Every beloved film star has at least one movie on their IMDB filmography that has earned the distinction of being a “classic”, “iconic” or “fan favorite”. But for every “classic” title, there’s also that one film that is under-rated or unheard of. In the case of Ingrid Bergman, one of those movies is A Walk in the Spring Rain! Prior to The Wonderful World of Cinema’s 6^th Wonderful Ingrid Bergman Blogathon, I had never heard of the 1970 picture. However, that’s the great part of participating in a blogathon; discovering films that are “new-to-you”! As I said in my review of Evel Knievel, I haven’t had the best of luck, this year, finding a movie from the 1970s I like. By expanding my cinematic horizons, I am hoping to solve that problem. Where does A Walk in the Spring Rain rank among the other ‘70s movies I’ve reviewed this year, so far? Keep reading my review in order to find out!

Things I liked about the film:

The chemistry between the cast: When watching characters interact with one another, the believability of those interactions depends on the strength of the cast’s acting talents. Though the cast in A Walk in the Spring Rain was smaller, this believability could be felt. In a scene between the protagonist, Libby, and her daughter, Ellen, the interaction appeared realistic, presenting the idea of a mother and daughter discussing a personal matter. Concerned about her mother’s apparent unhappiness, Ellen (portrayed by Katherine Crawford), seems genuinely worried, that worry with a touch of sadness consistently shown on her face. Meanwhile, Libby (portrayed by Ingrid Bergman) is distraught over personal turmoil. Her face shows her distress, tears in her eyes and sadness spread over her face. She even goes so far as to violently push a tea cup off the kitchen table in an act of sudden anger. During their stay in Tennessee, Libby and her husband, Roger, meet a local man named Will. One evening, the three go frog hunting, with Roger and Libby trying moonshine for the first time. This scene shows the on-screen chemistry between Ingrid Bergman, Fritz Weaver, and Anthony Quinn. Their smiles, laughter, and jovial demeanor radiates off the screen. It feels like they are three close friends who are picking things up where they last left off.

The set design: In A Walk in the Spring Rain, Libby and Roger rent a cabin in Tennessee. This cabin featured design choices that I found memorable! The main focal point in the living room is a fireplace. Surrounded by exposed stone and a dark wood mantle, good décor complimented the darker shades of both wood and stone. The living room was not the only room where exposed stone was found. In the kitchen, an antique stove guarded a wall of exposed stone. Also in the kitchen, a dark wood corner shelf housed the fine china and fancy dinnerware. This shelving unit was a unique way to make the best use of the room’s available space!

The scenery: A Walk in the Spring Rain was filmed in Tennessee, specifically at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The story takes place during two seasons: winter and spring. Despite the difference in seasons, the scenery was very picturesque, stealing the show from time to time! In some establishing shots, Tennessee’s snowy landscape was beautifully captured on film. The scenery honestly looked like a Christmas greeting card. In a scene where Will shows Libby the first blooms of the season, a tree with small, magenta flowers provides a nice pop of color amid the background of green foliage and rolling hills. Even when characters are driving through the country-side, these surroundings were pretty to look at!

What I didn’t like about the film:

A meandering story: According to a synopsis I read for A Walk in the Spring Rain, Libby and Will have an affair. This affair didn’t fully come into fruition until fifty-three minutes into an hour and thirty-eight-minute movie. That forced the audience to wait more than half the film for the inevitable to happen. Even though Will and Libby flirted with one another leading up to the affair, these interactions were brief. While waiting for the affair to happen, the script focused on other parts of the story, such as the Merediths adopting baby goats.

The run-time: Like I mentioned in my previous point about the film’s meandering story, A Walk in the Spring Rain has a run-time of an hour and thirty-eight-minutes. Because of how drawn out the story was, that hour and thirty-eight-minutes felt longer. There were several stretched out scenes serving the movie’s run-time. One example is a ten-to-fifteen-minute scene of Libby and Roger’s trip to Gatlinburg, with the majority of this scene showing the Merediths walking down a tourist heavy street. Had scenes like this one been trimmed, A Walk in the Spring Rain’s run-time might have been about an hour and ten minutes.

Drawn-out subplots: There were some subplots in A Walk in the Spring Rain that were drawn out, likely to satisfy the movie’s run-time. One of these subplots revolved around the Merediths’ daughter, Ellen. Ellen desires to go to law school. However, Libby and Roger feel her decision would disrupt her family. While this subplot does get resolved, it takes the entire movie for the resolution to happen. Because of this, the resolution feels anticlimactic.

My overall impression:

In the introduction of this review, I said I had never heard of A Walk in the Spring Rain prior to The 6^th Wonderful Ingrid Bergman Blogathon. Looking back on this movie, I think I know why. If I could describe the 1970 film in one word, it would be ‘bland’. The drawn-out, meandering story causes the movie to feel longer than an hour and thirty-eight-minutes. Great Smoky Mountains National Park provides this story with beautiful scenery. But as I’ve said in past reviews, “the scenery can’t save you”. The cast in A Walk in the Spring Rain is solid, maintaining strong on-screen chemistry. However, when a project has a weak script, there’s only so much the cast can do to salvage that script. I know this film was released toward the end of Ingrid’s career. But, honestly, she, as well as the rest of the cast, deserved better material.

Overall score: 5 out of 10

Have you seen or heard of A Walk in the Spring Rain? Are there any of Ingrid Bergman’s films you’d like to see me review? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen