Very disappointing...

Sorry, this movie sucks

Beautiful, moving film.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This has a superior cast,from the British military who discover Mary alone in her home after an epidemic,to the cruel taunts on the ship,to the mansion in Yorkshire.We learn all about Mary,from a sullen orphan who learns to live and love after the loss of her parents in India.She has to make due in her uncle and cousin's home,a home as devoid of hope as her own was in India,and her new friendship with Dickon,getting to know her relatives and bringing them back to life.It's not easy weathering such personal tragedy,but one can't let it rule one's life,like Mary herself,her uncle,and her cousin.Always a favorite book,this movie version is THE BEST!Too bad the author never had this salvation of a secret garden in her own life!Lowell Gilmore,in first scenes of the film,is good,playing British officer,even if he was a Midwesterner.Would love to know what happened to his health from at least 1955,as he looked sickly and retired in 1958,dying in 1960.

This is my own opinion and "take" on the film. You can understand the storyline from the main description, but the real story is that the subject is "the Garden of the Psyche". A B&W film, there is great usage of light and shadow for dramatic effect. It conveys a dreary, foreboding atmosphere, and a world devoid of color (Love and Joy). A prominent symbol in this film is a raven. 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. An "outside" doctor eventually reveals that the boy is not crippled at all, and just needs some exercise and sunshine. The discovery of the Secret Garden by Mary and Dickon begins to soften Mary's heart, and its subsequent clean-up becomes a labor of love. As the garden is healed, Mary and then Colin are healed psychologically, and become kind and thoughtful to each other. The three children become friends, and are bonded with a common love and joy about the Garden - which is translated visually when the Garden is shown in color.Eventually, Archibald resolves to sell the house, including the Garden, and the children are beside themselves with grief. He learns from the realtor/banker that the Garden is in bloom and beautiful (after having been abandoned for 10 years), and he rushes to break into it and see for himself. The children are all there, and it's in color. Colin is sitting in his wheelchair, and in a plea to his father to save the Garden, gets up and walks stiffly into the waiting arms of his father; all are healed and are truly in the Garden of Joy. IMHO, much like classics such as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Wizard of Oz", it is well worth your time to watch it, because of the journey that it takes you on, even if you know how it ends.

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.

"The Secret Garden" is a wonderful adaptation of a classic novel. it starts out as a B&W thriller worthy of Hitchcock. 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. As in "Heidi" and countless other films, the child must cope with strange environs and a clash of personalities. Eventually, she befriends two young boys. Together, they solve the mysteries of the dark mansion and--through their friendship--break through the air of oppression that shrouds the house and its secret garden.The production values are great. The music drives the moods of the story. The cast is excellent in every role, but Margaret O'Brien must be singled out for her ability, at such a young age, to contribute whatever emotions are required. The lighting also makes a significant contribution to the story, giving the mansion very different moods in daylight or nighttime. 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. The various animals. The idea of a foreboding mansion with many undiscovered rooms. At one point, Mary says, "I don't want to grow up." This is a story about the importance of childhood and the wonderful mysteries that capture the imagination of a child. It is also a story about love and its ability to cure the human psyche.