The Chalk Garden

In her A&E "Biography", it was revealed that child actress Hayley Mills apparently got her first mediocre notices from critics with this film, but I do not know why. Mills is engaging and colorful as a 16-year-old with a mind of her own: willful, stubborn, and bratty, she's wonderful on-screen. Deborah Kerr is also very fine, cool-headed and mysteriously reserved playing the new governess in an emotionally-unbalanced household run by haughty matriarch Edith Evans. Talky but entertaining, lively adaptation of Enid Bagnold's play (the title a metaphor for growing something in an improper environment). Exceptionally well-directed by Ronald Neame, who carefully allows the story to unfold like a marvelous novel--one you can get lost in. All the performers, including John Mills as the chief caretaker, are first-rate. Worth finding. ***1/2 from ****

I saw it for the third time, and liked it just as much as the first time. The first time I was much too young to understand the plot, but I loved Hailey Mills and the aura of doom and gloom coupled to gorgeous landscapes. This is a gorgeous movie, despite its many facial close ups (a sure sign of cinematic deterioration). Toward the end, I wiped a few tears. Ross Hunter has repeatedly delivered gorgeous movies. I am beginning to respect him.

Mills has a rather impressive collection of movies to her credit. She deserves much more respect than she has received.

Like other reviewers I have waited for years for "The Chalk Garden" to come out on DVD. I don't know if it is or not, but it should be listed as one of the best movies of the 1960's. It is small movie, meaning not a big blockbuster or big named stars. Oh, I know Deborah Kerr and Haley Mills are well known, but even in 1964 they were not considered "big stars".

This movie has drama, suspense, surprises, great characters and is so well acted. John Mills, Haley's father, is so subtle in his role as Maitland. Dame Edith Evans, as the child's over indulgent grandmother is superb. Haley Mills is delightful as the teenager just trying to yell at the world "Look at me, I matter". And Deborah Kerr, who is among my favorite actors, gives as always a subtle, striking performance. She makes me wish I had a governess, and it was her. I am 55 and I saw this film many, many years ago as a kid, and have always loved it. My mom and I used to watch it all time when it showed up on TV. I would periodically check out Netflix to see if was available to rent, also checked out Amazon to buy. Could never get it on either one. (Still can't find it on Netflix). I decided a few weeks ago to try Amazon again, and there it was to my pleasant surprise. Now I can pass on this treasure to my nieces. I just hope they love it as much as I. As I said it is a small movie w/a great message: Children need to be heard and listen to, but also loved and given boundaries. And all people big and small, just want to be valued.

This is about flawed people coming together. Haley plays an attention starved child who demands to be noticed every minute. Kerr offers her true friendship. She then offers it to the lonely strong willed grandmother. Pssst, the lady has a past.

Beautiful British locales.

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.