An American widower and his 18-year-old daughter live on a Caribbean houseboat. Romance and adventure ensue when they invite the bored nephew of a millionaire to leave his uncle's yacht and stay with them. Though there is an immediate spark between the girl and her new friend, romance is delayed by the arrival of the nephew's former business partner. Together, the two young men invest in an underwater treasure-hunting expedition that unfortunately only brings up a few skeletons. The disappointed nephew returns to his uncle's yacht and there realizes that he is in love with the girl. He returns to ask for the girl's hand. Her father is delighted, leaves the newlyweds to their honeymoon and sails his houseboat to a new place. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
A pleasant and agreeable little family film, The Truth About Spring is a very innocent youth romance picture that will probably have the greatest appeal for girls in or near their teenaged years. There's nothing remarkable about
Spring, nothing that marks it as a film for the ages, but it's a well-made, modest effort that has a certain naïve charm about it. The coming-of-age/fledgling-leaving-the-nest story is handled believably, and the trappings that surround it -- the interesting living situation, the comic interludes, the intra-class attraction -- never distract, even when they occasionally seem added on rather than organic.
Richard Thorpe's direction is even-handed and smooth, if unmemorable. He's helped by the lovely work of
Hayley Mills (in one of her finest performances), as well as the natural chemistry between the actress and her father,
John Mills. There's also a real attraction between Hayley and
James MacArthur and fine work from character actors
Lionel Jeffries,
Harry Andrews, and
Niall MacGinnis. Throw in some attractive scenery, and the result is an amiable way to spend a couple of hours. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide