Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

tavm Just watched this, the first film in the Hardy Family series. Lionel Barrymore, who I'll always first think of as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life-my favorite movie, is the Judge Hardy character who's in it with threats of no renomination because of something he's against resulting in his offspring not liking him as well. Mickay Rooney is here as Andy Hardy. He was 16 at the time. Spring Byington is the mother. Both she and Barrymore would reunite for You Can't Take It With You a year later. Nice mix of drama and comedy throughout. Mickey is especially funny but there's also a turn by screen drunk Arthur Housman who I usually associate with Laurel & Hardy. So on that note, I highly recommend A Family Affair.

Robert J. Maxwell This was the first of the Andy Hardy series, in which Mickey Rooney is the spry young man who croons about cars and is attracted to girls, although he doesn't understand them, or why he's attracted to them. Rooney seems not to walk. He darts from place to place, his skull spins on its axis, hair flopping from side to side. I'd love to have his adrenals.This being fundamentally one of MGM's "happy family" movies -- nobody could foresee the myriad sequels -- Rooney is ranked fourth in the credits, and the pater familias is not the stolid Lewis Stone but the whiney-voiced and more expensive Lionel Barrymore. But this established the framework for the imitations that were to come. Today, it would be a pilot for a TV series.Rooney actually doesn't have all that much screen time. He's attracted to a young girl whom he innocently offends, there is a rift in their relationship, and it's resolved at the end. Ditto for his sister and her boyfriend. Exciting car/truck chase on an unpaved mountain road.The main plot thread involves community pressure being put by the citizens of Carvel on Judge Lionel Barrymore to permit the construction of an aqueduct that will mean lots of jobs for the town. (This is 1937, when jobs were very nice to come by.) Barrymore is a man of principle and insists on making his own judgment about the aqueduct. This earns him the disrespect of his neighbors and there is a great protest against him until, with an imaginary trumpet fanfare, he mounts the podium, waves the mob into silence, and finally explains why he opposes the construction.The apologia takes him about three minutes which, had he spent that time doing the same thing ten minutes into the movie, there would have BEEN no movie.But no matter. The audience applauds wildly, even his most determined adversaries. Judge Hardy wins the election, accepts the Nobel Prize with gratitude and humility, and is offered a long-term movie contract.

CitizenCaine This film is historically notable as the first Andy Hardy film; it's based on an original stage play. It's also part of the first film series that purports to portray the "nuclear" family. Lionel Barrymore is Judge Hardy, the role later made famous by Lewis Stone, and Spring Byington is Mrs. Hardy, the role later played by Fay Holden. Mickey Rooney is seen little as Andy Hardy in this film. The formula was not yet quite in place in this first film for the Hardy family. The story concerns Judge Hardy being blackmailed to remove himself from reelection. Along the way, the judge makes things right with his family and the townsfolk in typical 1930's, righteous, patriarchal fashion. Lionel Barrymore was too good an actor to remain in B-movie fare such as this, and did not return for any of the sequels that followed. The film is a typical example of a Depression era, feel-good, comedy of small town family life. It's mostly dated now, but it's not without its funny moments. **1/2 of 4 stars.

fwrichter This is a excellent start to the film career of Mickey Rooney. His talents here shows that a long career is ahead for him. The car and truck chase is exciting for the 1937 era. This start of the Andy Hardy series is an American treasure in my book. Spring Byington performance is excellent as usual. Please Mr Rooney or owners of the film rights, take a chance and get this produced on DVD. I think it would be a winner.