Spring Reunion

Spring Reunion is a 1956 American drama film that centers on the fifteen-year reunion of the fictional Carson High School class of 1941. It was the second film produced by Kirk Douglas' film production company Bryna Productions.^[1]

Spring Reunion
Directed by	Robert Pirosh John E. Burch (assistant)
Written by	Robert Alan Aurthur
Produced by	Jerry Bresler
Starring	Betty Hutton Dana Andrews
Cinematography	Harold Lipstein
Edited by	Leon Barsha
Music by	Earle Hagen Herbert W. Spencer
Production company	Bryna Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	December 1956 (1956-12)
Running time	79 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Spring Reunion was a screen comeback for actress Betty Hutton, her first film in five years since her departure from Paramount Studios in 1952, after the completion of the musical Somebody Loves Me. Although Hutton's performance was praised by several critics, the film generated little interest and failed at the box office. It was Hutton's last feature film. The film opened at the Astoria Theatre in London, England in late December 1956.^[2][3]

Plot

Maggie Brewster (Betty Hutton), once voted the most popular girl in her class, has a successful real estate career, but regrets that she never married. When she runs into an old flame at the reunion (Dana Andrews), it looks as if the two might be meant for each other after all. However, Fred's aversion to commitment and Maggie's unwillingness to step out of her comfort zone threaten to kill their romance before it begins.

Cast

• Betty Hutton as Margaret 'Maggie' Brewster
• Dana Andrews as Fred Davis
• Jean Hagen as Barna Forrest
• Robert F. Simon as Harry Brewster
• Laura La Plante as May Brewster
• Gordon Jones as Jack Frazer
• Sara Berner as Paula Kratz
• Irene Ryan as Miss Stapleton
• Herbert Anderson as Edward
• Richard Shannon as Nick
• Ken Curtis as Al
• Vivi Janiss as Grace
• Mimi Doyle as Alice
• Florence Sundstrom as Mary
• James Gleason as Mr. 'Collie' Collyer (as Jimmy Gleason)
• Mary Kaye as Singer
• Richard Deacon as Sidney
• Don Haggerty as Pete
• Shirley Mitchell as Jane the Receptionist

Reception

Writing in The New York Times, contemporary reviewer A. H. Weiler panned the film, saying, "Although it fleetingly captures the loneliness of some of its principals, it is largely a nostalgia-ridden and unimaginative comedy-drama that makes its points haltingly and without impact. Like the members of Carson High School's class of '41, 'Spring Reunion' tries desperately but fails to make its rosy dreams come alive."^[4]