. One of the highlights of the film happens when Andy seeks advice from his father on whether or not it's normal to want to kiss every beautiful girl you see. Another high mark for Rooney comes during a dance sequence where he tries to teach the French girl the Big Apple. Rooney handles all the charm without a hitch and his father-son stuff with Lewis are well done by the actors. Stone is terrific as usual and Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker and Ann Rutherford are all fine in their roles. Laurent didn't seem to have much of a career in America and only seems to have been in a few French films after this one but I found her to be very charming and a nice match for Rooney. Betty Ross Clarke plays Aunt Millie in this entry and doesn't have the same punch as Sara Haden but this is just a minor issue. Overall, JUDGE HARDY'S CHILDREN is a good entry in the series, which still had many high points to follow for the Hardy clan.