L'aventure est au large

Small-budget Universal film stars John Mills as the salty skipper of his own ramshackle fishing vessel whose teenage daughter finds romance for the first time with a law-school graduate on vacation; all three coast into trouble when modern-day pirates vie for a treasure map Mills has in his possession. Sub-Disney nonsense is brash and frantic, yet the high adventure we anticipate never quite arrives. Hayley Mills as Spring isn't allowed to act her age--she's too old to still be playing the kissless teenager--however her quieter moments with James MacArthur are sweetly done, and the film is certainly airy and lively, if not especially memorable. ** from ****

I saw this on tv many times while growing up in the 70s. Strange it has never been released on home video of any kind and even stranger it doesn't show up on tv or cable or satellite much these days. The film stars father and daughter John and Haley Mills about a crusty old 'sea captain' with a teen daughter whose plum for leaving the nest. The girl has grown up basically as a Tomboy crew cut and all, plying the sea lanes in and around the Florida Keys and living a sea-going nomads life with her father, but is now physically looking more like a woman. She's rounding out and is about 17 or 18 years old, Mills's true age in 1964. A young man called Ashton(played by James MacArthur) comes into their lives and he is taken with and falls in love with Spring(Haley's character). As all birds do young Spring must leave the nest which means Spring and Tommy(John Mills) have to separate. This is touching as the only life this girl has known has been living on one derelict boat after another in and out of the Florida Keys. After pondering her decisions, Spring decides to accept Ashton's marriage proposal and Tommy gives his blessing as he approves of Ashton.

The movie is well photographed with bright rich easy colors and could almost pass off as any of the Disney movies Haley Mills is best remembered for. Very family friendly even though modern day pirate action is supposed to denote a touch of menace to the picture. Tommy and his cohorts are much too lovable for any 'Yo Ho Ho'. A cast of well-known British character actors add to the fun of this 'pseudo' pirate adventure ie: Harry Andrews, Niall MacGinnis, Lionel Jeffries as Tommy's cronies. This is a fun-for-all tale of a girl coming of age and for me it reminds of the tv show Flipper. It takes place in the same area that Flipper does(Florida Keys vicinity) and was released around the same time Flipper premiered on t.v. in the mid-60s. Yep a good fable about coming of age for the children to sit down and watch.

I saw this film when I still had a crush on Halley Mills (I was 14,in 1964) So what if I'm a romantic? It was a nice Feel good Movie, set it the Caribbean when even pirates seemed a little less lethal. It was a clean right of passage / Baby leaves the nest film. Cleverly written not overdone, while showing the acting talents of Halley and her father John. When I finaly made my way to the Caribbean where this film was shot ten years later,I found I wasn't alone in my love for this film. Now I which I had this film on DVD.

This is a family oriented movie with romance, coming of age, adventure, pirates and comedy all rolled into one. My wife, 2 teenage daughters and my first grade son all enjoy this one as much as I do.

Hayley was 18 years old when she filmed The Truth About Spring. They had to cut her hair to make her appear grown up. Hayley plays Spring Tyler. She has spent her entire life on a boat growing up away from civilization. Her real life Father Sir John Mills plys Tommy Tyler her Dad. All is well on the small boat until she meets Ashton. Ashton is the handsome young lawyer who spends a week on the boat with Spring and Tommy. Tom boyish Spring does not understand the new emotions she feels for Ashton. Ashton is played by James McArthur. A delightful movie which should be on DVD and video. Unfortunately it rarely is aired on television anymore. It was last seen on A&E.