Come Next Spring (1956)

Come Next Spring
Directed by R.G. Springsteen
Written by Montgomery Pittman
1956/USA
Republic Pictures/Robert Alexander Productions
First viewing/Amazon Prime

“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”… “It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

This is a heartwarming story about family life in the rural South.  The acting carries it.

Matt Ballott (Steve Cochran) returns to his family farm after eight years on the road.  Before he left he was known as the town drunk.  His two children, Annie (around 12) and Abraham (around 8) are glad to see him.  His wife Bess (Ann Sheridan) is not so sure.  But when she sees how much the kids need him and notices a change, she takes him on strictly to help out around the place.  Neighbor Mr. Canary (Edgar Buchanan) is willing to give him a chance too.  The rest of the people that knew him basically want nothing to do with him, especially Leroy Hightower (Sunny Tufts) who has been unsuccessfully attempting to court Bess.

Most of the film revolves around Matt’s journey in reestablishing relationships with all these people.  We also get a tornado, a big slugging match, and a dramatic rescue for good measure.  With Walter Brennan as Bess’s sharecropper.

I have always liked Steve Cochran and Ann Sheridan and both are excellent here.  This is a rare good guy part for Cochran, who usually plays the heavy.  The plot is somewhat  contrived — Annie has been a mute since Matt drunkenly crashed the family car when she was a toddler — but I forgave it because of the fine cast and the genuine emotion in the writing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWxSrlGCT-A

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