Joan's own comment about this film

Of "Spring Fever," Joan said "Spring Fever was a waste of everyone's time and money. God, golf is dull on film." (Quote from Conversations with Joan Crawford by Roy Newquist.)

And---while Joan's own opinions of her films weren't always accurate, in this case she was spot on! This picture, taken on its own terms, is instantly forgettable. However, it does hold historical interest as an early Crawford and Haines pairing. (Joan looked good here, even with her severe hair bob---flapper Joan's appearance in the 1920s is so very different than the signature look that she would develop in her later years.) Plus, as with any silent film, it's quite interesting to see the fashions, interiors, automobiles, etc., of the day.

So, I was glad to view it as a curiosity, if nothing else.

The print shown on TCM has a pleasantly serviceable musical score recorded within the last decade or so, but displays a tremendous amount of damage; it must be several generations removed from the original camera negative. Now, if this print is the very best example of surviving elements for this film, there is a LOT that could be done, digitally, to clean it up a bit and make it more attractive. But this is one of those pictures for which there is little interest in modern times; there's no way anyone is ever going to take the time or money to fix it up. So, what you see is what you get; unless someone does a video transfer using a better source, this is as good as you'll ever see it.

Oddly enough, the recent TCM airing of the film showed it at a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Since most silents were shot at 1.33:1, this means the top and bottom of the film frame were cropped for the television broadcast. Someone screwed up!