Come Next Spring

Moviecut—Come Next Spring

source: Come Next Spring

Normally, saying a movie is predictable is a bad thing. However, just as with books, sometimes you want to see a nice, schmaltzy and very predictable film....and "Come Next Spring" fits the bill. The story is set in 1920s Arkansas and begins with Matt Ballot (Steve Cochran) arriving home for the first time in nine years. During his absence, his wife was forced to raise their two children. But apparently drinking was more important to Matt....and he spent most of his time away boozing it up. But he claims to be clean and sober and has stopped by to see his kids. He says he only plans to make the visit brief, but the kids seem to idolize him....and she asks him to stay. Where does all this go? And, what about his daughter's affliction? See the film....you'll enjoy it. The acting was just fine and the writing predictable but good...and my wife and I greatly enjoyed the movie. Well worth seeing.

This exceptionally effective and emotional small film is one of Republic's very best, and one of their last that was creatively and carefully produced as the studio died. In lovely-odd storybook Tru-colour that really suits the Americana, and with an excellent cast, especially the always gorgeous Anne Sheridan and handsome unappreciated Steve Cochran COME NEXT SPRING with its Max Steiner Score, and Tony Bennett theme song has remained unloved an unappreciated for too long by mainstream knowledge. I've heard Scorsese recites it as an influence and it should well be studied by film makers to see how well a small budget but love and care can result in an excellent tough, real, romantic family drama. It actually wasn't until the very last scene did I realise I had seen it as a child and the overwhelming emotion just burst from me, so effective and elating is this finale. The real and crumbling backwoods town they all vist in one scene is probably as close to real surviving 1920s smallville-america as we would ever genuinely see. Look for this film and get settled, you are in for a major discovery and a real treat. Probably influenced by the mega success of FRIENDLY PERSUASION and with Johnny Guitar and Quiet Man rentals to spend, Republic saw a moment when they could still take a chance on small town values with an A grade tech effort. Vale Republic!

This is a touching story about how atonement can truly bring peace to the people who were hurt by the person seeking forgiveness. In this case, it is not only about moving on with one's life but welcoming back without conditions the prodigal husband (Steve Cochran) after they proved how contrite they are for their sins. When wife Ann Sheridan first sees Cochran, she dropped her pail of water in Shock. If it is the shock of horror or shock of seeing someone she has never stopped loving that remains to be seen. However, even though she welcomes him home, it is under the understanding that he will stay on as a farmhand with no marital rights simply so he can get to know the children that he ran out on twelve years before. Life in the Arizona country is pretty rough and it takes a lot of work from both Cochran and Sheridan to regain their marriage after he ran off suffering from alcoholism. Now sober, he hopes to win her back especially when he sees the two beautiful children that he now has: loving son Richard Eyer and the mute Sherry Jackson. Cochran's bravery during a tornado helps restore their marriage, but the threat of Cochran going off the wagon and taunting from the bullyish Sonny Tufts threatens to make Sheridan consider getting rid of Cochran for good. Excellent supporting performances by veteran character actress Walter Brennan and Edgar Buchanan adds an earthiness to this terrific drama. This is Republic Studios at its finest, nearly as great as "The Quiet Man", and on par with the same year's "Friendly Persuasion" as far as storytelling, characterization, photography and absolutely perfect detail go. From the moment you hear Tony Bennett singing the opening theme song through each situation, you are absolutely involved and hoping that this couple can work out their problems. The tornado sequence is absolutely frightening. This has now been added to my list a films that deserve to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and since that did not happen certainly worthy of rediscovery and study.

Put simply, the problem with this film is that it's too damn nice (or, as its characters would say, "darn nice"). Rather than taking serious matters somewhat lightly, in the best "Yearlings" tradition, writer Montgomery Pittman (who I read on Wikipedia was star Steve Cochran's handyman) and director R.G. Springsteen choose, in the best "Waltons" tradition, to completely sugarcoat the pill of a deadbeat, alcoholic dad trying to reinsert himself back in his wife and kids' good graces. At no point in the movie is it anything but obvious that Anne Sheridan's single mom will take back Cochran's ne'r do well with completely loving arms nor, in what is a more significant screenwriting dereliction, is there even a whiff among Cochran's two kids that they are anything but completely enamored of Dear Ol Drunken Dad. Combine this with rather lackluster direction by Springsteen, in which none of the big set pieces...a tornado, a faux Fordian fight between Cochran and Sonny Tufts in the Vic McLaglen role, the final rescue scene...come fully alive, and you can see why good performances from the leads, plus the usual good Walter Brennan, Tufts, James Best and Edgar Buchanan in support, and nice kid acting from Richard Eyer and Sherry Jackson, cannot redeem the basic story and tone deafness of this film. Give it a C plus. PS...Good cinematography from Jack Marta that almost had me believing Northern Calif. was Northern Arkansas.

A beautiful tale of redemption, with delightful colors ,a deliciously old-fashioned atmosphere and moving performances by Ann Sheridan and Steve Cochran (all sweetness and light: not the usual tough guy). It's not an action-packed movie, but rather a depiction of simple rural life where all people stand together when they are struck by a disaster ; sentimentality is kept to a minimum level and the rapport the prodigal father has with his children goes straight to the heart ; it's suitable for the whole family ,just like the "little house" TV series except that Charles Ingalls was always a goody-two-shoes. I'd tone things a bit for the long rumble which is mostly filler ,but the final pictures make up for it.

