If they had done a "Andy Hardy Goes West" I think it probably would have looked a lot like this episode,
Mickey Rooney dominates the footage as a "young" greenhorn who decides to travel west with his Aunt Em (Ellen Corby). He has to learn how to handle a wagon, his horses, and all the details of a wagon train west. It really is an interesting episode in which they show a lot of details that the show doesn't usually get into.
Rooney plays a very earnest, eager to please character and gets to handle a lot of Andy Hardy-esque comedy, dance and fall in love. The only trouble is that at 39 Rooney is a bit long in the tooth to be reprising Andy Hardy again. It doesn't help that the actress playing his female love interest (Daria Massey) looks to be about 17. (She was replaced in the follow up episode with Olive Sturgess).
But if you can suspend disbelief a little and imagine Rooney is 19 or 20 instead of almost 40 (he looks about 45) this is an enjoyable and fun episode that gives most of the regular cast a light week of work as Rooney carries the ball through much of the show.
Rooney plays a very earnest, eager to please character and gets to handle a lot of Andy Hardy-esque comedy, dance and fall in love. The only trouble is that at 39 Rooney is a bit long in the tooth to be reprising Andy Hardy again. It doesn't help that the actress playing his female love interest (Daria Massey) looks to be about 17. (She was replaced in the follow up episode with Olive Sturgess).
But if you can suspend disbelief a little and imagine Rooney is 19 or 20 instead of almost 40 (he looks about 45) this is an enjoyable and fun episode that gives most of the regular cast a light week of work as Rooney carries the ball through much of the show.