I saw this movie on t.v. when I was a young girl in the mid-sixties. I remember especially the scenes of Margaret O'Brien walking down long, dark corridors in a seemingly haunted house where the wind always blows at night...or is it the wind? Later, I read the book and realized it wasn't a scary story at all....just one of the best children's novels ever written. If a movie can get a child to go and read the book - well, it must be good. But I'll be honest here: I recently rented it for my 11 yr. old daughter (who also has the book....and more up-to-date video interpretations), and she was a bit bored. The movie does plod at points....the camera lingers too long....the lighting is not all the best (but very effective when it's supposed to be dark - those corridors, remember?). She did express delight when the film turned from b&w to color as the garden came to life....she thought it was clever. But mainly she was being polite by watching it with me. It IS dated. Sigh. Question: How many fans of this movie grew up to be fans of Wuthering Heights? To me, they're always intertwined....as if these large estates on the moors bordered each other....80 years apart.
Review of The Secret Garden
