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. Accustomed to many devoted servants, young Miss O'Brien finds the new staff lacking. They don't think to hand her a biscuit. She has to dress herself. Her melancholy uncle prefers to remain a stranger. O'Brien is locked in her room at bedtime and told she must not explore the dark, moody mansion. At night, she hears the wailing of ten-year-old cousin Dean Stockwell (as Colin Craven). Sickly and bedridden, young Stockwell fears his death is near. Allowed outside to play, O'Brien meets robust young Brian Roper (as Dickon). 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. Probably, none fully capture the nightmarish enchantment present in the original work. MGM and producer Clarence Brown succeed in the former, partially, by giving it a Gothic look...
Dreary and majestic setting (by Edwin B. Willis) and photography (by Ray June) make several early scenes memorable, but director Fred M. Wilcox loses focus as the pace dulls and story development becomes rushed. The character "Mary" becomes less relevant and her cousin "Colin" suffers from a too-hasty resolution. While fine performers, O'Brien and Stockwell do not have the appropriate script or appearance; as well as unlikeable, they should be frail, plain and sickly. Like "Colin", the "Garden" changes too suddenly. In this instance, the switch to color photography is harsh and turgid. Set design and costuming add to the increasing artificiality. Still, the film contains many moments which faithfully evoke scenes from the book. 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
Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel has been made into several movies. Probably, none fully capture the nightmarish enchantment present in the original work. MGM and producer Clarence Brown succeed in the former, partially, by giving it a Gothic look...
Dreary and majestic setting (by Edwin B. Willis) and photography (by Ray June) make several early scenes memorable, but director Fred M. Wilcox loses focus as the pace dulls and story development becomes rushed. The character "Mary" becomes less relevant and her cousin "Colin" suffers from a too-hasty resolution. While fine performers, O'Brien and Stockwell do not have the appropriate script or appearance; as well as unlikeable, they should be frail, plain and sickly. Like "Colin", the "Garden" changes too suddenly. In this instance, the switch to color photography is harsh and turgid. Set design and costuming add to the increasing artificiality. Still, the film contains many moments which faithfully evoke scenes from the book. 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