''The Truth about Spring'' (also known as ''The Pirates of Spring Cove'' or ''Miss Jude'') is a 1965 American-British

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

adventure film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Hayley Mills,

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...

and

James MacArthur James Gordon MacArthur (December 8, 1937 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor with a long career in both movies and television. MacArthur's early work was predominantly in supporting roles in films. Later, he had a starring role as ...

. It is a romantic

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

adventure. It was released by

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

. According to ''Filmink'' "it tried to be a Disney-style adventure-romance, complete with another Disney alumni as lead (James MacArthur) and location filming (Spain), but did not work."

Plot

Spring lives with her father, Tommy Tyler, aboard a run-down

sail boat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

in the Florida Keys. She has lived a simple, carefree, and isolated life. She has never felt desire or love until William Ashton joins them for a zany adventure involving buried treasure. Ashton, who is from a wealthy

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

family and graduated from Harvard Law School, comes aboard the ''Sarah Tyler'' for some fishing. Instead, he becomes involved in a modern-day pirate adventure. He falls in love with Spring and envies her simple and honest lifestyle. Spring initially dislikes Ashton – a variation of '' Pride and Prejudice'' where boy meets girl and girl hates boy. By the end of the film, no treasure is found but Spring realizes she loves Ashton. Against all sense of propriety, he asks her to marry him. Spring initially resists, concerned over how her father would manage without her, but Tommy insists she go with him, telling her he wants grandchildren.

Cast

* Hayley Mills as Spring Tyler *

as Captain Tommy Tyler *

as William Ashton *

David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authorit ...

as Ashton's bored, rich uncle. *

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award nomination during his acting career. Early life Jeffries was born in ...

as José Carkez *

Harry Andrews Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in ''The Hill'' (1965) alongside Sean ...

as Judd Sellers *

Niall MacGinnis Patrick Niall MacGinnis (29 March 1913 – 6 January 1977) was an Irish actor who made around 80 screen appearances. Early life MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913.

as Cleary *

Lionel Murton William Lionel Murton (2 June 1915 – 26 September 2006) was an English character actor. Born in Wandsworth, London, he was resident at Little Orchard, Weston Road, Upton Grey, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, before his death at age 91. He was c ...

as Simmons

Production

The film was based on the 1921 novel ''Satan'' by Henry de Vere Stacpoole. The book was filmed in 1925 as '' Satan's Sister''. The film was announced in September 1963 as ''Miss Jude'' with both Mills attached from the beginning. Producer Alan Brown had been associate producer to

Samuel Bronston Samuel Bronston (March 26, 1908 – January 12, 1994) was a Bessarabian-born American film producer, film director, and a nephew of socialist revolutionary figure, Leon Trotsky. He was also the petitioner in a U.S. Supreme Court case that set a ...

and this would be his first film as production. It was the third film John and Hayley Mills had made together after ''Tiger Bay'' and ''The Chalk Garden''. John Mills said he wanted to use the title ''Close to the Wind'' but it was held by another studio.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place in

S'Agaró s'Agaró () is an upmarket resort on the Costa Brava between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Platja d'Aro. It is part of the municipality of Castell-Platja d'Aro, itself in the comarca of Baix Empordà and province of Girona in Catalonia, Spain. T ...

on the Costa Brava in southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and started 22 April 1964. The

MGM-British Studios MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established (as MGM London Films Denham) at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquire ...

at Elstree were also used for some shooting. The film's sets were designed by the art director Gil Parrondo. David Tomlinson later called it "a truly dreadful film but with my new-found Hollywood cachet I was billed as making a 'Guest Appearance' in nice big capital letters". John Mills later wrote "if the picture had turned out to be half as good as the food, the wine, the time and the laughs we had on that location it would have been a sensation - unfortunately it wasn't."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Truth About Spring, The 1965 films British coming-of-age films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Richard Thorpe Universal Pictures films Seafaring films Treasure hunt films British comedy films American comedy films 1960s adventure comedy films British adventure films American adventure films 1960s adventure films Films based on British novels Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1960s American films 1960s British films

Plot

Cast

Production

Further reading

See also

References

External links