"The Secret Garden" (1975) TV series

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1 January 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Family

Plot:

In 19th-century India, little Mary Lennox is suddenly orphaned by cholera. Her only living relative is her crook-backed uncle...

Plot Keywords:

Yorkshire | Secret Garden | Robin | Winter | Schoolgirl Romance

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Sarah Hollis Andrews	...	Mary Lennox (4 episodes, 1975)
John Woodnutt	...	Mr. Archibald Craven (4 episodes, 1975)
Jacqueline Hoyle	...	Martha (4 episodes, 1975)
Hope Johnstone	...	Mrs. Medlock (4 episodes, 1975)
William Marsh	...	John (4 episodes, 1975)
Lorraine Peters	...	Mrs. Sowerby (3 episodes, 1975)
Jennie Goossens	...	Nurse (3 episodes, 1975)
Basil Clarke	...	Pitcher (2 episodes, 1975)
Tom Harrison	...	Ben Weatherstaff (2 episodes, 1975)
Alison Lowndes	...	'Lizabeth Ellen (2 episodes, 1975)

Runtime:

USA:107 min | USA:210 min (DVD) | UK:30 min (7 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

USA:G

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Stage lights are reflected in Mary's silver dinner tray.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Kids TV Shows (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Praise to the Holiest in the Height

My favourite version

Actually, it's sort of a tie between this and the '93 Kate Maberly one. The '93 one was quite lavish, and a visual feast, but in a way I'm more drawn to the '75 version. The acting is great, especially Sarah Hollis Andrews, who plays the spoiled Mary Lennox, and it followed the story exactly. I also liked Andrew Harrison, who played Dickon (he was really great in "The Littlest Horse Thieves"). He was, IMHO, the best Dickon of all the versions, as his Yorkshire accent was the thickest, and he looked exactly the way Dickon is described in the novel. My only complaint: parts of this seemed to obviously be filmed on a set, such as the garden, which was most disappointing. I could be wrong about the set thing, but it seems to me to be indoors. Still, the movie's just like reading the novel and quite a bit of the dialogue is taken directly from the book (I don't mind that at all). I've seen every version of "The Secret Garden" made, and this and the '93 one are, to me, the best by far.