In this entry of the popular series, the Hardys visit a ranch in Arizona.

Judge Hardy gets a letter from an old friend, Dora Northcote, who owns a ranch in Arizona along with her husband Bill. She is having a problem with water rights to her land that may lead to her and her husband having to sell out to a neighboring landowner who has designs on the property. The complicating factor is that years ago, in his single days, the Judge and Dora got lost after a picnic and caused a minor scandal. The judge says this one secret is one he wants to continue to keep from Mrs. Hardy.

In a separate subplot, Andy Hardy has recently gotten a letter in high school basketball, and it's given him a swelled head, making him think for some reason that his opinion, time, and general athletic prowess are above that of everyone else. Judge Hardy decides that going to the ranch would be a fine vacation for the family, plus it would give him a chance to look into the water rights problem firsthand, so off they go.

This entry gives the characters the opportunity to have many humorous "fish out of water" moments. MGM contract child actress Virginia Weidler plays Jake, the daughter of the Northcote ranch's foreman, who has some humorous moments outsmarting and outdoing Andy Hardy who goes around dressed in a ridiculous western outfit complete with chaps. I wonder if he even knows what the chaps are for? Weidler was always a cut above most child actors of the time, being genuinely engaging and not participating in so much of the cornball sicky sweet stuff that child actors did during the early production code era.

Also note that in the opening scene Judge Hardy is sentencing a well-groomed young man - obviously not a hooligan - for acting precisely like a hooligan. That unapologetic young man is played by Tom Neal in his screen debut. Unfortunately, Neal's screen career was cut short for actually acting like a hooligan.

If you like the Andy Hardy series and like the characters you will like this entry.

The fifth entry in the Hardy family series is set out west on a ranch and uses a lot of fish-out-of-water comedy that many films employ when they involve city folks being placed out west. Mickey Rooney dresses up in chaps and even tries to walk bow-legged when he sees a ranch hand walk that way; Cecilia Parker is suckered into boiling Gordon Jones' boots and polishing them with molasses by Jones' jealous daughter, Virginia Weidler; and even Lewis Stone wears a cowboy hat. Unfortunately, most of the comedy is predictable, especially if you've seen City Slickers (1991) and other films of that type. The comedy is intermixed with some drama (Rooney causing Weidler's horse to break a leg, for example) and suspense.

I enjoyed the story and the resolution of all the problems that arose. Mickey Rooney seems to mug a bit more than usual, but he's fun to watch. Lewis Stone gives his usual fine performance dispensing his sage advice and Virginia Weidler is very good as the precocious eight-year old who out-slickers Rooney and Parker. If you're into the Hardy series, you'll enjoy the film.

Judge Hardy and his family take off for Arizona when one of dad's close friends runs into some legal trouble and may lose her ranch. The elder daughter Marian falls for a foreman at the ranch (Gordon Jones), whose 8-year-old tomboy daughter "Jake" starts to get a crush of sorts on Andy Hardy. This wasn't an exceptional entry but it has its moments of comedy (Jake tries to sabotage Marian's efforts to impress the girl's father) and drama (Andy unintentionally causes Jake's favorite horse to break its leg). I am beginning to become aware already that Mickey Rooney mugs to wild extremes as Andy Hardy.

**1/2 out of ****

Andy obnoxious and conceited letter in basketball??

When the story begins, Andy is behaving weirdly....even for Andy. He's quite obnoxious and conceited...and Polly is naturally angry at him. Why is he so fat-headed? Apparently, he just got his high school letter for...basketball(!!!!!). Now I know that basketball players were not as tall in the good old days, but at 5'2", hearing that he's a star basketball player is pretty weird and hard to believe.

In the midst of this, Judge Hardy announces he's taking the family on vacation at a dude ranch. For the judge, it's a working vacation and he's there to try to help the owners in a water rights dispute. Along the way, Andy's sister falls in love with a widower and Andy hangs around with a precocious kid (Virginia Weidler). How all this works out is for you to learn when you see this one.

This is a pretty good installment of the series....not among the best but still quite enjoyable.

Though this Hardy Family film is listed as a comedy, it includes a healthy dose of tears, which may be why it gets lesser marks than others in the series. Still, Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) brings his brand of teenage silliness to the proceedings.

The family goes out west to visit friends who own a working ranch. They are having problems that Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) might be able to help with. Daughter Marian (Cecilia Parker) is smitten with a ranch hand, and Andy reluctantly pals around with a spunky cowgirl named Jake, played by Virginia Weidler (who appears in two other films with Rooney).

The show business adage says you should never work with children or animals, but Rooney does both here and, though Virginia is a real scene-stealer, he holds his own. A better film that shows Rooney's western talents is "Girl Crazy" (1943).

As the title implies, the Hardy family goes west where the judge tries to help some old friends save their ranch-which I guess was very much a cliché since I saw this plot on a 2-part "Happy Days" ep back in the late '70s! Some funny stuff involving Andy, as usual, who trades quips and games with a cowgirl kid named Jake (Virginia Wiedler). Her father (Gordon Jones, who I mainly remember as Mike the Cop on "The Abbott & Costello Show") falls for Marian as she with him. She tries to see how to live in the west in a trial marriage but Jake doesn't like her so she tries to sabotage it. That last part I don't think I liked much, in fact, it bogged the film down a bit when Marian follows Jake's instructions before finding out they're wrong. When they went back home in Carvel, the movie seemed to be even a bit longer but when it reached the end with Andy and Polly, it seemed worth it. So on that note, Out West with the Hardys is worth a look for anyone interested in seeing each entry of this series.

This was a fun diversion for the Hardy Family viewer. The Hardy family as the title suggests heads out west. In the west Andy ends up meeting a girl, but for once not a love interest as she is about half his age. The youngster holds her own against Andy as he tries to be a cowboy. These two characters pretty well carry the film. The rest is fairly predictable with the sister meeting a love interest and Judge Hardy trying to help his friend hang onto the ranch through legal maneuvers.

OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1938), marks the fifth entry to the "Judge Hardy's Family/Andy Hardy" series, following its previous installments of A FAMILY AFFAIR (1937), YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE (1937), JUDGE HARDY'S CHILDREN (1938) and the immensely popular, LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY (1938). Featuring the standard cast of Lewis Stone (Judge James K. Hardy), Mickey Rooney (Andrew Hardy), Cecilia Parker (Marian Hardy), Fay Holden (Emily Hardy), this edition also welcomes back Sara Haden as the family's Aunt Milly Forrest, the role recast in two previous installments by Betty Ross Clark. As in many a film series, there would be a matter of time before its title characters would venture out west, and this is it, though not in a sense of cowboys, horses and bar room brawls found in many a western, but another vacation for the family where the father helps with another family's situations.

The story starts off briefly in the courtroom before Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) receives a telegram from his friend's wife out west who is in need of financial assistance. Later, in the Hardy household, the family is gathered together or dinner before the lights suddenly go out. Son Andy (Mickey Rooney) solves the darkness problem by placing a penny in the fuse box. Situations ensue as Mother Hardy (Fay Holden), upset over her personal problems, feels she needs a rest. To assist his wife, Hardy packs up the family for rest and relaxation out west so Hardy can assist Dora and Bill Northcole's (Nana Bryant and Ralph Morgan) with their troubles. While in Medville, Arizona, Hardy attempts in helping the Northcole's settle their water rights problem with H. R. Bruxton (Thurston Hall), or else they will face eviction from their ranch. Then there's daughter, Marian, who recently had broken up with her boyfriend, Dennis Hunt (Don Castle) back home, becoming romantically involved with Ray Holt (Gordon Jones), a foreman rancher and widower father of an eight-year-old daughter, Jake (Virginia Weidler). Now in love with Ray and contemplating marriage, Marian decides to try out country living by awaking at 5 a.m., and making long preparations of the day starting with breakfast. Jake, however, disapproves of Marian with possibilities of her becoming her new mother, while she has taken a liking to her younger brother, Andy, who rather become involved with a girl closer to his own age. Others in the cast consist of Tom Neal (Aldrich Brown); Anthony Allan (Cliff Thomas); and Gordon Douglas (Mr. Carter). Series regulars Ann Rutherford (Polly Benedict, Andy's girlfriend) and Erville Alderson (Dave, the courtroom bailiff) can be seen in smaller roles.

