kijii This psychological thriller was based on a very good play by Enid Bagnold, the author of National Velvet. Edith Evans was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the grandmother, and John and Hayley Mills played opposite each other in one of their most effective interactions on screen. However, the best psychological jousting and interplay of the movie is that between the Hayley Mills and her new governess, played by Deborah Kerr.The movie is set on the steep chalky-white cliffs of Southern England where an elderly lady, Mrs. St. Maugham (Edith Evans), lives with her 16-year-old granddaughter, Laurel (Hayley Mills), after Laurel's mother had divorced her father and the father died. Mrs. St. Maugham is in the process of hiring a new governess, Miss Madrigal (Deborah Kerr), while fighting with her daughter, Olivia (Elizabeth Sellars), over legal custody of Laurel. In spite of giving no references, Miss Madrigal totally wins over Mrs. St. Maugham and is hired as Laurel's governess.The situation that Miss Madrigal walks into is very unconventional. The butler, Maitland (John Mills), is formal but far from non-observant or cold. Laurel is a cold-blooded, obnoxious brat who seems to have control of everyone around her and is tolerated, if not encouraged, for her precocious snobbishness. She enjoys shocking people and has Miss Madrigal in her sights as the next victim in a long line of governesses unable to control her. But, Madrigal is no pushover, and Laurel has her work cut out for her before getting rid of THIS governess.As the movie progresses, there is sort of a back-and-forth psychological game between Laurel's attempt to unearth something about Madrigal's past (so that she can get rid of her) and Madrigal's trying to learn more about Laurel's problems so she can help her. Laurel tries to play private detective by looking for incriminating evidence against Miss Madrigal. She notices that all of Madrigal's clothes (and her luggage) are new; that she has no visitors or phone calls; that she never writes or receives letters; and that she has no family photos to place on her dressing table. Laurel also notices that Miss Madrigal never locks her door for privacy until Maitland suggests it and buys a good padlock for her. Laurel's curiosity gets the best of her, and she breaks into Miss Madrigal's room to try to find something on her. But she fails.One evening in a conversation with Maitland, Miss Madrigal learns--or should I say confirms--that Laurel is a habitual liar: she learns this as she checks out several things that Laurel had told her. This seems to be troubling to her since she sees some of her own past in Laurel— something that shows Laurel's need to be loved and manifests this need by controlling people—keeping them away.Things come to a head when Mrs. St. Maugham's 'former mistress,' Judge McWhirrey, 'puppy' (Felix Aylmer), comes to visit the house before judging a murder case in London. While at the super table, Laurel, fascinated by true crime cases, asks him to describe, in detail, what a murder case is like. Real criminal cases are a passion that she and Maitland enjoy sharing. Judge McWhirrey's description is very upsetting to Miss Madrigal and eventually leads to the final outcome of the movie.While watching this movie, it is very easy to forget that John and Hayley Mills were a real-life father and daughter team. John puts up with Hayley's spoiled child role. At times, Hayley seems like she is overplaying her role, as she might have in a Disney movie, but there can be nothing subtle about Laurel, and she can't be played subtlety. In fact, she plays a child trying to pretend that she is an adult. The child side of her is captured in a couple scenes where she thinks she is not being watched: one with a childhood doll and another where she builds a sandcastle on the beach only to kick it over angrily when Miss Madrigal comes along to admire it. The scene on the steps (near the end of the movie) where Maitland and Laurel confront each other is powerful stuff and deserves nothing but kudos from the father-daughter acting duo. Overall, this is a good movie that deserves to be restored on DVD so that it can reach a wider audience.

adriangr This is a very odd and obscure film, but with major star names like John Mills, Hayley Mills, Edith Evans and Deborah Kerr, it's hard to understand why it's very little known. I guess this might be due to the fact that it doesn't fit into any simple category. The plot tells the tale of a troubled (i.e, bratty) teenager who scares off all her governesses until the enigmatic Miss Madrigal comes to stay. A small scale battle of wits begins to play out, until the situation reaches a climax and various secrets are revealed.So basically we have a two-hander between Deborah Kerr as the governess/substitute mother figure and Hayley Mills as the annoying daughter, which would seem to categorise this as a soap opera, and really thats all it really amounts too. Having said that, I really enjoyed watching it. The film benefits mainly from the performances of it's two leads, with Kerr poker-faced and icy as the governess, and Hayley Mills skillfully managing not to alienate the viewers affections with her portrayal of the out of control girl. Kerr has all the best lines, with some very smart comebacks to Mills nosey questioning, in fact the whole script is well written with a lot of very natural sounding dialogue. The settings don't stray much from the house and a nearby beach, which gives away the movie's origins as a play - I could see exactly how this would have been staged in a theatre. Luckily the filming is well handled, with some nice lighting and camera angles, even if some of the outdoor scenery look a bit artificial - however I honestly could not tell if that beach was a real or a set! I would recommend this for the strong performances, especially if any of the cast I have listed above are favourites of yours - and the script - but it's really only Saturday afternoon matinée material as the plot is hardly earth-shattering. A neat metaphor using the concept of flowers growing in a chalk garden rounds it off nicely.

