I had watched a few movies in the Andy Hardy series and while they were mildly entertaining, they were kind of repetitive and a bit annoying (though I guess I feel this way partly because Mickey Rooney gets on my nerves after a time). Since most have his name in the title, I didn't know "A Family Affair" was the first in the series, until I started watching it. Maybe they should have quit while they were ahead.
I have nothing against Lewis Stone and Fay Holden, who played Judge Hardy and his wife in the movies that followed, but they couldn't hold a candle to Lionel Barrymore and Spring Byington. I could say that it's because I'm biased, as they're two of my fav actors, but I don't think that's the case. At any rate, L. B. did a superb job as a judge of strong moral character and conviction, who stuck to his guns about an aqueduct being a bad idea for the town, despite pressure from the outside, and angry neighbors, even the disappointment of his family, like his youngest daughter, whose boyfriend would be out of a job because of this. He had good reason for huis decision, as you find out toward the end of the film.
The judge and his wife do their best to give their children a moral compass to live by and are there to support them when things go wrong, without judging them (no pun intended), like when their eldest daughter's marriage is in trouble, partly because of her foolish mistake.
There's also some of Andy Hardy's silliness, (kid with a bit of an attitude problem, as well as conceit), which sets the tone for what's to come in the rest of the films. That's too bad, because this one focused on everyone in the way the rest never did, putting the spotlight on Andy instead. That took away a lot, making them a lot less interesting, at least to me. I only saw two or three of them, and that was enough.
If you only see one, see this first one, you can skip the rest.
I have nothing against Lewis Stone and Fay Holden, who played Judge Hardy and his wife in the movies that followed, but they couldn't hold a candle to Lionel Barrymore and Spring Byington. I could say that it's because I'm biased, as they're two of my fav actors, but I don't think that's the case. At any rate, L. B. did a superb job as a judge of strong moral character and conviction, who stuck to his guns about an aqueduct being a bad idea for the town, despite pressure from the outside, and angry neighbors, even the disappointment of his family, like his youngest daughter, whose boyfriend would be out of a job because of this. He had good reason for huis decision, as you find out toward the end of the film.
The judge and his wife do their best to give their children a moral compass to live by and are there to support them when things go wrong, without judging them (no pun intended), like when their eldest daughter's marriage is in trouble, partly because of her foolish mistake.
There's also some of Andy Hardy's silliness, (kid with a bit of an attitude problem, as well as conceit), which sets the tone for what's to come in the rest of the films. That's too bad, because this one focused on everyone in the way the rest never did, putting the spotlight on Andy instead. That took away a lot, making them a lot less interesting, at least to me. I only saw two or three of them, and that was enough.
If you only see one, see this first one, you can skip the rest.