The Secret Garden

Plot synopsis:
During the Edwardian Era, recently orphaned Mary Lennox is sent from her home in India to her uncle Lord Archibald Craven's mansion, Misselthwaite Manor, in Yorkshire, England. Unloved and neglected by her late parents, who were killed in an earthquake, she is a cold, unpleasant girl, unhappy in her new surroundings. Head housekeeper Mrs. Medlock informs Mary she will not be spoiled as she was in India and that her uncle, who spends extended periods of time away from the Manor, will likely not see her. Mary is ordered not to leave her room, but strange noises lead her to explore the mansion on her own. Mrs. Medlock eventually allows her to play outside to keep her from poking about the house. In the expansive grounds of the Manor, Mary discovers her late aunt's garden, which was locked and neglected since her accidental death ten years prior.
Martha Sowerby, a maid, and her brother, Dickon, a nature-loving boy who can "talk" to animals, befriend Mary. Fascinated by the "secret garden," Mary enlists Dickon to help her bring it back to life, gradually becoming a more friendly, happy child in the process. When finally introduced to her uncle, Mary is apprehensive, knowing he was responsible for locking up the secret garden. Fearful he would do it again, Mary evasively asks to plant seeds in an "unwanted" part of the Manor, to which Lord Craven grants permission before leaving the country for the rest of the year. Confident that the garden will remain a secret, Mary and Dickon continue their work.
Hidden away in the gloomy mansion is Mary's cousin, Colin, who has been treated all his life like a fragile, sickly invalid. This has turned him into a demanding, short tempered, helpless boy who has never left his room or learned to walk. Mary eventually discovers Colin and learns the strange noises she has been hearing is him crying. She is taken aback by his difficult nature, but reaches out to him anyway. She shows him that he's not actually sick, and that the outside world is not as dangerous as Mrs. Medlock, who is in charge of caring for him, claims. Encouraged by Mary, Colin decides to go outside for the first time in his life. Mary and Dickon take him to the secret garden and Colin begins his own healing process.
Colin, Mary, and Dickon spend all of their time in the garden, where Colin learns to both stand and walk on his own. Anxious to show Colin's new-found life to his father, they perform a "magic" ceremony in hopes to bring him back home. It appears to work, as Lord Craven awakens suddenly from a dream of his late wife calling him home. He immediately returns to Yorkshire. He discovers Colin walking and playing upon his return, which leaves him dumbfounded with joy. Mary runs off and breaks down in tears, fearful that both she and the garden will be neglected and locked away again. Her uncle reassures her that she is part of the family and promises to never lock the garden up again. He thanks her for bringing his family back to life; they embrace, and then celebrate with Colin, Dickon, and the Manor staff. The film concludes with Mary reflecting in voiceover that "if you look the right way, the whole world is a garden."

Tags: fantasy

Review:
A strange little girl finds peace for her troubled heart after confronting the mystery of THE SECRET GARDEN.Based on the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, this family film is a perennial favorite, in no whit dimmed by more recent, flashier versions.
Most of the main characters are desperately unhappy when the film begins, but the spontaneous love of life exhibited by the Sowerby family - which leads directly to the discovery of the Garden - ultimately brings about the redemption of several (but not all) of the others.
If the viewer senses the unseen Presence of Something Bright & Beautiful in the Garden, so be it.The film's main drawback - and this is a small quibble - is the intent to increase tension by adding a possible murder mystery to the plot (How did Colin's mother really die?
But the desire to add additional menace to the Dark Old House theme probably proved irresistible - as well as giving the excellent British actor, Herbert Marshall, more dramatic gristle on which to chew.The plot revolves, as it should, around the experiences of three children, each peculiar in their own way.
The adult roles are so well cast that one tends to forget that they are mostly caricatures: Dame Gladys Cooper as the wicked, frustrated housekeeper; Elsa Lanchester as the irrepressibly happy maid; dour Reginald Owen as the elemental gardener.
Even the small cameo performances sparkle: Billy Bevan as an overheated British soldier in India; Dennis Hoey as Marshall's stern valet; Aubrey Mather & George Zucco as young Stockwell's doctors; and Norma Varden as his wise nurse.Movie mavens should recognize Elspeth Dudgeon in the tiny role of Dickon's mother & the wonderful Marni Nixon as the dubbed singing voice of Miss O'Brien - both uncredited.The film makes very judicious use of Technicolor to heighten appreciation of the distinctive nature of the Garden..
