Andy Hardy Meets Debutante • 1940


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For the next title card in my series I created a monoline slab-serif!

I really enjoyed the script lettering created for the theatrical trailer but I had just referenced something similar for the card for Listen, Darling. The slab-serif type created for the main titles was also interesting so I decided to use it as reference for my piece instead.

Because this Andy Hardy film leaves the fictional town of Carvel behind for New York City, I created a subtle art deco background and some cheeky “cleavage” referencing the many crushes of Andy Hardy.

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante is the second of three Andy Hardy movies where Judy plays Betsy Booth, the pal who always finds a way to help Andy, played by Mickey Rooney, sort out his troubled romantic life, even while pining for his affection and attention herself.

In this film, Betsy gives Andy a tour of New York City and introduces him to a wealthy debutante named Daphne. Although she is out of his league, Andy falls for her, of course, and it takes him suffering through a bout of public humiliation before realizing that happiness lies back at home in Carvel with his sweetheart Polly Benedict.

Judy shares her first on-screen “romantic” kiss with Rooney in the back of a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park. This film is important in Judy’s career because it shows a glimpse of the true beauty Garland had and even though she was consistently cast as the ordinary best-friend character her glamour and beauty still shone through to the dismay of studio executives.

Time Magazine said at the time of the film’s release that “seventeen-year-old Judy Garland, growing prettier by the picture and armed for this one with two good songs...treats Mickey with a dose of his own medicine.”

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Here’s a lobby card and poster that feature some fun and funky type:

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Here are some screen-grabs of Judy (fresh off of Wizard of Oz fame) looking more mature and glamorous:

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Here’s the theatrical trailer for the film: