A Family Affair (1937 film)

A Family Affair
Film Poster
Directed by	George B. Seitz
Written by	Kay Van Riper Hugo Butler
Based on	Skidding 1928 play by Aurania Rouverol
Produced by	Lucien Hubbard Samuel Marx
Starring	Lionel Barrymore Cecilia Parker Spring Byington Eric Linden Charley Grapewin
Cinematography	Lester White
Edited by	George Boemler
Music by	David Snell
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	March 12, 1937 (1937-03-12)
Running time	69 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$178,000
Box office	$502,000

A Family Affair is a 1937 American comedy film directed by George B. Seitz. It was the first of 16 movies now known as the Andy Hardy series, though Andy Hardy, played by Mickey Rooney, did not become the main character in the series until a few more installments had been made. The movie features Lionel Barrymore as Judge Hardy and Spring Byington as his wife, who are Andy's parents. Barrymore and Byington were replaced in their roles by Lewis Stone and Fay Holden in the subsequent films.

In this film, the highly respected judge has to deal with family and political problems. It was based on the 1928 play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol.

Trailer Title Card

Plot

Judge James K. Hardy hopes to be re-elected, but his campaign is put in jeopardy by his opposition to a wasteful public works program. Hardy and his family—wife Emily, adult daughters Joan and Marion, and teenage son Andy—live in Carvel, a small, fictional midwestern American town.

Spurned contractor Hoyt Wells and newspaper publisher Frank Redmond swear to block Hardy's re-election campaign. Frank agrees to use his paper, The Carvel Star, to publish disparaging stories about the family.

That evening Judge Hardy's daughter Marion returns home from college. Older daughter Joan Hardy Martin moves in as well, after a secret separation from her husband Bill. The family throws a party for returning Marion. At the party they are warned by a Star gossip columnist that only negative stories are going to be published about the family. Later that night teenaged Andy Hardy reluctantly takes his childhood sweetheart Polly to a party, and is pleasantly surprised by what a beautiful woman she has grown into. Marion has found love in Wayne Trent, an engineer who has come to town to work on the aqueduct. Facing the possibility of her boyfriend losing his job, she questions her father's decision to block the construction.

Meanwhile, Joan confesses to her father that she and Bill are separated after she went to a roadhouse with another man. Although the encounter was innocent, Bill was enraged, and they soon separated.

The Carvel Star publishes an article stating that people are calling for Judge Hardy's impeachment. Judge Hardy attempts to bring contempt of court proceeding against the Star.

Cast

• Lionel Barrymore as Judge James K. Hardy
• Cecilia Parker as Marion Hardy
• Eric Linden as Wayne Trent III
• Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy
• Charley Grapewin as Frank Redmond
• Spring Byington as Mrs. Emily Hardy
• Julie Haydon as Joan Hardy Martin
• Sara Haden as Aunt Milly Forrest
• Allen Vincent as William Booth Martin
• Margaret Marquis as Polly Benedict
• Selmer Jackson as Hoyt Wells

Original play

Skidding
Written by	Aurania Rouverol
Date premiered	21 May 1928
Place premiered	Bijou Theatre
Original language	English
Genre	comedy
Setting	The living room of Judge Hardy in a certain town in Idaho

The movie was based on the play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol.

Production

The film was made in the wake of the success of Ah, Wilderness! (1936). Many of the same cast from that movie returned.

Reception

The film made a profit of $153,000.

See also

• Lionel Barrymore filmography

External links

• A Family Affair at the TCM Movie Database
• A Family Affair at IMDb
• A Family Affair at AllMovie
• A Family Affair at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• A Family Affair at Andy Hardy Films
• ​Skidding (play)​ at the Internet Broadway Database