The Spanish Gardner (England, 1956)


Figure 1.--The boy is seen here in a kind of sun cap, sometimes worn informally for cricket.

Lovely movie based on the A.J. Cronin novel. A lonely boy is befriended by the American Consul's gardener. (In the movie it was the British Consul.) The boy wears shorts throughout, often with sandals. He appears in a school uniform as well as in play shorts and sandals without socks, acuaretly depicting 1950s English boys clothing. Good acting by the entire cast. The boy was an especially good little actor. He is being raised in a stuffy home and his stogy father takes little interest in his son. The Spanish gardner takes an intersest in the boy introducing him to his family and their warm relationship. His father disapproves. Beautifully told story, even improves on the book as the ending is not so tragic.

Book

Lovely movie based on the A.J. Cronin novel.

Story

A lonely boy is befriended by the American Consul's gardener. (In the movie it was the British Consul.)

Clothing

The boy wears shorts throughout, often with sandals. He appears in a school uniform as well as in play shorts and sandals without socks, acuaretly depicting 1950s English boys clothing. He is being raised in a stuffy home and his stogy father takes little interest in his son. The Spanish gardner takes an intersest in the boy introducing him to his family and their warm relationship. The movie also changes the charachter of the relationship between the boy and the gardner. The boy's father strongly disapproves. Beautifully told story, even improves on the book as the ending is not so tragic.


Figure 2.--The boy wears brown play shorts after school. He always wears collared shirts, never "T"-shirts.

Assessment

Good acting by the entire cast.

The boy

The boy was an especially good little actor. His name is Jon Whiteley. I have seen him in several other English films.

Spanish Gardner

The Spanish gardner was played by sensitively played by elegant English actor Dirk Bogarde. He also palyed in Death in Venice, a film which showcased turn of the 20th century fashions, especially sailor suits.









Christopher Wagner







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Created: January 23, 2001
Last updated: March 11, 2002