I grew up watching O'brien movies. She was my favorite child actor alongside Shirley Temple and Peggy Ann Garner. There were a few O'brien movies I didn't like, this being the addition but after the second or few times of watching this, I actually liked it.Stubborn Mary (Margaret O'Brien) has lost her parents due to cholera. She gets sent to Europe, where she gets laughed at by some kids and discovers a garden which causes her to change from a nasty brat to a nice girl.I do believe that Mary was too nasty in this adaptation and outspoken, considering when she confronts Colin about his overly loud cry. Margaret O'Brien nails her performance, except for the accent, which was quite stiff for a Indian girl who comes to British.Sometimes it can get a bit melodramatic but it was an engaging adaptation for people to love and remember fondly. I also recommend the 1993 Secret Garden, which was also good.

After a cholera epidemic wipes out her parents and most of their Indian village, spoiled and disagreeable Margaret O'Brien (as Mary Lennox) is sent home to live with her reclusive uncle Herbert Marshall (as Archibald Craven) in Yorkshire, England. Accustomed to many devoted servants, young Miss O'Brien finds the new staff lacking. They don't think to hand her a biscuit. She has to dress herself. Her melancholy uncle prefers to remain a stranger. O'Brien is locked in her room at bedtime and told she must not explore the dark, moody mansion. At night, she hears the wailing of ten-year-old cousin Dean Stockwell (as Colin Craven). Sickly and bedridden, young Stockwell fears his death is near. Allowed outside to play, O'Brien meets robust young Brian Roper (as Dickon). The local lad is beloved by wild animals and tells O'Brien about a "Secret Garden" on the estate...Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel has been made into several movies. Probably, none fully capture the nightmarish enchantment present in the original work. MGM and producer Clarence Brown succeed in the former, partially, by giving it a Gothic look...Dreary and majestic setting (by Edwin B. Willis) and photography (by Ray June) make several early scenes memorable, but director Fred M. Wilcox loses focus as the pace dulls and story development becomes rushed. The character "Mary" becomes less relevant and her cousin "Colin" suffers from a too-hasty resolution. While fine performers, O'Brien and Stockwell do not have the appropriate script or appearance; as well as unlikeable, they should be frail, plain and sickly. Like "Colin", the "Garden" changes too suddenly. In this instance, the switch to color photography is harsh and turgid. Set design and costuming add to the increasing artificiality. Still, the film contains many moments which faithfully evoke scenes from the book. And, the character you'd most expect them to blunder turns out to be the best, as Brian Roper's "Dickon" is appropriately amazing.******* The Secret Garden (1949-04-30) Fred M. Wilcox ~ Margaret O'Brien, Dean Stockwell, Brian Roper, Herbert Marshall

This is my own opinion and "take" on the film. You can understand the storyline from the main description, but the real story is that the subject is "the Garden of the Psyche". A B&W film, there is great usage of light and shadow for dramatic effect. It conveys a dreary, foreboding atmosphere, and a world devoid of color (Love and Joy). A prominent symbol in this film is a raven. According to website www.ask.com, "...the raven symbolizes metamorphosis, change, or transformation...messengers from the cosmos...and help people to find answers to thoughts that they are unable to face...it is believed that ravens help to expose these secrets to help a person begin the process of healing from their effects..."Mary comes to live with her uncle after her parents die in India from cholera, and she is deeply hurt by the loss of her parents, acting like a spoiled brat and insisting to be waited on/indulged as if she were a cripple. Her uncle (Archibald Craven) is psychologically wounded by the loss of his wife 10 years earlier in a tragic accident, and takes out his grief on his son, treating him like a cripple.His son (Mary's cousin), Colin, is told by doctors and other adults that he IS a cripple, and is a spoiled, miserable brat. An "outside" doctor eventually reveals that the boy is not crippled at all, and just needs some exercise and sunshine. The discovery of the Secret Garden by Mary and Dickon begins to soften Mary's heart, and its subsequent clean-up becomes a labor of love. As the garden is healed, Mary and then Colin are healed psychologically, and become kind and thoughtful to each other. The three children become friends, and are bonded with a common love and joy about the Garden - which is translated visually when the Garden is shown in color.Eventually, Archibald resolves to sell the house, including the Garden, and the children are beside themselves with grief. He learns from the realtor/banker that the Garden is in bloom and beautiful (after having been abandoned for 10 years), and he rushes to break into it and see for himself. The children are all there, and it's in color. Colin is sitting in his wheelchair, and in a plea to his father to save the Garden, gets up and walks stiffly into the waiting arms of his father; all are healed and are truly in the Garden of Joy. IMHO, much like classics such as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Wizard of Oz", it is well worth your time to watch it, because of the journey that it takes you on, even if you know how it ends.

"The Secret Garden" is a wonderful adaptation of a classic novel. it starts out as a B&W thriller worthy of Hitchcock. As the layers of the story unfold, and the mysteries are solved, it resolves into a mixture of drama and comedy.Mary Lennox (Margaret O'Brien) is an orphaned child who finds refuge in the household of a distant uncle. As in "Heidi" and countless other films, the child must cope with strange environs and a clash of personalities. Eventually, she befriends two young boys. Together, they solve the mysteries of the dark mansion and--through their friendship--break through the air of oppression that shrouds the house and its secret garden.The production values are great. The music drives the moods of the story. The cast is excellent in every role, but Margaret O'Brien must be singled out for her ability, at such a young age, to contribute whatever emotions are required. The lighting also makes a significant contribution to the story, giving the mansion very different moods in daylight or nighttime. Color is used sparingly, where it is most dramatic.So much of this film captures the imagination; especially the imagination of a child: The very concept of a secret garden. The various animals. The idea of a foreboding mansion with many undiscovered rooms. At one point, Mary says, "I don't want to grow up." This is a story about the importance of childhood and the wonderful mysteries that capture the imagination of a child. It is also a story about love and its ability to cure the human psyche.