It was many years ago I first saw "Come Next Spring" but I remembered it fondly all this time. Then, tonight, when I found it on YouTube, I just had to watch. Wow. It is even better than I remembered. What I remembered most was that I instantly became a fan of R.G. Springsteen. I had already been, of course, a fan of Ann Sheridan and the superlative, the magnificent Walter Brennan. After so many years, I didn't remember the other cast members. But tonight, in cold January of 2018, I am sitting in open-mouthed awe at the extraordinary high quality of some of the best performers in Hollywood. One aspect: Even the antagonists of the protagonist are people we can like -- and Sonny Tufts really stands out, showing his talent should have let him be a bigger star. Starting with a good story and good script by actor/director/writer Montgomery Pittman, director Springsteen gave us people to be interested in and to care about. Those people were played by beautiful and busy Sherry Jackson, who was not continually cast because of her looks: Even here, as a 13-year-old, she showed immense acting ability. It's hard to look away from her. As the younger brother, Abraham, Richard Eyer reminded me at first of one of the Cochran kids, but Eyer was quite the scene-stealer here, giving just the right amount of exuberant kid. Really a great performance. Republic just out-did itself with this exciting, pleasant, dramatic, funny film. I recommend this family film to everyone, even crusty bachelors like myself.

There's nothing here we haven't seen before - and often better done - but that doesn't mean it should be dismissed out of hand. For one thing there's a certain novelty value in seeing Ann Sheridan as a middle-aged hard-working pioneer woman one-generation on (her classic come-back in They Drive By Night, when someone remarks 'what a chassis', 'you couldn't even afford the highlights', now a distant memory, and serial tough-guy heavy Steve Cochran as a recovering alkie now content to farm the land in rural Arkansas. Sonny Tufts, who never really found his niche, is also along for the ride, playing once again the love-rival, with lots of the usual suspects filling out the supporting roles. Definitely worth an hour and a half of anyone's time.

Republic Pictures was known as an action studio, specializing in matinée cowboy features and John Wayne epics. That is, when studio head Herbert Yates wasn't trying to promote the career of his no-talent ladylove Vera Hruba Ralston. So what burst of Zen-like contemplation induced Republic's assembly line to come up with this human-interest gem. Frankly, it doesn't matter since the first three-quarters of this little hayseed sleeper amount to one of the most affecting affirmations of family values that I've had the good fortune to catch up with. Now, you would think with headline toughies like Cochran and Sheridan that hard-boiled gangsterdom is bound to follow. But no. Instead, a reformed Cochran is returning to his Arkansas farm and family that he deserted in a drunken haze years earlier. In the meantime, country wife Sheridan has taken over running the farm with help from sharecropper Brennan and son. To say she's not exactly thrilled to see the no-goodnik suddenly return is an understatement. But then mischievous little Eyer is Cochran's son, along with the mysteriously mute Jackson as his daughter. These early scenes of wary re-acquaintance are gems of sensitivity from both the performers and director Springsteen. Cochran certainly looks the part of a former hell-raiser, while Sheridan conceals her feelings behind a stony exterior. Looks like prodigal dad Cochran is agreeable to whatever courtesy his wife might extend. Above all he wants to see his kids now that he's sober. But it also looks like he'd prefer being re- embraced even though he deserves nothing. So, the question is: has he really reformed or not, and how far should Sheridan let him re- enter the family's bosom. She's still attracted and wants to believe, but then he does have a track record. Still, he's so good with the kids who also like having a dad around. Even little Jackson is warming up in her mute way. No doubt about it, dad's a plus factor as he gets things done around the farm. Nonetheless, whatever the family's feelings, the small surrounding community hasn't forgotten Cochran's drunken ways nor forgiven his act of desertion. That's especially true of the ornery Forrest Tucker who's got his own designs on the comely Sheridan. So, Cochran's not only got a wary wife to convince, but a disbelieving community, as well. Just as importantly, can even we be sure that he's reformed. It's hard to say enough about the excellence of these scenes. They're low-key, superbly acted, and make convincing use of rural locations. But I'm especially impressed with little Sherry Jackson. Sure, she has no dialog. Yet watch her expressions. They're perfectly calibrated to communicate feelings that are neither cutesy nor stagy. And who could suspect that after so many years at Warner Bros. as a slippery heel, Cochran could fit into such a likable role so well. I almost forgot who he was. Above all, these adjustment scenes come across as both sensitive and effortless. However, these quieter parts eventually give way to a more melodramatic last quarter that becomes more routine and less special, at least in my view. The exaggerated fist-fight is played for humor, seemingly out-of-place for a mood that's been quietly realistic. At the same time, the cliff-hanging scene may be a knuckle bender, but the staging is clumsily done. Seems to me these action parts should have been better blended with the prevailing whole. If anything, that prevailing whole is a masterful essay into the quieter virtues, and hazards too, of rural America, a topic Hollywood never had much time for. As human interest, the film remains first-rate, especially in our current era of comic book heroes and exploding cars. In passing—if you liked this movie, be sure to check out another sensitive ode to rural America; namely, The Green Promise (1949), a low-key portrayal of conservative family values that also doesn't rub your nose in it.