(As is a very young Dean Stockwell, playing a difficult character who all too easily could've been unsympathetic.)Also, I have to quarrel with the other post, where someone asserts that the movie is badly dated.
No studio could match MGM's lush approach, and the stylized sets seen in "The Secret Garden" bring the script alive, in a fashion no "location" filming could have accomplished.Utilizing a "partial" Technicolor application seen in "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Women," MGM manages to provide an emotional punch when it is most needed.O'Brien is perfect in the lead, and minor supporting roles are cast to perfection.A few of the scenes are surprisingly creepy.Although, today, the film is labeled as "family," it can be surprisingly harsh, with none of the treacle that sinks many a movie intended for a general audience..
P.S. While this film was originally intended for children, I doubt that any but the brightest and most thoughtful of today's kids will enjoy it, due to it's slow, deliberate pacing and complete lack of comic-book action, though the tantrum scene between Margaret O'Brien and Dean Stockwell will probably grab their attention..
The Secret Garden was a wonderful story with really great characters.
Margaret O'Brien is just about perfect in the part of Mary Lennox, an orphan who finds herself in a house full of strange people.Along the way she finds love in friendship, a love that was never shown to her by her parents.The book on which this film is based by Frances Hodgson Burnett, was my favourite book as a child and I've given many copies to children over the years.
The son, Colin, played by a very young and handsome Dean Stockwell, in turn reacting with tantrums and hate to the world around him.Mary has her own issues, feeling ugly and unloved due to her past in India.Unhappiness reigns in the Manor House headed up by Herbert Marshall playing Colin's father - a brilliant performance.There is a teeming cast of well known names to add to the flavour of the film: Dame Gladys Cooper as the housekeeper; Elsa Lanchester as the maid; Reginald Owen as the mysterious gardener.The black and white filming adds a morbid darkness with the colour sequences in the garden contrasting beautifully.The only flaw was the settish nature of the scenes, even the gardens are "back lot".But these quibbles aside, some movies one can get immersed in afresh with each viewing.
Margaret O'Brien shines as Mary Lennox, a British girl orphaned in India and sent to live with her nearest relative, a gruff reclusive uncle (Herbert Marshall).
If you're into life metaphors, or you would just like to see a wonderfully life affirming film, rent "The Secret Garden" with Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell, and a marvelous supporting cast.The book (which I understood was a "girls" book when growing up) and the film have escaped me all these years, until today when I watched it via television off of the Turner Classic Movies screen.It is fable, metaphor and dark tale all wrapped up into a story that promises tears and heart thumping wonderment that truth can be told.
But when both are taken away by an epidemic, she has to go back to Great Britain to live with an uncle, Herbert Marshall for whom the mildest thing that can be said is eccentric.She's given rather restrictive use of the vast house, though the grounds are her's to roam with the exception of a garden that is locked up.
Many years ago Marshall's wife has died there and it's her death and the circumstances thereof that have driven him to the brink of dissolution and insanity.O'Brien also finds she has a cousin roughly her age who is bedridden with paralysis in Dean Stockwell.
They like having him dependent on them, it increases their position in the house, as for Mather, he's making a whole living off Marshall treating his child.The younger brother of maid Elsa Lanchester, Brian Roper, also becomes a friend to both as they discover the locked up and neglected garden and use it as a playground.
I believe this is his one and only American film appearance.The Secret Garden is a fine adaption of the children's novel, maybe the best one ever done.
The acting by O'Brien is amazing, it blew me away, it was that good!!!The screenplay is excellent, well written!The direction features a mix of fun and creepy moments, both blending to give an interesting take on a wonderful story!Overall, a great film for the family!.
This is the Margaret O'Brien version of this timeless story, which is based upon the famous children's' novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
This is all aided by a magnificent performance as the country boy Dickon by the child actor Brian Roper, who retired from acting eleven years later, in 1960, and died in 1994.
There is a profound psychological significance to this Secret Garden, which the grieving Herbert Marshall has kept locked for ten years so that no one dare enter it, because it represents his living heart, to which he has barred all access, as he has attempted to seal himself off from feeling after the death of his wife.
Regardless of the case, this is a fine old family film--one that is very watchable for adults as well despite being a "kids' film".The movie stars an older Margaret O'Brien.
In addition, Dean Stockwell starred as the "crippled boy" and Brian Roper played "Dickon".
Now at this time, O'Brian and Stockwell were stars so they got higher billing, but Roper did a wonderful job as well--too bad his part and billing got a bit overshadowed.The story seems, at first, to be about Ms. O'Brian and the death of her parents.
I also liked how black and white cinematography was used but when the secret garden came to life, these portions of the film were in vibrant color (much like in the WIZARD OF OZ).It's a good film that is relatively low on the "sappiness scale"--good story-telling without being too heavy-handed or overly sentimental.
Herbert Marshall plays her brooding uncle and a young Dean Stockwell plays her crippled cousin and rival in the pitching a fit department.
Of course, Mary's uncle isn't thrilled with the changes upon his return from an extended absence.This film's amazing cast, beautiful Technicolor scenes in the garden, bittersweet story, and that good old happy ending that I love make this a classic keeper for the family or any individual who enjoys being visually immersed into great literature.
There is the scary, creepy mansion; the beautiful grounds and terraces; the spoiled and crippled boy that throws tantrums; and finally the beautiful restored garden presented in Technicolor (the rest of the movie was in black and white).I like how the movie leaves you guessing as to what is going on.
But the exaggerations will play well to children.I consider this film to be a great escape - so let yourself be transported to "The Secret Garden"!.
A young girl (Margaret O'Brien, in possibly her best role) gets a position at the estate, and despite warnings from the landlady (Dame Gladys Cooper) gets involved with Stockwell.
The performances, especially Marshall, Stockwell, and O'Brien, are all perfect in this film as we see how sometimes grown-ups are not as smart as their children..
In terms of performances Margaret O'Brien is very spirited as Mary, while Elsa Lanchester is typically splendid as Martha, Reginald Owen is charming as Ben Weatherstaff the gardener and Gladys Cooper is suitably beastly and tyrannical as Mrs Medlock.
He lives in a spooky old mansion that includes many secrets, like about his deceased wife and bedridden son......but then there is the garden.....What a movie: dark and cerebral on the one hand, yet hilariously funny in parts with super acting by all including a raven, a fox and a lamb.This is a great universal story of love, grief, despair, hope and redemption.I remember having the book read to me when a child at school.A classic film which deserves at least an 8/10, and well done to TCM!.
As the layers of the story unfold, and the mysteries are solved, it resolves into a mixture of drama and comedy.Mary Lennox (Margaret O'Brien) is an orphaned child who finds refuge in the household of a distant uncle.
Color is used sparingly, where it is most dramatic.So much of this film captures the imagination; especially the imagination of a child: The very concept of a secret garden.
This is better than the re-make, however, which also throws in New Age baloney, typical of something done in the '90s.At least in this classic film, we get to see people like Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell, Gladys Cooper, Elsa Lanchester and Reginald Owen, all well-known and established actors.
After a cholera epidemic wipes out her parents and most of their Indian village, spoiled and disagreeable Margaret O'Brien (as Mary Lennox) is sent home to live with her reclusive uncle Herbert Marshall (as Archibald Craven) in Yorkshire, England.
The local lad is beloved by wild animals and tells O'Brien about a "Secret Garden" on the estate...Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel has been made into several movies.
And, the character you'd most expect them to blunder turns out to be the best, as Brian Roper's "Dickon" is appropriately amazing.******* The Secret Garden (1949-04-30) Fred M.
Wilcox ~ Margaret O'Brien, Dean Stockwell, Brian Roper, Herbert Marshall.
I wasn't a bit familiar with the young actor (Brian Roper) who played the local boy, but he is, perhaps, the best of the lot.Of the adults in this film version, Goerge Zucco, as the modern doctor, has perhaps the most interesting role.
Unfortunately, by the time she did LITTLE WOMEN and THE SECRET GARDEN, much of her childhood appeal as a winsome screen personality was already on the wane.The studio tried hard to give her a stronger vehicle than the sentimental films she'd done previously, but an abundance of shrill tantrums from both Margaret and DEAN STOCKWELL (as a spoiled invalid) dilute much of the enjoyment.
Margaret is the girl who nourishes the secret garden and changes the lives of everyone around her.It's a simple tale and there is a suggestion of Gothic ambiance about the Victorian mansion, but the ending whereby the nourished garden emerges in Technicolor for the final scene is just too patly contrived and gives an artificial touch, rather than a realistic one, to a moment when we must accept an ending whereby Stockwell surmounts his illness and Marshall forgets his bitterness and accepts him.O'Brien's fans seemed to like this one, but I always found her a bit oppressive to watch in any of her later roles at the studio.
After this film and LITTLE WOMEN, she was finished at MGM.Some good supporting roles help a little--GLADYS COOPER, ELSA LANCHESTER, REGINALD OWEN and BRIAN ROPER--but the charm of the story escapes me, except for that happy ending..
Child star Margaret O'Brien leads a young(ish) central cast including Dean Stockwell and Brian Roper.
Wonderful movie.The story of a girl who is sent to live with her uncle on his estate when her parents die.
The three kids who form the main characters are quite sweet and the interaction between the three is fantastic.Add in an air of mystery and some cute and/or funny moments (look out for the goat, fox and raven...) and you have a movie where every moment is a joy to watch.The whole thing feels like a Rudyard Kipling novel (and I was surprised this wasn't based on a novel of his - India even features in the background story), with a smidgen of Edgar Allan Poe thrown in.Excellent performance by Margaret O'Brien as Mary.
12-year Dean Stockwell (whom I did not recognise for a moment) and Brian Roper are also great as the two other kids.The presence of Elsa Lanchaster tells you this is a great movie - she has the golden touch in terms of acting in classics (especially in supporting roles).
The other one I'm thinking about is Abbott and Costello's "Jack and the Beanstalk".Ostensibly a children's movie, I kept considering why so many scenes were played out in darkness with that horrible crying sound of the young Colin Craven (Dean Stockwell).
The old, dark Craven mansion was, in the words of the film, an excellent house for bitterness and not for children, but fortunately, Mary's (Margaret O'Brien) alliance with Dickon (Brian Roper) helped their new friend to find joy in life along with the ability to walk.
It still bothers me, even after the picture is over, that the sour Uncle Craven (Herbert Marshall) was willing to subject his own son to a debilitating condition instead of insisting on a cure that could make him a happy young boy again.That all had to do with the death of his wife of course, ten years earlier due to an unfortunate accident.
I've just watched The Secret Garden for the first time and found very enjoyable.An orphan girl is sent from India to live with her Uncle in Yorkshire, where he owns a rather creepy mansion.
The movie is shot in glorious colour for the garden scenes after it has been restored.Now to the cast, starting with the children who play their roles very well: Margaret O'Brien as orphan girl Mary, Dean Stockwell and Brian Roper.
The adult cast includes Herbert Marshall as the girl's uncle and Elsa Lanchester (The Bride Of Frankenstein) as a maid, Gladys Cooper and George Zucco (House Of Frankenstein, The Flying Serpent), who i'm more use to seeing play mad scientists.The only low point of the movie is that some of the Yorkshire accents are rather dodgy, although Brian Roper is Yorkshire born in real life.
According to website www.ask.com, "...the raven symbolizes metamorphosis, change, or transformation...messengers from the cosmos...and help people to find answers to thoughts that they are unable to face...it is believed that ravens help to expose these secrets to help a person begin the process of healing from their effects..."Mary comes to live with her uncle after her parents die in India from cholera, and she is deeply hurt by the loss of her parents, acting like a spoiled brat and insisting to be waited on/indulged as if she were a cripple.
Her uncle (Archibald Craven) is psychologically wounded by the loss of his wife 10 years earlier in a tragic accident, and takes out his grief on his son, treating him like a cripple.His son (Mary's cousin), Colin, is told by doctors and other adults that he IS a cripple, and is a spoiled, miserable brat.
This terrific family film features Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell.
Directed by Fred Wilcox, based on the much filmed Francis Hodgson Burnett novel of the same name, with a Robert Ardrey screenplay, this is a terrific family film (and a tear-jerker for most parents) which also features a heartfelt ending.Margaret O'Brien is Mary Lennox, a girl whose family dies from Cholera.
One day, Mary discovers that there is an invalid boy, Colin (Dean Stockwell), living in the estate's vast mansion.
I think it functions well as a representative movie of that sub-genre of 'Fairy Tales (For Adults).' It is a fable in that children—at least in this case--teach adults a valuable moral lesson.When a spoiled child, Mary (Margaret O'Brien) living in India is orphaned because her parents die of a cholera epidemic, she is sent to England to live with her strange uncle (Herbert Marshall).
It holds the answer to many of the past's mysteries that simply needed to be 'unlocked and used' to be discovered.Thinking of the story's symbolism a bit, one could imagine that the children in the garden—the only part of the movie in color--represent something of a Garden of Eden--in reverse.
From the stylized backdrops to the shrewd use of Technicolor to the overriding performances, the movie's a real treat, both as story and metaphor.Poor little Mary's (O'Brien) parents have died, and she's been sent to live with her cold- hearted uncle (Marshall) in a big gloomy mansion.