A few days ago, Morlock Jeff offered a list of movies that suffered from at least one horribly miscast actor whose performance and character distracted from the rest of the film. The list was topped by the preposterous casting of Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi, Holly Golightly’s Japanese neighbor, in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Few can dispute that this character not only represents insensitive stereotyping but also disrupts the ultra-romantic tone of the movie. Breakfast at Tiffany’s has come to symbolize a certain sophistication because of Audrey Hepburn’s star image and her stylish look as Holly Golightly, a reputation that makes Rooney’s character seem even more out of place to us now. As Morlock Jeff pointed out in his post, even Rooney didn’t think much of the role.

CLARK GABLE AND MICKEY ROONEY POSE ON THE SET OF 'MANHATTAN MELODRAMA.'

The next day, I happened to catch Mickey Rooney in Manhattan Melodrama (1934) on a double bill with Michael Mann’s Public Enemies (2009) at one of Chicago’s old movie palaces, the Portage. (In gangster lore, Manhattan Melodrama is infamous as the last movie John Dillinger saw before he was shot down by FBI G-men in the alley next to Chicago’s Biograph Theater. The pairing made for a nifty double bill, especially because scenes from Manhattan Melodrama are referenced in Public Enemies.) Rooney plays young Blackie Gallagher, a tough kid born into the poverty and hard life of New York’s Lower East Side, before Clark Gable takes over the role as the adult Blackie, who has become a likable but cynical gangster.

By 1934, thirteen-year-old Rooney, already a veteran of vaudeville, had appeared in over 40 silent and b-movies, including a long-running film series based on the comic strip character Mickey McGuire. He signed a contract with MGM early that year, and Manhattan Melodrama became his first major feature film. In this legendary gangster drama, Rooney steals his scenes as the tough kid with a heart of gold. His charismatic performance is so full of charm, vigor, and magnetism that costar Jimmy Butler, who plays Blackie’s best friend Jim Wade, wilts into the studio-created sets. Watching Rooney in Manhattan Melodrama reminded me that he is a talented performer who has mastered nearly every arena of show business—vaudeville, film, night clubs, television, and Broadway.  He began working when he was less than two years old, and he’s still performing, with three films in post-production and one currently shooting on location. In September, Rooney will be 90 years old; for 88½ of his 90 years, he has been a working entertainer. Given the breadth of Rooney’s career, I thought it fair to offer another view of it.

MICKEY "HIMSELF" MCGUIRE

Rooney’s career lends support to my personal theory that the best all-around actors from the Golden Age were graduates of the “University of Vaudevillle.” Born Joe Yule, Jr., the son of vaudeville entertainer Joe Yule and singer Nell Carter, Rooney was incorporated into the family act before he was two years old. On stage, he learned to sing, dance, and, most of all, play comedy with that exquisite timing and delivery peculiar to vaudevillians. Stage mother Nell left her husband and maneuvered her son into the movies by the time he was five. Rooney’s role as a midget in the short Not To Be Trusted led to an audition as the title character in the Mickey McGuire series. Mama Nell—ever eager for any success in show business—offered to legally change the name of her son to match the title character if he landed the role. The studio did not take her up on it, though some sources state he was billed as “Mickey ‘Himself’ McGuire” in the series.  Nell Yule changed her child’s name to Mickey Rooney. Male biographers and historians insist that the change was due to its marquee-friendly sound, but I can’t help but wonder if it had something to do with severing all ties to her ex.

To modern-day audiences, Rooney is best remembered for his pairing with Judy Garland in a series of musicals that gave birth to the phrase “Hey Gang, let’s all put on a show.”  Another series, the Andy Hardy movies, became a box office bonanza for MGM during the 1930s. Both series made Rooney a major star and took advantage of his boundless energy, youthful exuberance, and his ability to sing, dance, clown, and play various musical instruments.  (See Rooney and the film’s director take comic advantage of his height in the clip from Love Laughs at Andy Hardy below.) Rooney also costarred in major features alongside the era’s best actors. The height of his stardom was probably 1938 to 1943, a period marked by a special miniature Academy Award for his “personification of youth,” an Academy Award nomination for Babes in Arm, recognition as the number-one box-office actor for three years, and another Oscar nomination for The Human Comedy.

In 1943, Rooney served in the army, entertaining the troops overseas. When he returned, his career could not sustain the white-hot success of the pre-war years. I dislike describing it as a decline, as many biographers and historians do, because that implies there were no successes or high points after the mid-1940s. Instead of “decline,” his career should be described in words such as “continuous,” “nonstop,” “enduring.” In other words, his career is admirable for its longevity. The downside of such a career is that it is filled with appearances in bad movies, tacky stage shows, and lackluster television programs, which are listed right alongside acclaimed performances in quality dramas and entertaining comedies. The former tends to overwhelm the latter. It’s the kind of filmography that includes an Oscar-nominated performance in The Bold and the Brave followed by a role in the same year in a Francis the Talking Mule movie.

Yet, even during the 1960s and 1970s, when Rooney’s old-school personality-based acting was rendered outmoded by the Film School Generation’s preference for method-style actors, he managed to make memorable guest star appearances on high-profile dramatic television series, such as The Twilight Zone, Rawhide, Combat, The Fugitive, and The Name of the Game. However, during that time, he also costarred in some of the worst films I have ever seen, including Skidoo and 80 Steps to Jonah. I don’t think Rooney’s decision to play Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was because his career was in decline. I think the role represented “the next job” in the career of an entertainer for whom retirement is not an option.

