Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

ellenirishellen-62962 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.

LeonLouisRicci A Time when the Innocence of Childhood was Enhanced with a Dreamlike Quality that was Both Inspiring and a Bit Scary. This is a Classic Tale, Mostly Written for Kids (especially Girls), that has been Filmed a Number of Times. It Seems the Best Version is this One, Perhaps because it was made when these Children were Still able to be Children.The Move is a Wonderful Gothic, Fantasy, Semi-Horror Movie that is Thick on Atmosphere and Emoting. The Tantrum Scenes may be Dated and Somewhat Hard to Take but They are Short and the Film Moves Away to Other Things that are Poignant and Impressive.All Three Child Actors are Superb and the Adult Cast is Nothing Less. This is a Film that is Strikingly Saturated with Warmth along side a Foreboding Landscape of Suppression and Psychological Maladies. it is Quite Different in the way it Blends Hopelessness, Alienation, and Buried Desires Resurrected by the Sheer Will of the Innocents and Manifested with Spiritual Healing.A Near Perfect Movie that is a Throwback to a Different Era to be sure but Beneath the Layers of Dated Class Structure are Timeless Lessons that are Designed to Teach Children but it is the Children who End Up doing the Teaching.

atlasmb "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.

rbrb A mesmerizing enchanting magical movie.An orphaned child is sent to live with an embittered uncle in the bleak north of England. He lives in a spooky old mansion that includes many secrets, like about his deceased wife and bedridden son......but then there is the garden.....What a movie: dark and cerebral on the one hand, yet hilariously funny in parts with super acting by all including a raven, a fox and a lamb.This is a great universal story of love, grief, despair, hope and redemption.I remember having the book read to me when a child at school.A classic film which deserves at least an 8/10, and well done to TCM!