Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) inherits a fortune so the family moves...to Detroit? Times really have changed. Once in Detroit, the Hardys have difficulty adjusting to their potential newfound wealth. Andy starts to think of himself as a millionaire playboy and acts accordingly. Marian spends like there's no tomorrow. Even Aunt Millie (Sara Haden) gets in on the action, trying to be something she's not to snag a man.
Lewis Stone's good in this one as the Judge's honesty and integrity is tested and, surprisingly, the old stone wall almost cracks. Mickey is fun as usual. His reaction to being invited to the chorus girl's apartment is priceless. The one father/son talk we get is late in the film but it's pretty funny. Fay Holden is as endearing as ever. Cecilia Parker didn't annoy me once in the whole picture. A first! Sara Haden has probably her best movie in the series playing Aunt Millie going through a spinster crisis. Ann Rutherford shines in her far too few scenes as Polly Benedict. Halliwell Hobbes is fun as a butler. Seems like he was always playing butlers. Virginia Grey is fine as the gold-digging chorus girl who helps lead Andy astray. Marsha Hunt and Donald Briggs have bit parts as a bickering married couple who are saved from divorce (for now) by Judge Hardy. The part where he tells the wife "what a generous husband gives is a lot more than you're entitled to" is sure to ruffle feathers today.
This is one of the lesser Hardy films but still enjoyable. They don't do as much with the "coming into money" idea as I think they could have. It was nice to see Haden get some extra material but since the decision she arrives at in the end doesn't carry over into future movies, it almost seems pointless. No Hardy movie is unwatchable. This one just feels lacking. Also the ending just sneaks up on you and we're not given any great closure on the inheritance plot.
