MGM hit on a winning formula when it paired Garland with Mickey Rooney in a string of what were known as "backyard musicals". The duo first appeared together as supporting characters in the B movie "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" (1937). Garland was then put in the cast of the fourth of the Hardy Family movies as a literal girl-next-door to Rooney's character Andy Hardy, in "Love Finds Andy Hardy" (1938), although Hardy's love interest was played by Lana Turner. They teamed as lead characters for the first time in "Babes in Arms" (1939), ultimately appearing in five additional films, including Hardy films "Andy Hardy Meets Debutante" (1940) and "Life Begins for Andy Hardy" (1941).