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First Love (1977) movie poster

Plot Summary

First Love (1977) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
1977 · 92 mins · English
Directed by
Joan Darling
Starring
Robert Loggia, John Heard, Beverly D'Angelo, John O'Leary, Swoosie Kurtz, William Katt

The film explores the gap between physical attraction and true love. A talented college soccer player becomes infatuated with a beautiful campus student, only to discover she is secretly involved as the lover of an older, married attorney, forcing him to confront jealousy, desire, and the complexities of clandestine relationships.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 What happens: full plot
  2. 2 Plot questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like First Love
  5. 5 Every angle

Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in First Love: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of First Love (1977) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

David Bonner, John Heard is a college student who is dating a girlfriend and is secretly sleeping with a woman named Shelly, Beverly D'Angelo. Shelly arrives in his dorm room wearing only a towel and declares she will stay only until he finishes with his girlfriend, but the encounter lasts much longer. Afterward, David quietly thanks his friend Elgin by setting him up with Shelly.

Elgin Smith, [William Katt] first encounters Caroline Hedges, [Susan Dey] during a campus meal. Working as a busboy in the cafeteria, he spills tea on her and her book, but she still leaves her dormitory name on a scrap of paper. He brings her a fresh copy of the book and later asks her to coffee. Caroline hints at another boyfriend, but Elgin is smitten and eventually joins a class she is taking, three weeks after it started. Caroline reveals that her father is dead, and they go on their first real date to the symphony.

Caroline, [Susan Dey] then introduces Elgin to John March, [Robert Loggia], who is already married. She is unsettled by the meeting and asks to spend a night with Elgin so she won’t be alone. They begin to have sex, but they are interrupted by David, who says that Elgin is late for work. Elgin hurries to his job, and David convinces Caroline to ride back to her dorm on his motorcycle. Elgin spots them together and fights David in a jealous rage. Caroline tells him she is not interested in David. Elgin feels relief but is later fired for being late to work.

David and Caroline watch Elgin play a game of soccer; Elgin and Caroline resume their affair, and he asks about John, who worked with her father as a lawyer and whom she has known all her life. He grows jealous when he learns she slept with John, but Caroline becomes angry at the jealousy. Elgin grows nervous when he cannot reach her, but finds a note inviting him to join her, alone, at her family’s estate. He goes, and Caroline leads him to the past, including a childhood playhouse where her father committed suicide. The phone rings, revealing that John wants her back, and they cannot continue seeing each other. Elgin leaves on his motorcycle, while Caroline tells him goodbye and he is left alone.

Back at school, Elgin returns to his dorm to find Shelly waiting at his door. Shelly declares her love for David, but he does not reciprocate. Elgin declines another chance for sex.

Elgin runs into Caroline as she says goodbye to John, confessing that she is with John and their affair is over. Drunk, Elgin again finds Shelly at his door and agrees to be with her, but accidentally calls her Caroline mid-tryst. He attends Caroline’s class, but leaves when she does not appear. He visits John at his office to ask if his intentions are honorable. John mentions his shaky marriage but emphasizes that his children matter and does not know if he can divorce. Caroline shows up in Elgin’s room in the middle of the night, they sleep together, and she brings him breakfast in the morning. John decides not to pursue a divorce, leaving Elgin feeling like second best. The relationship ends, and Caroline departs on a train, while Elgin returns to his solitary soccer habit.

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 10:49

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Plot questions answered

First Love Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about First Love (1977): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why does Caroline choose John over Elgin?

Caroline ultimately chooses John because he represents stability and a known quantity in her life. She has known John since childhood, as he worked with her father as a lawyer. While she developed genuine feelings for Elgin, John wanting her back gave her the security she sought. The note at her family's estate revealing John wanted her back prompted her to end things with Elgin. Additionally, John decided not to pursue a divorce, which meant he remained available in the conventional sense that Elgin, as a younger college student with fewer resources, could not match.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in their relationship, Caroline revealed her father was dead and asked to spend the night with Elgin so she wouldn't be alone, hinting at her fear of loneliness and need for stability.

  • caroline john elgin love triangle second choice married man
Q2

What happened to Caroline's father?

Caroline's father committed suicide in the childhood playhouse on their family estate. This traumatic event is revealed when Caroline leads Elgin through her family's property during their visit. The suicide is the reason she mentioned her father being dead during their first date at the symphony. This explains her emotional complexity and her gravitation toward older, established men like John March, who worked with her father.

Foreshadowing: Caroline's early disclosure about her father's death and her request not to be alone establish her psychological vulnerability and attachment patterns.

  • caroline father suicide childhood playhouse family estate trauma
Q3

Why does Elgin get fired from his job?

Elgin is fired from his busboy position in the school cafeteria because he arrives late to work. The lateness occurs after David interrupts Elgin and Caroline during an intimate moment, claiming Elgin was late for work. David then convinces Caroline to ride back to her dorm on his motorcycle. Elgin rushed to leave but was too late, resulting in his termination. This event contributes to Elgin's growing jealousy and sense of instability in his life.

Foreshadowing: David's interruption of Elgin and Caroline earlier in the story establishes David's role as a disruptor in their relationship.

  • elgin fired busboy cafeteria late work job termination
Q4

Why does John decide not to divorce his wife?

John decides not to pursue a divorce because his children matter more to him than leaving his marriage. When Elgin visits John's office to confront him about his intentions with Caroline, John acknowledges his marriage is shaky but emphasizes he cannot abandon his children. This choice forces Caroline back into his orbit and leaves Elgin feeling like the second choice in their triangle.

