The Chalk Garden

It is a film about lies, stories untold, and murder. We enter seeing things one way and then at the end see it another. I am a MAJOR Hayley Mills fan and when I saw this on the AMC channel, I just had to see it. What a movie! It got drawn into it and was held to the end. Deborah Karr plays the role of a new/temp governess of a mean spirited child(Hayley) who can do nothing but lie. Something Deborah's character has in common. We watch as they both try to wear each other down. I was a little surprised to see Hayley bite into a role so unlike her others, and see how well she does. Deborah gives a great performance here as does John Mills(Hayley's real dad) as the caretaker.

The one who really steals the show is (Dame)Edith Evans. She is fantastic. It's hard to believe that she is older than her character, yet they had to age her for the film so she would look old enough for the role!

I should start by noting that I've never read the book on which "The Chalk Garden" is based. My interpretation of the movie is that we shouldn't try to suppress our true character. Laurel is undeniably herself, but then there's the thing about the governess.

Hayley Mills was known for "cute" roles by this point, so her role as Laurel was a real departure; the character reminded me of Parker Posey's character in "The House of Yes". Deborah Kerr naturally turned in a solid performance as the governess. John Mills as the dad didn't make much of an impression on me, but Edith Evans (in an Oscar-nominated performance) as the grandmother is enough to chill anyone's bones. Director Ronald Neame went on to helm "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and "The Poseidon Adventure".

All in all, worth seeing.

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.

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.

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.