Figure 1.--Mickey made a 'Yank at Eton' during World War II (1942). Of cour with Britain still under threat, it had to be shot in America. He plays teenage Tim Dennis, although 22 years old at the time. The plot is that his mother marries Englishman Roger Carlton (Ian Hunter) and Tim is unhappy at havung to move to Britain as he had hoped to play football. His mother gets him to at try Eton College for at least 6 months. He immeiately clashes with the traditions of the conservative students. Roger's son, school head boy Peter (Freddie Bartholomew) takes him on. When Tim's girlfriend shows an interest in Peter, Tim's response causes real problems. The other two are Raymond Severn playing an Eton boy and Juanita Quigley playing Tim's sister disguised as an Eton boy.

Born Joe Yuhl, Jr., on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, N.Y. The pint-size son of vaudevillians, and claims to have been "born in a trunk". He made his first stage appearance at 15 months, when he climbed out of the orchestra pit and began beating on a drum. The audience roared their approval and before long became an indispensable part of the family act, singing, dancing, mimicking, and telling jokes. When his parents separated, his mother headed for Hollywood with her son in tow. He made his film debut at six, playing a midget in the short "Not to be Trusted" (1926) and in the following year appeared in the silent feature "Orchids and Ermine". He then had a long run starred in some 50 two-reel comedies in the "Micky McGuire" series (1927-34), in which he played a then-popular comic strip character, a tough kid, brash and gruff with adult-sized misadventures. This role led to film roles with the major studios. He was one of the few silent stars to make the transition to the talkies. One of his roles was in Tom Mix's My Pal the King (1932). He legally adopted the name, Mickey McGuire, changing it to Mickey Rooney in 1932 when he began playing small roles in Universal features. His mother wanted it to be Mickey Looney. He was signed to MGM in 1934 where he played Clarke Gable as a boy in "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934) under David O. Selznick. Teenage Mickey who still was quite young filled the gap between fading child star Jackie Cooper and British import Freddie Bartholomew. The following year, on loan to Warner Brothers, he accomplished on of the most remarkable acting feats by an adolescent on the screen, playing a memorable Puck in "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" (1935). He had an important part as the younger brother in "Ah, Wilderness" (1935), wearing nice boyish knee length pants. It would be interesting to know what Mickey thought about wearing knee length pants and playing a much younger boy. The studio set up a school for him and other child actors, but it was designed to meet state requirements which it really didn't and according to Andy did not really provide a reasonable education. Next he played with Jackie and Freddie in "The Devil is a Sissy" (1936). I haven't seen "The Devil is a Sissy," but I think Mickey's character makes fun of Freddie's character who wears short pants and knee socks. Freddie who was only about 11 and just arrived from England probably didn't understand how many American boys (probably including Mickey) viewed shorts as sissy clothes. It would be interesting to know what the boys thought of the costuming, especially as their next film together was "Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)." Mickey apparently got on quite well with Freddie who he described a very nice person. He was upset to learn, however, how much more Freddie was making. With Freddie again he did "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "Captains Courageous" (1937). Again Freddy was in short pants and Mickey played a rough boy. A major turning point in Mickey's career came in 1937 when he was first cast as Andy Hardy, a cocky, wisecracking small town judge's son in a "A Family Affair" (1937), a modest B programmer which spawned 15 highly popular sequels. In a many ways the role suited him nicely. Freddie and other M.M. stars considered him to be a bit on the wild side. Ironically, he was not the studio's first choice for the role and finally selected only at the last minute to fill in for the part. He also some dramatic roles, "Boy's Town" (1938) and "Young Tom Edison" (1940). If I remember right he gets an off stage licking in "Young Tom Edison." It was Mickey who finally knocked Shirley Temple out of first place as the number one box office draw in 1939. Mickey, the Brooklyn bantum, came for many to symbolize all that was fictionally wholesome in the American way of life. He earned $5,000 a week at the peak of his career and had his picture on Time's cover. All this when he was 18 years old, well past the prime of most child actors. Mickey, however, continued to page boyish and teenage roles. His short stature did not alienate movie goers, at least until he got older. The Andy Hardy series earned M.M. huge profits, many new stars got their start, and the series earned Mickey's place in cinema history. His popularity climbed steadily, even through adolescents, thanks to the series, a memorable experience in "Boy's Town" (1938), and several hectic musicals in which he co-stared with Judy Garland, a fortunate pairing. They appeared together in some Andy Hardy vehicles and some song and dance affairs like "Babes in Arms" (1939), "Strike Up the Band" (1940), "Babes on Broadway" (1940), and "Girl Crazy" (1943). His career was interrupted by World War II during which he served in the Army. The studio cried, "Gable's back." after the war, but there was no similar mat put out for Mickey who by 1945 was 23 years old. M.M. tied one more Andy Hardy movie, "Love Laughs at Andy Hardy" (1946) and another musical "Summer Holiday" (1948) but found the public's tastes had changed. His declining popularity and incessant demands resulted in a break. He continued to make movies and later appeared on TV guest roles, but generally passed out of his star role, until a comeback late in his career. He had to file bankruptcy as a result of eight unsuccessful marriages. Has an adult, the public was more interested in his off camera escapades and not his performances. In recent years though he has made a comeback on both stage and film.