Though not as successful nor memorable as LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS is standard comedy-drama. Though there are some moments of humor involving Andy trying life as a cowboy, there's also some serious moments involving Andy's accident while riding Jake's Calico horse, resulting to a broken leg, bringing tearful moments involving little Jake. Rooney and Weidler. Who work well together, would team up together again in YOUNG TOM EDISON (1940) and BABES ON BROADWAY (1941).

As with YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE, where the Hardy's take time away from their hometown of Carvel, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS returns to similar material involving Andy's antics and Marian's new romantic interest. A bit slow-moving at 84 minutes, the film is worthy viewing by fans of the series. Never distributed on video cassette but available on DVD, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS can be seen from time to time, along with 15 additional episodes in the series, on Turner Classic Movies. Next installment: THE HARDY'S RIDE HIGH (1939) (***)

Lewis Stone as Judge James Hardy is not one ever to not answer the plea of an old friend, in this case an old friend he might have been romantically involved with back in the day. Nana Bryant has written to Stone from Arizona where she and husband Ralph Morgan own a ranch they're about to lose because their neighbor Thurston Hall won't renew their water rights without a hefty price interest that would break them. So the nuclear family Hardys, Stone, Fay Holden, Mickey Rooney, and Cecilia Parker go off Out West With The Hardys.

Coincidentally enough it's at a time where both Hardy children are having some romantic difficulties. When are they ever not in this series? But Parker is taking a liking to widower ranch foreman Gordon Jones while his daughter Virginia Weidler show Rooney there's a lot more to being a cowboy than dressing the part.

Although this Hardy family film has a lot of good points to it. It's bogged down by the fact Mickey really acts like a jerk in this one. As usual trying to show off. This is one time a father and son talk just was not the answer, the Mick needed a trip to the woodshed.

As it always does everything works out between Mickey finding a solution to the mess he makes, Parker deciding that maybe she's a city girl after all, and Fay Holden of all people coming up with the solution to the problems of her husband's old girl friend.

Not the best of the Hardy series, but all right.

When an old flame asks Judge Hardy for help, he packs up the whole family and heads to Arizona. Once there Marian falls for a cowboy with a daughter, much to the concern of her parents. Surprisingly this entry doesn't have much in the way of Andy's usual girl troubles. There's a tiff with on-again/off-again girlfriend Polly Benedict (the always adorable Ann Rutherford), but that's before they even leave Carvel. Once out west Andy's story centers around a friendship with a young tomboy (Virginia Weidler).

Lewis Stone is very likable in this one, playing up some of the typically stiff Judge Hardy's flaws. There's an amusing subplot about the Judge fearing his saintly wife will find out about some decades-old scandal involving a picnic and his ex. The whole thing is cute and much ado about nothing, of course. Mickey Rooney has one of his more "love him or hate him" turns here. Andy's supposed to learn a lesson in humility. To get him to that point the script basically has him acting like a pompous jerk for an hour. Rooney conquers the material, though, and manages to make Andy likable even when he's not so very. Fay Holden gets a little more to do than usual and owns every scene. She's delightful and impossible to dislike. Cecilia Parker is fine as Marian. I never really care for Marian's stories but this one was better than usual as Marian wasn't too bratty. Sara Haden returns to the series as Aunt Millie after being replaced by Betty Ross Clark for two movies. Virginia Weidler is fun and has a nice rapport with Rooney.

Tom Neal appears in opening scene as a punk who stopped two gunmen and now believes he can do whatever he wants. Judge Hardy reads him the riot act, which is always fun to see. Ralph Morgan has a small role as the husband of the Judge's ex. A decent Hardy movie but not one of my favorites. The plots just aren't that strong, although the performances elevate it. I usually hate it when old series would do their obligatory western episode but this one does better than average with it.

When I first started watching the Andy Hardy movies, I couldn't stand them. Mickey Rooney was a bobble-headed buffoon who was so ridiculously ruled by his hormones that if anyone acted like that in real life, people would avoid eye contact on the street. Then, I got into a good batch of movies and started to enjoy them. With Lewis Stone giving his man-to-man talks, always having patience with his perpetually mistake-making children, and David Snell's hummable theme present at the start and end of every single volume, I looked forward to watching more. Then I watched Out West with the Hardys. Folks, this one's pretty bad.

Judge Hardy takes his family on a vacation to his friend's ranch. He confides in his sister-in-law that decades earlier, he had a romance with his pal's, Ralph Morgan's, now-wife. With that incredibly juicy tidbit implanted in the audience's mind, it's a bit of a disappointment that nothing comes of that plot point. There's no jealousy, no blackmail, no rebuffed dalliance. Instead, Lewis just tries to help Ralph financially so he doesn't lose the ranch.

The kids, Cecilia Parker and Mickey Rooney, are distracted by fresh faces on the ranch. Cecilia falls in love with single father Gordon Jones, but his daughter, Virginia Weidler, doesn't like the idea of a new stepmother. Meanwhile, Virginia gloms onto Mickey, and even though he's not interested in her in the slightest, he's determined to show her he can be as much of a cowboy as she can. Everything, from his outfit to his sharpshooting attempts, are extremely silly. The one time the movie isn't extremely silly it's pretty upsetting. Poor Virginia is put through a sad crying scene, and it's not exactly in league with the rest of the Hardy troubles. If you love horses and are drawn to this one because of the equestrian theme, I'd think twice before renting it. Stick with National Velvet instead.

Out West with the Hardys (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Fine entry in the MGM series has Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) taking the family to a ranch in Arizona where he hopes to help his old friends who have gotten into some trouble with their land and water. Out on the ranch Marian (Cecilia Parker) falls for yet another guy while Andy (Mickey Rooney) must learn the hard way that he's got a lot of learning to do before he can call himself a man. While this fifth entry is certainly a step down from the past couple entries this is still a pretty entertaining film thanks in large part to the terrific cast who have no trouble getting into their parts. Considering this was the third film in the series within 1938 alone you can understand how the product felt somewhat rushed. The movie has a fairly good story overall but at the same time everything seemed a tad bit too rushed and there isn't nearly as many funny moments as some of the earlier entries. I think the best stuff in the movie happen between Andy and the 8-year-old Jake (Virginia Weidler) who starts to have a crush on him. There's a lot of heart between the two as they start off not liking one another but quickly she ends up teaching Andy quite a few things. As you'd expect there's a lot more drama between Judge and Andy as the older, wiser dad must teach his son several lessons about life. As usual Stone and Rooney are downright terrific in their roles so they have no problem pulling off the father-son relationship. Hearing the two of them talk together comes off so real that I could listen to them speak for hours at a time. The supporting cast offers up some strong work with Parker, Ann Rutherford and Fay Holden fitting back into their roles with no trouble. Sara Haden is back as Aunt Milly after being MIA in the previous two films. Weidler is very charming in her role but I later learned she walked away from showbiz at the age of 17 and sadly ended up dying at the age of 42 from a heart attack. While there's no question this is a step down from some of the previous films, OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS at least has the terrific cast and they make this worth sitting through.

Judge Hardy gets a letter from a former flame. She needs legal help for her family's Arizona ranch. Their neighbor holds their water rights. Andy (Mickey Rooney) is getting conceited. Mom is obsessed with spring cleaning and growing frustrated. The Judge decides to bring the whole family out west for a break.

Judy Garland is gone. Andy takes a step back. The whole franchise takes a step back. At least, Andy gets his comeuppance in the end and Jake has some fun with him. This is not the best idea. It's an excuse for Andy to dress up as a cowboy and for Marian to kiss one. This is basically a family sitcom deciding to go on a trip to spice things up to start the new season.

The Hardys go west in this routine--actually, a little less than routine--outing in the "Hardy Family" series. This entry seemed to have lost the fabled MGM "gloss" and looked more like something from Monogram, with its preponderance of glaringly obvious rear projection and use of stock footage. Beefy Gordon Jones, best remembered as Mike the Cop in the "Abbott & Costello" '50s TV series, played in several westerns and always looked out of place, as he does here, especially as the love interest for Andy's sister. Lewis Stone does his usual good job as the stern but caring Judge Hardy, and Virginia Weidler as an eight-year-old "cowgirl", is--as has been previously mentioned--excellent, coming across as cute but not cloying. Although I've only seen a few Hardy films and am aware of Mickey Rooney's tendency to overact outrageously, it's a wonder he didn't permanently stretch his face out of shape with his out-of-control mugging or break some bones with the wild pratfalls he took. This is probably the most irritating ham-acting job I've ever seen him do, and that's saying something.

If this is a typical example of the Andy Hardy films, then I'm glad I've only seen a few and have no plans to see any more.