As usual, Andy Hardy's troubles are of his own making. After his regular girl Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford) tells Andy she thinks they should start seeing other people, he constructs an emotional wall founded on a lie. He tells Polly and his friend Beezy that Miss Daphne Fowler, New York's top debutante, is mad about him; the only problem is that he has no way of getting to New York to be with her. As luck would have it (Andy's luck, anyway), his father Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) soon announces that the whole family is going to New York in order for him to help settle a dispute threatening to shut down Carvel's home for orphans. Andy's supposed love affair with Miss Fowler is set for publication in the school's paper, and if Andy doesn't return with a picture of Daphne and himself to corroborate his claims, he will be ruined socially.
The Hardys are met in New York by Betsy Booth (Judy Garland), whose crush on Andy has not faded one bit since her last visit to Carvel. As always, Betsy gives Andy all the help she can, despite his refusal to tell her what it is all about. The small town boy in New York City makes some of his biggest and most embarrassing blunders yet, leaving him so distraught that he even offends his magnanimous father by asking why he couldn't be rich and socially placed instead of just a small town judge. Even a lesson in the history and spirit of America leaves Andy unmoved and his father visibly disappointed in him, although it offers a terrific and inspirational message on the equality of man. Judge Hardy has troubles of his own, though. Expecting an easy victory over a big New York law firm in the case of the orphanage, he finds himself feeling out-classed for a time and must struggle mightily to figure out a way to save the orphanage.
Betsy Booth is any young man's dream come true, although Andy Hardy has trouble noticing this obvious fact. Judy Garland contributes two wonderful songs to her entrancing performance, one of which, in the words of her character, will either bring Andy around or prove that he is made of concrete. Her dramatically expressive singing of the song Alone fails to penetrate the blinders on Andy's eyes, but her spirited singing of I'm Nobody's Baby later on finally manages to touch the heart of the boy she adores. This leads to a somewhat melancholy, incredibly tender, deeply touching scene between Betsy and Andy toward the end of the picture.
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante is one of the early Judy Garland movies than any Garland fan simply must have in his/her movie collection. Judy is stunningly beautiful and charmingly vivacious, and her two very different but equally powerful songs stand among the best of her early career. Her acting skills are almost as impressive as her singing, and it really pains me to see the very visible tears in her eyes whenever Andy fails to notice, let alone, reciprocate her love for him. The final scene between the two is a quiet and almost heartbreakingly emotional tour de force that will touch the heart of anyone who has ever loved someone. I simply adore this movie.