Foreshadowing: The initial introduction of John as a married man already established the complication his marriage would create.

  • john divorce wife children marriage commitment married attorney
Q5

Why does Elgin call out Caroline's name while with Shelly?

Elgin accidentally calls Shelly "Caroline" during sex because his thoughts were still fixated on Caroline despite being with Shelly physically. This occurs after Elgin runs into Caroline saying goodbye to John, and Caroline admits she is with John and their affair is over. Drunk and emotionally wounded, Elgin seeks comfort from Shelly but his emotional connection to Caroline overrides his physical act with Shelly, revealing his true feelings.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Elgin had consistently declined Shelly's advances, showing his preference for Caroline over easy physical gratification.

  • elgin shelly caroline mistake name calling love confusion affair
Q6

Why does Shelly keep coming back to Elgin?

Shelly persistently returns to Elgin because she is in love with David, who set her up with Elgin in the first place as a thank-you gesture. After David rejects her romantic advances, Shelly uses Elgin as an emotional refuge. Elgin initially resists her advances, choosing to focus on Caroline, but eventually succumbs to her persistence when emotionally vulnerable after Caroline ends things.

Foreshadowing: David setting Shelly up with Elgin created an awkward dynamic that would resurface throughout the film.

  • shelly david elgin love triangle persistence rejected love
Q7

Why does Caroline ask to spend the night with Elgin?

Caroline asks to spend the night with Elgin right after introducing him to John, her married lover. She is unsettled by the meeting and tells Elgin she doesn't want to be alone. This request reveals her emotional fragility following the encounter with John and her immediate shift toward seeking comfort from Elgin, establishing the complicated triangle from the start.

Foreshadowing: The timing of this request, immediately after meeting John, establishes the emotional competition between the two men from the beginning.

  • caroline elgin night alone emotional vulnerability john meeting
Q8

What fuels Elgin's jealousy throughout the film?

Elgin's jealousy is fueled by learning that Caroline had a sexual relationship with John before him. When he asks Caroline about John after watching a soccer game, she becomes angry at his jealousy. Elgin also becomes jealous when he sees David and Caroline together on the motorcycle, leading to a physical fight. His jealousy stems from feeling like the younger, less stable option compared to the established, older John.

Foreshadowing: Caroline's hint at "another boyfriend" during their early coffee meeting planted the seeds of this jealousy.

  • elgin jealousy caroline john david affair love triangle rival
Q9

What is the significance of the motorcycle in the story?

The motorcycle represents Elgin's mobility and freedom, but also his emotional isolation. He rides away after Caroline tells him she cannot see him anymore when John wants her back. At the film's end, he returns to his solitary soccer habit, having lost both women. The motorcycle is his primary mode of transportation throughout, symbolizing his position as the outsider who moves quickly but ends up alone.

Foreshadowing: David's motorcycle ride with Caroline early in the story establishes the vehicle as a symbol of romantic competition.

  • elgin motorcycle freedom isolation ride away ending departure
Q10

Why does Caroline leave on a train at the end?

Caroline leaves on a train because she has decided to return to her relationship with John, who chose not to divorce his wife. With John unavailable to leave his marriage but still wanting Caroline, she accepts that situation over building a life with Elgin. The train departure symbolizes her choice to return to the familiar, stable (if morally complicated) relationship rather than pursue something new with Elgin, leaving him heartbroken and alone.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, John mentioned his children matter and he cannot easily walk away, foreshadowing his final decision not to divorce.

  • caroline leaves train ending john divorce choice second best

Movie threads

More Movies Like First Love, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes First Love tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Melancholic Love Triangles like in First Love

Stories where a passionate affair is haunted by a third person's shadow. Find movies like First Love that explore the complex emotions of clandestine affairs and love triangles. These similar romance and drama stories capture the melancholy, jealousy, and inevitable heartbreak of being the outsider in a relationship.

  • yearning
  • jealousy
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • conflicted
  • lonely
  • Tone: melancholic, conflicted
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically follow a character who falls for someone already committed, leading to a journey of intense passion, moral conflict, and emotional disillusionment. The story often unfolds in a linear, character-driven manner, building towards a resolution that acknowledges the painful reality of the situation.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped together for their shared focus on the melancholic mood of complicated love, the steady pacing of emotional realization, and the thematic exploration of infidelity and unrequited feelings.

Coming-of-Age Heartbreak stories like in First Love

Youthful idealism collides with the complex realities of adult relationships. Discover movies similar to First Love that depict the crushing but formative experience of a first major heartbreak. If you liked the story of youthful idealism shattered by complex reality, these coming-of-age dramas capture that specific emotional journey.

  • yearning
  • introspective
  • melancholic
  • lonely
  • coming of age
  • disillusionment
  • Tone: melancholic, introspective
  • Pacing: steady, character-focused
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves a young protagonist experiencing an intense first love that is ultimately unattainable or unsustainable. This disillusionment becomes a catalyst for their emotional maturation, forcing them to confront the gap between fantasy and reality.

Why they belong together: Movies here share a melancholic tone, a straightforward narrative centered on a single emotional arc, and a core theme of learning about love through loss. The pacing is steady, focusing on the protagonist's internal journey rather than external plot twists.

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Movies Like First Love

Similar movies to First Love: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

Browse all movie summaries

Every angle

First Love (1977) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about First Love in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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