I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a 1977 American psychological drama film directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Gavin Lambert and Lewis John Carlino, based on the 1964 novel by Joanne Greenberg.

The film stars Bibi Andersson, Kathleen Quinlan, Sylvia Sidney, Martine Bartlett, Lorraine Gary, Signe Hasso, Susan Tyrrell, and Diane Varsi.

Lambert later wrote, "For the usual complex financial reasons, the start of shooting...couldn't be delayed, and I had only three weeks to work out a new approach to the material with Anthony, then write the screenplay."

Another major theme of the book, Deborah's artistic talent which flourished in spite of her illness, was reduced to a scene in which she scribbles childishly on a drawing pad.

[11] Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "This is difficult material to bring to life, but a young actress named Kathleen Quinlan does it with heart and sensitivity.

"[12] Vincent Canby of The New York Times stated, "How Deborah, with the help of one remarkable doctor, is eventually able to recognize her own pain and thus come to some kind of terms with her demons is the moving substance of this film that leaves one almost as exhausted as the heroine."

"[13] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote that Kathleen Quinlan was "smashing" in her first major role, but the plot "spends a lot of time—too much time—telling us about the troubled world of mental hospitals," and the fantasy sequences "run on too long and look phony.

"[15] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called it "a thrilling account of the struggle to save an attractive young girl from her self-destructive delusions," with Quinlan giving "a spectacular performance.

"[16] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote, "Unfortunately, the movie places a premium on shock effects and mawkish reassurances at the price of the authenticity and hard-earned inspirational resolution that distinguished the novel ...

"[18] According to Lambert, "as well as making a small profit, the film had a critical success unusual for such a modest work, and was one of the first "alternative" off-Hollywood productions with no money to spare or flaunt, and human beings instead of special effects.

"[20] In 1979 Corman said Rose Garden, Cries and Whispers, and Big Bad Mama "were probably the three most significant films we’ve been involved in [for New World], because each put us into a different area.