Spring Fever (1927 film)

Spring Fever is an American silent film from 1927 with William Haines and Joan Crawford. The actors were shooting in the next two years even the Movies The smart aleck and The Duke Steps Out together, but the attempt failed, to make both a permanent on-screen couple.

Action

Jack Kelly is a poorly paid clerk in a shipping company. He falls in love with the rich heiress Allie Monte and are opposite her as a wealthy golf professional. At the end of the two young people find each other, but not before Jack reveals his true origins and first prize wins in a national golf tournament.

Background

Joan Crawford stood since 1925 at MGM under contract and rose rapidly to become a popular actress. A fixed type of role she had not yet found for themselves and so they played alternately main and supporting roles in a variety of genres. Since mid 1927, she was already well established as a leading lady next to the greatest male stars of the studio, so with John Gilbert in Twelve Miles Out and Lon Chaney in The Unknown. In Spring Fever was a partner of William Haines, with whom she had her whole life always close friends.

William Haines had experienced since the joint appearance with Crawford in Sally, Irene and Mary in 1925 a rapid rise to become one of the most popular male stars in Hollywood. Mostly, his films revolved around stories where Haines must abandon his initial arrogant swagger to grow up and win the love of his partner and the respect of the environment. The studio tried to launch as a screen couple after the positive response to Spring Fever, Haines and Crawford. The two actors were brought directly into the sly again together. Overall, however, the audience Haines preferred in solo roles and Joan Crawford managed by Our Dancing Daughters themselves to rise to stardom.

The actress was in retrospect not impressed by her performance and the film itself particularly:

" [ ... ] An absolute time and money. Good lord, golf is so boring in the movie. "

Theatrical Release

With production costs of 314,000 U.S. dollars, it was an average for MGM standards, expensive production. He played in the U.S. with a total of $ 386,000 a disappointing low sum of a, an indication that golf had a movie theme not a particularly great appeal to the paying public. With foreign revenue of $ 115,000 and a cumulative total profit of only $ 505,000, the studio was able to realize a still respectable profit in the amount of $ 115,000 at the end.

Reviews

Most critics shout around on the film and found it boring.

Regina Cannon summed up in the New York American:

"As a rich young woman playing with the golf ball and Mr. Haines, Joan Crawford is seen. Although she has not much to do in her role, it creates Joan to bring their personality over, and she looks so adorable as ever. "

Sources and literature used

  • Roy Newquist (ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford. Citadel Press, Secaucus, N. J. 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9
  • Lawrence J. Quirk: The Complete Films of Joan Crawford. Citadel Press, Secaucus, N. J. 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1
  • Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9
1927 in film Edward Sedgwick Screenplay Albert Lewin Film score William Axt Ira H. Morgan Frank Sullivan (film editor) West Point (film)
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