Figure 1.--Here we see the main characters in the 1993 version of Francis Hogdsen Burnett's "The Secret Garden". Mary and the estate boy ickon are dressed quite accurately. We believe, however, that Collin would have been dressed differently. There was considerable vaiation in dress at the time from family to family, so we can not say that Collin's costume is inaccurate. The collar and tie we see here, however, look rather modern to me (figure 1). An Eton collar would have been much more likely with his suit. Click on the image for another scene.

Well-done new version of the Burnett classic. The film has a dream-like quality not found in the 1949 version. Girls will like it much better than boys. The costumes, however, is not very imaginative. Colin (Heydon Prowse) and Dickon (Andrew Knott) appears in rather ordinary knickers. I'm not sure to what extent Burnett describes the clothing in this book. Portions of the film are quite lovely. There is a strict housekeeper who tries to protect the repressed status quo. A reader writes, "It's a beautiful version of "The secret garden" with good acting, wonderful scenery and music. Highly recommended in my opinion)." It is about a British girk named Mary who was born and reared in India, cared for most by an Indian nanny. Her parents are killed in an earthquake. She is sent back to her uncle's estate in England. Her uncle has still not recovered from the loss of his wife 10 years earlier. He has little time for Mary who is left to her own devicesand explores the estate. She finds a walled garden that has been closed up and completely neglected. She makes driends with one of the estate boys. He helps her clean out and restore the garden. Then she discovers her cousin Colin.

Filmology

Well-done new version of the Burnett classic. The film has a dream-like quality not found in the 1949 version. Girls will like it much better than boys. The film was produced by Agnieska Holland who made also "Alice in Wonderland".

Francis Hodgsen Burnett

It is interesting to speculate if Mrs. Burnett was an American or English author. One of the purposes of this website is to try to see what social trends in different countries can be found by assessing clothing styles. Mrs. Burnettt is difficult to categorize as she was born in England but lived in America. She clearly wrote for an international audience; she crossed the Atlantic numerous times after immigrating to Tennessee as a child. She seems to have remained very British at heart. Little Lord Fauntleroy, of course, was based on her all American son, Vivian. Even so, her book and resulting teatrical production was an enormous success in England suggesting the story appealed to both American and English sensibilities. Some observers appear to categorize her as a clearly American author writing for an American audience. One observer opines, "I think her sentimentilizing of the `poor little rich boy' is more graphic in her Little Lord Fauntleroy. My question is, was she glamorizing the working class/farm boy Dickon and ridiuculing the infantile "lording" of Colin partly because she was an American?"

Cast

Colin (Heydon Prowse) and Dickon (Andrew Knott) appears in rather ordinary knickers. The main character is Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly). The children do a lovely job of acting their parts. Kate Maberley, the little girl playing Mary is especially spontaneous.

Location

The film begin in India. The action then shifts to an English estate. I'm not sure the location of the estate is splecified.

Chronology

I'm alsdo unsure if the date is specified. I think it is the late 19th century.

Plot

The movie is about a British girk named Mary Lennox who was born and reared in India, cared for most by an Indian nanny. Her parents live a luxurious life and pay little attention to her. They are killed in an earthquake. She is sent back to her uncle's estate in England. Her uncle has still not recovered from the loss of his wife 10 years earlier and lives a reclusive life. He has little time for Mary who is left to her own devicesand explores the estate. She finds a walled garden that has been closed up and completely neglected. It was her aunt's treasured garden and had been closed on the irders of her uncle. She makes friends with Dickon, one of the estate boys. He helps her clean out and restore the garden. Then she discovers her bedridden cousin Colin. There is a strict housekeeper who tries to protect the repressed status quo.

Figure 2.--Aduklts and children slept in nightshirts in the 19th century. I know very little about these garments.

Costuming

I'm not sure to what extent Burnett describes the clothing in this book. The costumes in the film are not very imaginative, but they appear accurate for the time. One would thank a rich boy Collin's age wold have been dressed in fancier clothes. But as his mother is dead, the clothes he wears are plausible. Mary and the estate boy Dickon are dressed quite accurately. We believe, however, that Collin would have been dressed differently. There was considerable vaiation in dress at the time from family to family, so we can not say that Collin's costume is inaccurate. He wears a vest, rather long knickers, and light-colored stockings. The collar and tie we see here look rather modern to me (figure 1). An Eton collar would have been much more likely with his suit. Black stockings would have been more common in America, but I am less sure about Britain. Mary wears a sailor hat with a wide-brimmed staw hat. This seems reasonably accurate. I'm not sure about the color. A reader writes, "I agree with you about the costumes. I observed that in the first sequence of the film, the girl is dressed by a servant in her house in India. We can see clearly that she is pulling up long black stockings tied to a ribbon by a button sewn to the stocking. This is exactly how stockings were attached in the 1890s. Which is asthounishing is that, after, the girl will be wearing "tights" during the film--a garment which did not exist. This is the same in anoter film based on a Burnett book--"The little princess" (1995).

Assessment

Portions of the film are quite lovely. A reader writes, "It's a beautiful version of "The secret garden" with good acting, wonderful scenery and music. Highly recommended in my opinion)."

Other Productions

There have been other film productions of "The Secret Garden". Our information on these other bversion is very limited. The first production done in 1949 version featured Dean Stockwell. I know nothing about the 1975 version. We do not yet have pages on these other versions.

Created: 12:12 AM 2/18/2005
Last updated: 2:22 AM 2/18/2005