Micitype Pretty Good

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

tlfravel-1 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.

michellelocke007 bought this film when VHS tapes were still in circulation. it's just a shame that it has never been released on DVD as more people need to see it. Hayley mills turns in a great performance and it's nice to her fit into more mature and adult rolls since her turn in a string of Disney released films from the early sixties. her father john mills who stars as maitland the butler also does a great performance as does Deborah Kerr who plays the title role of the governess in this psychological drama. the plot tells the story of laurel a rather un-ruly and temperamental child who lives with her grandmother who goes through a record o 3 governesses in a week. laurel soon meets her match when impeccably dressed and well-mannered ms. madrigal shows up on their doorstep enquiring about the position. laurel states that every one has a secret and that she is willing to go through great lengths to find out what it is. from there, she informs her grandmother who prompyly has the governess dismissed. but ms. madrigal is not easily deterred and it is clear that she wants to help the deeply troubled laurel. well paced drama with some excellent performances and i highly recommend seeing it if one can get a copy of it.

dizozza I saw this film during its first television broadcast in the New York area (in 1965?). I was seven or eight. The TV Guide called "The Chalk Garden" a drama, and although I could never watch a drama, my attention span locked when the camera left a civilized sitting room to catch the teenage Hayley yelping around a bonfire. She lived on a cliff over the ocean (a nice place) with her grandmother, who was indulgent enough to allow this one-girl "lord of the flies" to do whatever she desired. Meanwhile, the grandmother suspiciously interviewed nannies to serve the child, and if the grandmother didn't scare them off, then one glimpse at the girl feeding wood to the flames did. The grandmother thought highly of Laurel, as Hayley was called, and said such primal outbursts were proof of a gifted artistic temperament. I agreed. I am sure my grandmother would have said the same about me. The weak-willed nannies ran. The nanny that got the job was the one that carried herself with the most detachment and negative expectation. While the script circled around Hayley, the director surrounded her with high powered actors believably concerned for her future. Her father played the butler. Deborah Kerr played her new nanny. Laurel dispatched prior nannies by uncovering and revealing indiscretions of their past. This game in no way prepares her for the nanny who served time for a murder committed during her unhindered wonder years. When Laurel discovers the secret, she has befriended her nanny and no longer wants to hurt her. The murder details remain a murky part of the story, although the grandmother intends to spend the rest of her life finding out the truth. The message, however, is clear: children need hindrances. It lets them know people care about them. It keeps them out of trouble. Looking at the film recently, I saw a child treated like a child, even by the musical accompaniment. As a child I was with Hayley Mills. I didn't want her to be claimed by her flaky mother against her grandmother's wishes. The grandmother is left with the Nanny and the Butler to help her deal with the challenge of raising garden plants in chalky soil by the sea. In addition, the film suggests that the divorced mother will remarry, and I went to bed and took the movie from there. Hayley Mills' new father relocated his family to New York where she and I met and became great friends. What do we really know about The Chalk Garden? Herbert Ross produced it. The director was Ronald Neame and the original play was by Enid Bagnold, the author of National Velvet. It seemed an odd movie for Universal Pictures to release. I was shocked to discover after years of black and white TV that it was filmed in a luxurious Technicolor.Peter Dizozza (from the Haley Mills Essay)

lora64 What can I say! I'm just another Haley Mills fan like all the rest. In this role as Laurel, she is being precocious, over inquisitive, and a downright trouble maker as far as governesses are concerned. However, her incessant pursuit of trying to turn up details in their private lives really underscores a psychological imbalance in her own young life which eventually surfaces. Much does revolve around the fact of her being estranged from her mother as the tale unfolds.This is a lovely combination of real-life father, John Mills, in a fine supporting role, and Deborah Kerr as the well-meaning but beleaguered governess. Many scenes are emotionally intense yet so well acted that we are swept along in the story. The tangled threads of family relationships is gradually sorted out and priorities are set aright after much confusion and willfulness particularly in the obstinacy of the grandmother (Edith Evans), who performs with great dramatic vehemence near the conclusion. A touching, human story, a great play.