ROONEY HAS THREE STARS ON THE WALK OF FAME, REPRESENTING RADIO, TV, AND FILM.

Rooney gained a reputation during the 1970s and 1980s as the world’s biggest ham for his smarmy talk-show appearances in which he seemed to over-play the role of show-biz veteran. This, alongside his uneven filmography, has likely prevented an objective consideration of his place in film history. After I reflected on his career and realized that, with his special Oscar, honorary Oscar and four acting nominations, Rooney is the 16^th oldest living Academy Award nominee, I thought a re-evaluation of his work was overdue.

Rooney’s filmography lists over 300 entries, including films and television appearances, and I confess to having seen only a small percentage of them. Taking that into consideration, below is my list of recommended Mickey Rooney films and performances. I am hoping Morlock readers and classic movie fans will add to the list. I deliberately left out those films he made with Judy Garland and those from the Andy Hardy series, because these movies are so well known, but feel free to add any of those that might be your favorites.

Manhattan Melodrama (1934).  As young Blackie Gallagher, Mickey Rooney gave his character the tough exterior and unruly personality that would make audiences believe he could turn to a life of crime as an adult. Yet, he played the sentimental scenes straight, so that a part of the character’s innocence remains intact. In doing so, Rooney sets up the character perfectly. When Clark Gable takes over as the adult Blackie, we believe him to be a hardened product of the streets, but we are predisposed to be sympathetic. While watching the movie, compare Rooney and Gable to Jimmy Butler and William Powell, who play Jim Wade.  When Powell, who is terrific in the film, appears as the adult version of Wade, there is little connection to the childhood version of the character.

AS PUCK

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935). Legendary German theater director, Max Reinhardt, who inspired the Expressionist filmmakers, codirected this Hollywood version of Shakespeare’s comedy, and his lighting schemes are the real star of the film. However, Rooney gives new meaning to the term “puckish” in his spritely performance as the play’s famous trickster Puck.

National Velvet (1944). I suspect today’s adolescent girls, who are too eager to be like Miley, Selena, or Britney, do not love horses the way the girls of my generation did. And, for many years, this movie, which captures the passion for horses that only adolescent girls can have, was one of my favorites. Twelve-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, with her porcelain beauty and natural grace, puts the Mileys,  Selenas, and Britneys to shame, in this story of Velvet Brown, a young girl who disguises herself as a boy to win the Grand National horse race. However, Mickey Rooney owns the first half of this film, as Mike Taylor, an ex-jockey turned sour by a serious accident who finds redemption by teaching Velvet how to ride a champion.

THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF THE CAMERA TO THE LIVE ACTION IS AMAZING IN 'THE COMEDIAN'--A HALLMARK OF THE DIRECTORS OF 'PLAYHOUSE 90.'

Playhouse 90: “The Comedian” (1957). In this one-hour drama from television’s Golden Age, Rooney plays Sammy Hogarth, a successful but egotistical television comedian who is beloved by his fans but detested by his close associates and family members. Rooney is on fire in this episode, which, like most tv dramas from that period, was performed live. He gives a fearless performance that is relentlessly emotional and heavy, and he plays an unlikable character that is completely unsympathetic. He was nominated for an Emmy as best actor.  I don’t know who won that year, but whoever it was, he stole it from Rooney.  “The Comedian” was written by Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer, who does a commentary on the DVD release in which he states—twice—that Rooney “was the most talented actor he ever worked with.”

Operation Mad Ball (1957). Blake Edwards, who directed Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, contributed to the screenplay of this frantic service comedy. Perhaps Edwards remembered Rooney when he was casting for Tiffany’s, because the actor’s high-energy style and persona add to the frenzied pitch of this comedy, which also stars Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs. The slight story involves American soldiers stationed at a medical facility in France who plan a big party (“a mad ball”) with the nurses they work with.

ROONEY'S YOUTHFUL FEATURES ARE AT ODDS WITH HIS BRUTAL CHARACTER IN 'BABY FACE NELSON.'

Baby Face Nelson (1957). I think 1957 may have been one of Rooney’s best years, with this b-level gangster drama nicely rounding out this period.  Between this film and “The Comedian,” I wonder if Rooney was trying to escape his Andy Hardy image so that he could be considered for serious dramatic roles. The 1950s represent an era when stars’ careers were no longer controlled by studios, and many who had benefitted from that close guidance floundered in this period. Rooney and his manager/agent may have been trying to showcase his ability to play outside his star image. Directed by one of my favorite directors, Don Siegel, Baby Face Nelson is a deliberately gritty and course film. Matching Siegel’s fast-paced, unsentimental style is Rooney’s aggressive, unflinching performance as the crazed, violence-hungry gangster. Carolyn Jones costars as his girlfriend, whom Baby Face begs to shoot him before he drowns in his own brutality.

The Black Stallion (1979). In this story of a boy and his horse, Rooney plays a horse trainer who’s convinced that the horse is a champion racer. The character of Henry Dailey echoed Rooney’s famous role in National Velvet, which may have been part of director Carroll Ballard’s decision to cast him. Film School Generation directors were fond of that sort of self-reflexive casting. In contrast to some of the other films on this list, Rooney is understated and dignified in this performance, which garnered him an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actor.

MICKEY ROONEY AND DICK VAN DYKE BRIGHTEN 'A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM.'

A Night at the Museum (2006). I liked the premise of this movie, which stars Ben Stiller as a newly hired security guard at a natural history museum who is surprised when the exhibits come to life at night. One of the reasons I liked the film was because it included—and respected—entertainers from the past like Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney, who are literally the “old guard” in the movie.