You're Only Young Once

You're Only Young Once is the second film in the Hardy family series from MGM, the first to introduce Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, and Ann Rutherford in their roles in the series and the last to not mention the word 'Hardy' in the title. Quite a lot of precedents I must say.

Lewis Stone has decided the family needs a vacation and he's fixed Catalina Island as the destination of his choice because he wants to get in some deep sea fishing after swordfish. The others all have different ideas, but Stone not a dictatorial tyrant by any means, he brings them all around with charm and sweet reason.

It wouldn't be a Hardy family movie without some young romance. Mickey Rooney falls Eleanor Lynn, child of a several times married woman who is in Reno shedding husband number 4 and leaving Lynn to her own devices. And Cecilia Parker finds handsome lifeguard Ted Pearson on the beach and he's already married.

In the meantime back at the ranch known as their hometown of Carvel, the Judge has co-signed a loan for his friend Frank Craven which has come due and the Hardy home is in jeopardy. But Stone isn't a judge for nothing and the trip to Catalina actually gives him the idea on how to save the situation. For that you watch the movie.

The death of Mickey Rooney has removed the last survivor of this and a whole slew of films. Mickey is at once, brash, eager, charming, a bit naive and a devoted son. It's probably how all his fans remember him.

The Hardy series with its family revamped and set for the duration gives us a good one in You're Only Young Once.

YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937), directed by George B. Seitz, marks the second installment to what was initially noted to be the "Judge Hardy's Family" series. With a new cast replacing its original stars from the introduction film, A FAMILY AFFAIR (MGM, 1937): Lionel Barrymore by Lewis Stone (Judge Hardy); Spring Byington by Fay Holden (Emily Hardy); Margaret Marquis by Ann Rutherford (Polly Benedict); and Charley Grapewin by Frank Craven (Frank Redman), only Cecilia Parker, Mickey Rooney and Sara Haden have become the only hold-outs resuming their original roles. As for the Wayne Trent character, Eric Linden's picture is seen only through a photograph, while the eldest Hardy daughter, Joan (Julie Hayden) was dropped entirely. Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy has more to do here than the previous entry, while Cecilia Parker's older sister, MariOn becomes MariAn. Selmer Jackson playing Hoyt Wells returns for the second and last time, while the Frank Redman character, originally played by Charley Grapewin, would be played for the only time by Frank Craven this time around.

For its plot summary, the story begins with a courtroom session with Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) listening to his latest case. After the case is called to rest, Judge Hardy comes to a conclusion of taking his first vacation away from the bench in eleven years. He takes his wife, Emily (Fay Holden), Aunt Milly (Sara Haden) and their two teenage children, Marian (Cecilia Parker) and Andy (Mickey Rooney) off to Catalina Island where the judge intends on doing some fishing. While there, Marian (Cecilia Parker), still in love with Wayne Trent, finds romance with a young lifeguard named Bill Rand (Ted Pearson), unaware to the fact that she cannot marry him. Andrew (Mickey Rooney), the youngest and only son, becomes acquainted with Josephine "Jerry" Lane (Eleanor Lynn), regardless of the fact that he is now in serious with Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford), his girl back home in Carvel. Because Josie comes from a respectable family of high society, Andy becomes somebody he isn't in order to make a good impression with her. While the family goes through their personal problems, Judge Hardy (after catching a marlin swordfish, a 280-pound fish which goes in the record book dated August 21, 1937), finds some unexpected news awaiting upon their return home. Looks for Charles Judels (Captain Swenson); Erville Alderson (Dave, the Bailiff); Robert Wayne (Ed Carper); Norman Phillips (Harold "Fish" Face); and Spec O'Donnell in supporting roles.

Although forgotten and overlooked among what was to become known as "The Andy Hardy Series," YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE was successful enough to produce more installments. Many situations provided are typical but somewhat dull in the proceedings. Lewis Stone makes a satisfactory head of the family, though his advanced age could be overlooked as appearing more grandfatherly than a father figure. Spring Byington would have made a great Mrs. Hardy, but was committed to another series, the now forgotten "Jones Family" (1936-1940) over at 20th Century-Fox Studios.

Never distributed to video cassette, this 79-minute restored edition of YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE (with the conclusion of Lewis Stone as Judge Hardy talking directly to the viewers thanking them for watching and to look forward for more in later installments in the "Judge Hardy's Family" series), can be found on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel. Next installment: JUDGE HARDY'S CHILDREN (1938). (**1/2)

The Hardy family is going on a summer vacation to Catalina Island in California. Each member has their own misadventures. Father is obsessed with catching a swordfish. Marian falls for a married local. Andy is taken with a fast girl. The Judge is told that his business deal threatens everything including their home.

There is some recasting. Lewis Stone is a capable old actor. Luckily for the series, Mickey Rooney does return. This is all wholesome lessons about bad romances. It's a lot of father knows best. It's light comedy and family friendly. It's another era. It must also be a good time for Catalina tourism.

There was a previous film about this family -"A Family Affair" - made also in 1937. That starred Lionel Barrymore as Judge Hardy and Spring Byington as Mrs. Hardy. Also the Hardy's daughter is married, and her marital problems figure into the plot in a major way. Mickey Rooney is very much a supporting character at that point.

This film changes everything. Lionel Barrymore had health and mobility problems, so Lewis Stone takes over the role of Judge Hardy and very much makes it his own. Spring Byington was not under contract to MGM, so she is not in this film or any other Hardy pictures as Mrs. Hardy. The rest of the supporting cast remains the same, except now Judge Hardy's daughter Marion is now magically single, never married, because more interesting situations can come about that way.

This film takes the family to Catalina Island for a vacation - a long way from Carville. No one family member takes center stage. Instead, both Marion and Andy have romantic problems and learn a few lessons. Lewis Stone as Judge Hardy is probably the central figure if anybody is. And Judge Hardy, before leaving for vacation, takes a chance that could leave the family bankrupt if things don't go his way. And he never even bothered to talk to his wife about it UNTIL it becomes a problem!

MGM apparently correctly judged they had a winning formula in the Hardys, since Lewis Stone appears in a rare epilogue to talk about how this will be a series. It turned out that the series is a good representative of MGM's output prewar and probably American values and outlooks pre war as well. WWII changed everything, and though the series had installments after WWII, it was never quite the same.

This is a good introduction to the Hardy family as it existed in every film but the first one. And that first one is worth watching on its own terms.

You're Only Young Once (1937)

*** (out of 4)

Second film in MGM's Hardy series has Judge (Lewis Stone) taking the family to Catalina Island where his daughter gets involved with a marriage man and Andy (Mickey Rooney) gets involved with a girl (Eleanor Lynn) who certainly doesn't have his best interest in mind. Judge tries to settle their problems while trying to catch a swordfish but not knowing the trouble that awaits them when they get home. Even though this was the second film in the series, in many ways it was the first as this is when Lewis joined the cast and it's rather amazing at how wonderful he was for the part. I love Lionel Barrymore as an actor but he simply wasn't right for the role so it's good that he left the series after A FAMILY AFFAIR and that Stone stepped in. The way he plays Judge as the wise, stern but fair father is certainly one of the most memorable roles from this era in Hollywood. Sure, the film and the subject matters are all way too "friendly" and "clean" but that just adds to the fun nature of the messages. As expected, Rooney is certainly full of energy and he makes for some more good times as his relationship with Lynn is quite fresh and rather romantic. If her birth date on IMDb is correct, then Lynn was probably around 11-years-old when she filmed this, which is somewhat troubling in a few of the scenes where she's smoking and pretty much throwing herself on Andy. I'm not sure what her real age is but she certainly looked and acted much older here. Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Frank Craven and Ann Rutherford are all good in their roles as well. I thought the film, naturally, went for a lot of laughs but the highlights for me were the more dramatic moments. I thought the moments where Judge has to make the decision to educate his children without being too preachy was handled extremely well and I thought the moments were quite tender and refreshing. There's a sequence where his daughter comes in drunk after Judge has learned that the man is married and the way this scene plays out is certainly the best part of the film. I thought the final ten-minutes were somewhat of a drag when the family left the island but this is still a pleasant little film that fans will enjoy.