ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

HotToastyRag With all the mystery and psychological intrigue, The Chalk Garden could have been an Alfred Hitchcock movie! Deborah Kerr applies for a job as a governess to a very difficult young girl, Hayley Mills. Hayley's grandmother Edith Evans doesn't know how to handle her intense moods and pyromania, and Deborah Kerr instantly sees a kindred spirit in the lost little girl. Hayley makes it her mission to discover secrets about her new governess and to drive her away, and she tries to recruit the butler, John Mills, to join her mission. But with the tension crackling away, John doesn't want Deborah to leave! While Deborah Kerr and Hayley Mills give excellent performances enshrouded in deceit, mystery, and deep-seated pain, it's the scenes between father and daughter that steal the show. If you've seen the Millses in The Family Way, you know how sweet it is to watch them act together, and The Chalk Garden is no exception. While this isn't my favorite film, because I don't generally sympathize with emotionally disturbed children, I recognize that it's a well-acted film with a suspenseful story and that lots of other people might like it. Watch it with your mom and see what you think!

Maddyclassicfilms The Chalk Garden is directed by Ronald Neame, has a screenplay by John Michael Hayes which is based on the play by Enid Bagnold and stars Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills, Felix Aylmer, Elizabeth Sellers and Edith Evans.Miss Madrigal(Deborah Kerr)is appointed governess to troubled teenager Laurel(Hayley Mills), she is the latest in a long line of governesses the others having been driven away by the girls terrible behaviour.Laurel lives with her grandmother Mrs. St Maugham(Edith Evans)and their loyal butler Maitland(John Mills).Laurel is a deeply troubled girl who lies, makes up terrible stories and snoops on Maitland and Miss Madrigal to try and learn their deepest secrets, she has discovered Maitland's, will she find Miss Madrigal's? More importantly what if what she discovers is something too shocking to contemplate? Laurel is fascinating because you're never sure if there is some truth in the horrible things she claims. Hayley gives what may just be her best performance, she is so good at conveying the complex nature of this troubled young woman.The entire cast are superb but the greatest praise has to go to Hayley as the uncontrollable Laurel, she steals every scene she is in and it's wonderful to see her work again with her father, I wish they had made more films together. Deborah is excellent as the mysterious woman with a secret who may be the only person who can help Laurel. John Mills is very good as Maitland a man broken by a tragic event in his past who tries to protect Madrigal from Laurel's snooping. The film title refers to the grandmothers garden which is filled with chalk instead of soil because her house is on the chalk cliffs near the beach.

graham clarke That "The Chalk Garden" is still so eminently watchable is solely due to its superb cast. Enid Bagnold's play is a stodgy, pedestrian affair to which time has shown little charity, revealing every psychological cliché embedded amongst its labored symbolism. The screen adaptation is directed by the always reliable but equally labored and pedestrian Ronald Neame. Still, it boasts a powerful cast; indeed the best of British. Deborah Kerr's is a commanding screen presence. Her reading of the role is almost identical in its restraint and deliberate monotone as to the one she delivered the same year so effectively in "The Night of the Iguana"; which was so wonderfully served by John Huston. One can only wonder what a Huston or the likes of, could have done with "The Chalk Garden". John Mills as the self effacing butler is spot on, as he always was. Daughter Hayley fares less well. Her best scenes are opposite her real life father who seems to instill in her the confidence to expand her range with greater ease. They were in a few movies together, beginning with "Tiger Bay" in which a very young Hayley turned in what might be her best performance ever. She was a terrific child actress and to her credit, (unlike many others) managed to survive her youthful stardom. But her acting ability became less and less impressive as she aged., levelling off into what could be called solid and reliable, but with little evidence of the instincts which imbued her childhood roles. Surrounded by theatrical heavyweights, rather than Disney lightweights, the deficiency of her talent is more noticeable.Rounding off the cast is the grand dame of British theatre, Edith Evans. Evans like numerous stage luminaries made sparse appearances on film. She was certainly no beauty, far from it, which probably has much to do with the fact that it was only in her latter years that she began to accept film roles, winning immortality as the definitive Lady Bracknell (a handbag !!??.....) in "Importance of Being Earnest". Malcolm Arnold 's music is truly appalling, tainting the scenes in which it's applied. It's intrusive, clichéd, unimaginative and really annoying. All in all a mix bag, but worth seeking out for the acting alone.

timmauk It is a film about lies, stories untold, and murder. We enter seeing things one way and then at the end see it another. I am a MAJOR Hayley Mills fan and when I saw this on the AMC channel, I just had to see it. What a movie! It got drawn into it and was held to the end. Deborah Karr plays the role of a new/temp governess of a mean spirited child(Hayley) who can do nothing but lie. Something Deborah's character has in common. We watch as they both try to wear each other down. I was a little surprised to see Hayley bite into a role so unlike her others, and see how well she does. Deborah gives a great performance here as does John Mills(Hayley's real dad) as the caretaker. The one who really steals the show is (Dame)Edith Evans. She is fantastic. It's hard to believe that she is older than her character, yet they had to age her for the film so she would look old enough for the role!