timcon1964 "The Chalk Garden" is a largely forgotten screen treasure. It focuses on Laurel, a troubled 16-year-old who moved in with her grandmother, Mrs. St. Maugham, in protest against her mother's re-marriage. Mrs. St. Maugham hired various governesses to deal with Laurel; but the young girl quickly drove them away. They failed to comprehend her; but she discovered their deepest secrets, and immediately conveyed these to her grandmother, leading to the dismissals of a succession of governesses. When Mrs. St. Maugham hires Miss Madrigal as the new governess, the tables are turned. Laurel cannot figure out Madrigal—an enigmatic figure, who, although almost aristocratic in bearing, is unable to provide any references. But Madrigal completely comprehends Laurel at once. Olivia, Laurel's mother, plans to reclaim custody of her daughter; but Mrs. St. Maugham is determined to prevent this. Meanwhile, Maitland, the butler/general factotum, tries to keep the household on an even keel.That there is a certain complexity to each of these characters adds credibility and interest to the story. Laurel is a highly inquisitive, intelligent, and analytical person, whose judgments are sometimes very perceptive. Often disrespectful and occasionally obnoxious, in private, Laurel is tormented by loneliness and grief. Mrs. St. Maugham is a generous but domineering woman—she wants the best for Olivia, but feels compelled to impose her choices on her daughter. And Maitland is recovering from his own personal tragedy.There are some weaknesses in the screenplay. In an early scene, Laurel urges Madrigal to smile more because she is beautiful when she smiles, then comments that Madrigal is "quite accomplished" as an artist, and then indicates that she values the governess' compliments about her own painting. It appears that there is in Laurel's view of Madrigal an element of admiration that she had not felt for her other governesses. But the screenplay does not develop Laurel's ambivalent feelings, although these are an important part of the story. Similarly, Olivia's maternal feelings are not much in evidence. We see Olivia primarily in confrontation with her mother. For four years, she has failed to contest custody of Laurel, for reasons that are not satisfactorily explained. Even now, Olivia says she is trying to regain Laurel because she is "my daughter, not yours"—which suggests there is an element of competition as well as compassion in her custody battle. Finally, the screenplay makes an effort to soften Madrigal's past. This weakens the plot. If Madrigal's travails resulted only from a failure of the justice system, what is the relevance of her experience for Laurel's situation? But the script is fundamentally strong. It stimulates concern about Laurel and weaves an air of mystery around Madrigal. It also limns the personalities of the principal characters, and shows how the outcome of the story has implications for all of them. Adult viewers may find themselves waiting to see who will finally tame the troubled teenager. But, in a rather sudden and surprising fashion, Laurel's obnoxious façade is cracked when her own machinations reveal Madrigal's mysterious past. Following this event, a series of carefully crafted dialogs, each with a somewhat unexpected outcome, take the story to its conclusion.Undoubtedly, the greatest strength of "The Chalk Garden" is its world-class cast. And, in view of the extreme close-up photography in the most emotional moments, the actors had to master the tiniest details of their performances. This is the cast you might have assembled if you got your first choice of the actor for each role. Edith Evans (nominated for three Academy Awards from 1963-1967) as Mrs. St. Maugham, and Deborah Kerr (nominated for five Academy Awards from 1953-1960) as Madrigal, were ideal for the roles of the aristocratic elderly British lady and the reserved governess. Many actors could have portrayed an English butler, but, as Maitland, John Mills could also draw on varied talents to toss off insouciant comments to potential governesses and Mrs. Madrigal, and even engage in a physical confrontation with Laurel. The great gamble was to cast Hayley Mills as Laurel. Other cast members had years of experience and had played similar roles in the past. Although she had been nominated for two Academy Awards and had received a special honorary Academy Award, Ms. Mills was only 17, and had never portrayed anyone remotely like Laurel. She must have found certain scenes hugely challenging, as some required her to show almost every emotion and to give credibility to seemingly irrational mood swings. In this reviewers' opinion, it is perhaps her best on-screen performance, and should be required viewing for those who think Mills could portray only Pollyanna-type characters. Felix Aylmer, who had played many "gray eminence" roles, does well as Judge McWhirrey. But, as noted above, Elizabeth Sellars' performance as Olivia, is cramped by the script.The DVD version comes without peripherals, but (fortunately) is in 1.85:1 format. A pan-and-scan version would have been a disaster.

Ruby Liang (ruby_fff) Hayley Mills has always been one of my favorite teen actors since "The Parent Trap" circa 1961 with a fantastic Disney ensemble cast of Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara as Susan & Sharon's parents, with unforgettable Una Merkel as Verbena, Joanna Barnes unmistakably as Vicky, and Leo G Carroll as the wistful Reverend Dr Mosby. "The Chalk Garden" 1964 is the rare occasion where Hayley got to truly deliver an in-depth performance involving complex emotions and character development. Playing opposite Deborah Kerr, Dame Edith Evans, and her father John Mills must had been a thrill for her.It seems they don't make simple straightforward drama delivered as stylish as the Ross Hunter Productions did. 'Straightforward' in the sense of no gimmick, no special effects - just simply excellent performances all round - a handful of characters weaving a meaningful, intriguing story. A believable set design and complementing art direction, skillful cinematography and right dose of music score applied. Directed by Ronald Naeme (who gave us "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" 1969 and blockbuster disaster hit "The Poseidon Adventure" circa 1972), you can say it's a perfect film experience, in spite of the 'damaged' teenager fighting for love and self-esteem subject. It was wonderful to see this film all over again, twice, thrice - well, there's no chapters option, the DVD simply plays and loops itself. (Hence the 'Vault Series' with no fanfare.) Guarantee deeper appreciation of this production and the performances with repeat viewing.I'm sure I'm not the only one who very much misses the other gem of a movie with Hayley Mills acting with her father John Mills again in the 1965 "The Truth About Spring" (directed by Richard Thorpe), a fun romp and buoyantly merry (sea adventure) with James MacArthur as Spring's (Hayley's character) opposite attraction. Sure hope a DVD revival version will soon sprout up! It IS a Universal Pictures - both production and distribution! Note: Notice Ronald Naeme was born in 1911. He'd be 100 next year in 2011. What an illustrious cinematic life in film-making achievements, and having been with the masters, Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean.