pinkarray
I grew up watching O'brien movies. She was my favorite child actor alongside Shirley Temple and Peggy Ann Garner. There were a few O'brien movies I didn't like, this being the addition but after the second or few times of watching this, I actually liked it.Stubborn Mary (Margaret O'Brien) has lost her parents due to cholera. She gets sent to Europe, where she gets laughed at by some kids and discovers a garden which causes her to change from a nasty brat to a nice girl.I do believe that Mary was too nasty in this adaptation and outspoken, considering when she confronts Colin about his overly loud cry. Margaret O'Brien nails her performance, except for the accent, which was quite stiff for a Indian girl who comes to British.Sometimes it can get a bit melodramatic but it was an engaging adaptation for people to love and remember fondly. I also recommend the 1993 Secret Garden, which was also good.
dougdoepke
Intrigued by the title, I wanted to see this movie back in '49, but missed it. Probably didn't have the money. Anyway, I'm really glad to have finally caught up with it. 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. She's been shunned and told she's homely by her parents, and now, in the mansion, her uncle refuses even to see her. As a result, she's become understandably mean and bratty. It doesn't help that in the night, she hears piercing unearthly screams, while the servants race to a mysterious upper room. Turns out it's her uncle's bed-ridden young son Colin (Stockwell) in torment. He too has been rejected, told he's crippled, and must stay in his room. Thus, he never gets to go outdoors into the sunlight. As a result, he too has become mean and bratty, like his young cousin. On the whole, I don't think I've seen more jarring behavior from adolescents than these two unfortunates, especially when they wreck his bedroom trying to outdo one another in meanness. Good thing there's a servant's young son, Dickon (Roper), to serve as an emotional anchor.But then, in her wanderings around the grounds, Mary discovers what amounts to a strange presence. It turns out to be a secret garden that no one ever talks about. Its grounds are surrounded by a high wall and a locked gate kept hidden by overgrown brush. But every time she pokes around, the gardener shoos her away. Naturally she's intrigued. What's in there, and why are the contents kept locked and secret. Seems Dickon, her frequent companion, would also like to find out. Now, unknown to them is the uncle's story behind the garden. Seems the uncle was having tea with his beloved wife in the garden when it was open and happy. But then out of nowhere a tree branch fell and crushed her. Ever since, he's been haunted, trying to bury the memory behind a locked gate. As a result, he too has become withdrawn and unhappy, thus adding to the travails of his young son and niece. Now, except for the servants, it's an intensely unhappy household.All in all, it's hard for me not to see the "secret garden" as a kind of metaphor for the inner lives of the three family members. I want to merely suggest the following view of what may be going on in the subtext, without claiming it was anybody's "intended" meaning. Now, all three for various reasons, have sealed off their inner lives not only from others but from themselves. Thus each harbors his or her own locked "secret garden" and allowed it, like the real one, to become untended and unflowering. Hence their unhappiness. But where to find the key to unlock the gate not only to the real garden but to themselves. The raven-- perhaps standing for free flight-- finds the real one; Mary, I think, finds her own inner key in the yellow daffodil blossom a beautiful sight. When she holds it up, it shows her what the garden could become if it were tended. That she needs to unlock the gate comes from her seeing her outer self in the tormented Colin. By helping him, she's also helping herself to open up to what's been sealed off. In Uncle's case, he more implausibly adjusts through knowing that the garden is again open and flowering. The tending is thanks to Dickon, Mary, and Colin who have since joined together, instead of remaining enclosed and apart. Thus the "secret garden" is no longer secret, either the real one or the metaphorical one. Using Technicolor to express this transformation from the gray was, I think, a daring and striking move. Now all four sit together, enjoying the garden and each other. A happy family, at last.It's O'Brien's film that she carries in effective fashion. At times, she's close to going over the top, yet her presence remains a strong one throughout. Stockwell too registers in a difficult role, requiring screaming hissy-fits that O'Brien answers in kind. Perhaps surprisingly, the illustrious supporting cast hasn't much to do. Marshall has only a couple extended scenes, while Lanchester provides a dollop of comic relief in her one extended scene. As the third member of the youthful trio, Brian Roper provides solid support. Too bad he didn't stay in the USA. On the other hand, I can't help thinking that George Zucco's benevolent doctor was an effort at compensating for Aubrey Mather's corrupt medical man who keeps poor Colin in unneeded leg braces.Anyway, the movie's a fine, atmospheric production from MGM, with a strong storyline and a good moral. It may have taken decades, but I'm glad I finally caught up with it.
LeonLouisRicci
A Time when the Innocence of Childhood was Enhanced with a Dreamlike Quality that was Both Inspiring and a Bit Scary. This is a Classic Tale, Mostly Written for Kids (especially Girls), that has been Filmed a Number of Times. It Seems the Best Version is this One, Perhaps because it was made when these Children were Still able to be Children.The Move is a Wonderful Gothic, Fantasy, Semi-Horror Movie that is Thick on Atmosphere and Emoting. The Tantrum Scenes may be Dated and Somewhat Hard to Take but They are Short and the Film Moves Away to Other Things that are Poignant and Impressive.All Three Child Actors are Superb and the Adult Cast is Nothing Less. This is a Film that is Strikingly Saturated with Warmth along side a Foreboding Landscape of Suppression and Psychological Maladies. it is Quite Different in the way it Blends Hopelessness, Alienation, and Buried Desires Resurrected by the Sheer Will of the Innocents and Manifested with Spiritual Healing.A Near Perfect Movie that is a Throwback to a Different Era to be sure but Beneath the Layers of Dated Class Structure are Timeless Lessons that are Designed to Teach Children but it is the Children who End Up doing the Teaching.
classicsoncall
This was a surprising little gem to catch on Turner Classics this morning; I had only been aware of the 1993 version and did not know of an earlier one. This is only the third film I've come across utilizing the black and white transformation into color technique, probably best known for it's use in "The Wizard of Oz". 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. It's somewhat mysterious that the picture would take the viewer in the direction of a crime implicit in Mrs. Craven's death when there was already enough tension to go around. The virtually abandoned son would have been privy to those whispered conversations as well, adding even more to his imposed misery.Fortunately it's the youngsters who carry this picture. O'Brien, Roper, and Stockwell form a unique trio, blooming as it were, along with the newly tended garden after the abandonment of a decade. Though the feel good ending seems somewhat forced, it's appropriate that the old Uncle is cured of his own personal demons to redeem himself as a father to the young Colin.
