Spring fever
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Spring fever |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1927 |
| length | 60 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Edward Sedgwick |
| script | Albert Lewin |
| production | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| music | William ax |
| camera | Ira H. Morgan |
| cut | Frank Sullivan |
| occupation | |
| |
Spring Fever is a 1927 American silent film starring William Haines and Joan Crawford . In the next two years, the actors still shot the films Der Schlauberger and The Duke Steps Out together, but the attempt to make a permanent screen couple from the two failed .
action
Jack Kelly is a poorly paid employee in a shipping company. He falls in love with the wealthy heiress Allie Monte and poses to her as a wealthy professional golfer. In the end, the two young people find each other, but not before Jack reveals his true origins and wins first prize at a national golf tournament.
background
Joan Crawford had been with MGM since 1925 and quickly rose to become a popular actress. However, she had not yet found a fixed type of role for herself and so she alternated between main and supporting roles in a wide variety of genres. Since mid-1927 she was firmly established as the leading lady alongside the studio's biggest male stars, with John Gilbert in Twelve Miles Out and Lon Chaney in The Unknown . In Spring Fever she was partner of William Haines , with whom she was always close friends throughout her life.
William Haines had seen a rapid rise to become one of Hollywood's most popular male stars since appearing with Crawford in Sally, Irene and Mary in 1925. Most of his films revolved around stories in which Haines had to give up his initially arrogant behavior in order to grow up and win his partner's love and respect for the environment. After the positive response to Spring Fever , the studio tried to launch Haines and Crawford as a screen pair . The two actors were brought together again immediately in Der Schlauberger . Overall, however, the audience preferred Haines in solo roles and Joan Crawford managed to rise to the star herself through Our Dancing Daughters .
In retrospect, the actress was not particularly impressed by her appearance and the film itself:
"[...] an absolute waste of time and money. Good, golf is so boring in the movie. "
Theatrical release
At $ 314,000 in production, it was an average expensive film by MGM standards. He grossed a disappointingly low sum of $ 386,000 in the US, an indication that golf as a film theme was not particularly attractive to the paying audience. With overseas revenues of $ 115,000 and a cumulative total result of just $ 505,000, the studio was able to realize a still respectable profit of $ 115,000 in the end.
Reviews
Most of the critics complained about the film and found it boring.
Regina Cannon summed up in the New York American :
“Joan Crawford is featured as a rich young woman who plays with the golf ball and Mr. Haines. Although she doesn't have much to do in her role, Joan manages to bring her personality across and she looks as adorable as ever. "
literature
- Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
- Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
- Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
- Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .
Web links
- Spring Fever in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Background information and set photos
- numerous set photos