Plot
When tempestuous Mary Lennox (Margaret O'Brien), born in India to wealthy parents, is orphaned by a cholera epidemic, she is sent to live with her reclusive and embittered Uncle Archibald Craven (Herbert Marshall) and her ill-behaved, bedridden cousin Colin (Dean Stockwell), about her own age, at their desolate and decaying estate known as Misselthwaite Manor. Dickon (Brian Roper), the brother of one of the house maids, tells her of a garden secreted behind a hidden door in a vine-covered wall. When a raven unearths the key, the two enter and discover the garden is overgrown from neglect since Craven's wife died there in an accident. They decide to keep their discovery a secret, and begin to restore it to its original grandeur. Under the influence of the Secret Garden, Mary becomes less self-absorbed, Colin's health steadily improves, and Archibald's curmudgeonly personality fades away.
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned $610,000 in the US and Canada and $383,000 overseas, resulting in a loss of $848,000. [1]
On TCM, Margarita Landazuri writes that at the time of release, many critics “felt, as did the Variety critic, that 'the allegorical and psychological implications that have been carried over from Frances Hodgson Burnett's book are clearly for the grown-up trade. Not only that, but a good bit of the production is designed to create eerie terror that may discourage parents from letting moppets see the pic.' In this era when even the youngest 'moppets' take Harry Potter in stride, however, such criticism seems quaint, and The Secret Garden seems ahead of its time.“ [6]
Leonard Maltin gives the “Vividly atmospheric“ film three out of four stars. [7]
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an Anglo-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).
The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in The American Magazine. Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels and seen as a classic of English children's literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been made. The American edition was published by the Frederick A. Stokes Company with illustrations by Maria Louise Kirk and the British edition by Heinemann with illustrations by Charles Heath Robinson.
The Secret Garden is a 1993 fantasy drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland, executive-produced by Francis Ford Coppola and distributed by Warner Bros. under their Family Entertainment imprint. The movie stars Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, John Lynch, and Maggie Smith, was written by Caroline Thompson and based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The novel was previously adapted into two films: a 1949 drama film and a 1919 silent film, which starred Lila Lee and Spottiswoode Aitken.
The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's script and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon. It premiered on Broadway in 1991 and ran for 709 performances.
Secret Garden may refer to:
Kim is a 1950 adventure film made in Technicolor by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Victor Saville and produced by Leon Gordon from a screenplay by Helen Deutsch, Leon Gordon and Richard Schayer, based on the classic 1901 novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling.
Small Town Girl is a 1936 romantic comedy film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Binnie Barnes, Andy Devine, Lewis Stone and Edgar Kennedy.
The Family Secret is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by William A. Seiter and featuring child star Baby Peggy. It is based on Editha's Burglar, a story by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in 1881 by St. Nicholas Magazine and adapted for the stage by Augustus E. Thomas.
Journey for Margaret is a 1942 American drama film set in London in World War II. It stars Robert Young and Laraine Day as a couple who have to deal with the loss of their unborn child due to a bombing raid. It is an adaptation of the book of the same name in which William Lindsay White and his wife described their experiences adopting an orphan in London. This is reflected in the introduction to the film, which begins: “The Margaret of this story is real... “ This was the final film of the prolific director W. S. Van Dyke.
Brian T. Roper was a British-American film and television actor, and, in later years, real estate agent.
Back to the Secret Garden is a 2001 family fantasy film. Produced for television, the film serves as a sequel to the 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame film, The Secret Garden. It contains some of the previous characters such as Lady Mary and Sir Colin Craven, who are now married, and Martha Sowerby, who is now the mistress of Misselthwaite Manor, which has become an orphanage for children whose parents died in World War II. They had appeared as children in the original story some 40 years earlier, and are now middle aged adults.
The Painted Garden is a children's novel by British author Noel Streatfeild. It was first published in serial form in 1948, and as a book in 1949. The abridged US edition was entitled Movie Shoes. The novel is now out of print, the most recent publication being the 2000 Collins paperback.
The Secret Garden is the 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television film adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 novel The Secret Garden, aired on CBS November 30, 1987 and produced by Rosemont Productions Limited. The film stars Gennie James, Barret Oliver, Jadrien Steele, Billie Whitelaw, Michael Hordern, and Sir Derek Jacobi. It won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1988 for Outstanding Children's Program.
Sarah Hollis Andrews is a former English child actress, best known for playing the role of Mary Lennox in the British television adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, and now continuing her career using the name Holly Hamilton.
The Secret Garden is a 1975 British television adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 novel of the same name. Adapted, produced and directed by Dorothea Brooking, it was first broadcast on BBC 1 in seven 30-minute episodes. This is the only BBC adaptation known to exist in its entirety. The 1952 adaptation is missing all eight episodes and the 1960 adaptation is missing three of its eight episodes.
Frances Hodgson Burnett Memorial Fountain, located near Fifth Avenue and the Museum of the City of New York in Manhattan's Central Park, is an outdoor bronze sculpture and fountain which serves as a memorial to Burnett, the author of several literary classics including The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy.
The Secret Garden is a lost 1919 American drama silent film directed by Gustav von Seyffertitz and written by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Marion Fairfax. The film stars Lila Lee, Spottiswoode Aitken, Clarence Geldart, Richard Rosson, Fay Holderness and Ann Malone. The film was released on January 12, 1919, by Paramount Pictures.
Anime Himitsu no Hanazono is an anime television series aired in Japan from 1991 to 1992. It is an adaptation of the 1911 novel The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The Secret Garden is a 2020 British fantasy drama film based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the fourth film adaptation of the novel. Directed by Marc Munden and produced by David Heyman, it stars Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth, and Julie Walters. Set in 1947 England, the plot follows a young orphan who is sent to live with her uncle, only to discover a magical garden at his estate.
