Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring

Wow, I thought I was the only who one was affected by this movie and had some of its scenes stay in my head for 35 years as well. I am referring to Sally Field eating garbage, cutting her hair, the doll house.. those parts must have disturbed me a child and made me remember this for life. I happened upon this on a 6 disc movie compilation, the only other movie I know on it is John Travolta's Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Just seeing this movie again is so amazing since I have had scenes from this movie in my head since I was a kid. This movie is a product of its times and Sally Field is always a pleasure to watch. It's funny how she made two movies, the other Sybil that seem to have disturbed me so much when I was a child. Glad I read these reviews!

These comments come from the memory of seeing this movie when it was first on television. Although it says the movie was made in 1970, it was more like 72-73 when it was aired.

My experience as a teenager in the United States in the late 60's was similar to this movie although I did not grow up in the suburbs. The Vietnam War protests had split the generations. Our parents, who had survived WW2 were grateful for the suburban homes and cars. We teenagers were not going to fight a useless war. In many homes, this led to a deep rift that lasted for years. It was not unusual for young teens to simply leave home. In many cases, it was at the pushing of the parents. (Now as a parent, I would have died of a broken heart had my teens left). This movie depicts one story of a teenager (Sally Field) who leaves home. She experiences a lot of horrors that cause her to return. But she discovers that although she has changed, the home has not.

I was six years old when I saw this on TV. I know that for a fact because I was in the first grade and Mom and Dad let me stay up to watch a movie on our new color TV, which had cost Dad a small fortune. First, I remember the hitch-hiking scene because it was common in those days to see kids hitch-hiking everywhere, and my parents would constantly tell me to never do that (and I never did); I also remember the theme song, although I didn't know who sang it. The rest of the movie today is fairly predictable once one understands what it is about, and our familiarity with the young Ms. Field was also a curiosity factor with my parents and a good reason to watch this movie. The incredible thing is that I have not seen this movie since! Honestly, I have never come across it anywhere and I had to jog my memory by reading the reviews but it has all come back to me, and had obviously stayed with me. This should be proof that, as young as I was, it made an important impression on me and had influenced my subsequent closer relationship with Mom and Dad, which is still the case today...thus making this film truly unforgettable. I hope to see it on DVD somewhere and will gladly purchase it. To me it's just another glimpse into the amazing talents of the still-adorable Sally Field. And little did I know that a mere couple of years later I would be taking martial arts lessons, due to the influence of Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine)...another passion for the rest of my life.

The ABC Movie of the Week was still pretty new in 1970 (I think they started in 1969?) and this was not typical for them as it was not a mystery or supernatural thriller. I too saw this as a child and it left an impression on me as it did for the other posters on here. What none of the other posters mentioned however was that one of the things that gave this movie a special touch of reality was that it was filmed on location is a real suburban home! This made some scenes claustrophobic yet intimate as well. (Many of the TV movies were shot on sterile studio sets). So yeah, I guess the house becomes one of the characters in the movie too. I think with a bigger budget and possibly more "adult" themes or nudity or course language ; this would have made a nice theatrical feature. If you like "Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring" you should check out another movie called "The People Next Door" made the same year. Similar plot yet more gritty and down-beat--it was an "R" rated feature film. As stated above; what a shame that this did not win an Emmy Award that year.

A TV movie with excellent acting and a still timely message. Although the clothes and attitudes are dated the basic dilemma of misunderstanding between the generations is as true today as it was when this is made. Sally is strong in the lead, she was working hard at this time to leave Gidget and the Flying Nun behind which would take a few more years when Sybil moved her to the next level of respect, and captures the difficult transition period between teen rebellion and adult responsibility. Eleanor Parker and Jackie Cooper give good performances even though their characters are drawn in one dimensional tones. Not a great movie but a good one from when network TV tried to tackle controversial topics. Added bonus the soundtrack is by Linda Ronstadt, a rare occurrence.