THE SECRET GARDEN (1949)

The second film version of Frances Hodson Burnett’s oft-dramatized story doesn’t shy from its darker elements, the famous children’s novel might have been written by a Brontë sister, but is too poorly served by director Fred M. Wilcox to do more than hint at its potential. It begins in death, as fast-growing child-star Margaret O’Brien (in her last M-G-M assignment) is orphaned out of India and into the haunted household of embittered uncle Herbert Marshall. He’s rarely around, traumatized by his wife’s death ten years ago and paralyzed son Dean Stockwell. Along with local country lad Brian Roper, the three children secretly revive a mysterious locked garden on the estate that holds the key to past events and future hopes. Psychologically compelling, you’ll see why so many have been drawn to it, but while the supporting players give tasty perfs (Elsa Lanchester, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, George Zucco), along with a phenomenally personable black raven, the crucial child performers are all over the place. O’Brien, though maturing into a lovely 12-yr-old, has developed annoying acting habits, still pushing the same buttons that made her a star at five in JOURNEY FOR MARGARET/’42. Unable to regulate the youngsters on screen, Wilcox stumbles just as badly with action & camera placement, saved to some extent by elegant art design and Ray June’s handsome cinematography. There’s a reason he made just 10 pics in 20 years.*

DOUBLE-BILL: Agnieszka Holland’s ‘93 remake (not seen here) is usually cited as the SECRET GARDEN standard.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Wilcox, who made his rep on a couple of LASSIE pics, never did developed much technique. Easy B-list programmers, like CODE TWO/’53 (a cops on motorbikes saga) fall flat; and even FORBIDDEN PLANET/’56 (his admired interplanetary gloss on Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST) only survives directorial embalming via cool design elements & amusing Shakespearean parallels.