Dreadfully Boring

Beautiful, moving film.

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Jon Whiteley had a great potential to became a star but sadly stop your brief career,remembering he in Moonfleet so amazing acting,this turn plays a young boy who has to follow your bitter father in sunny small city in Spain,meeting a young gardener quickly became friends,which hassled a jealous father,this touching drama suggest a proper question...why the British people are so cold instead Latin people,is it implied so hard in this story...in fact both different ethnicities are the main factor for such culture shock increasingly for a unsolved father...the amazing landscape and amazing spots at Catalonia deserves receive some credit to the picture.Resume: First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

From a Novel written by A. J. Cronin and a well directed film by Philip Leacock comes this endearing and touching story of a young boy named Nicholas Brande (Jon Whiteley). His father is a career English diplomat (Michael Hordern){Great acting} who has been posted to Spain in a rather secondary and disappointing position. Hardened by his lackluster assignment and in addition to his wife leaving him, he seeks solace in his young son. Unfortunately, because of his father's extremely stern behavior, his son instead finds friendship with Jose, a compassionate and understanding " Spanish Gardener " played adroitly by Dirk Bogarde. (a Marvelous role) While the Father tries his clumsy best to get close to his son, the boy instead drifts farther away. Meanwhile Garcia the chauffeur (Cyril Cusack) proves not only to be a thieving conniving drunk, but equally devious in that he arranges for Jose to be blamed for a stolen watch. The movie is a superb story of friendship, love and compassion. The Entire cast which includes Bernard Lee, Geoffrey Keen are great in creating a Classic and a must see film for Bogarde fans. Easilly recommended to all. ****

The Spanish Gardener is an adaptation from A. J. Cronin's novel of the same name. It tells the story of a British diplomat called Harrington Brande {Michael Hordern excellently grumpy} who is relocated to Cataluña, Spain, after his marriage falls by the way side. Taking his young son Nicholas {Jon Whiteley tender} with him, Harrington is perturbed when Nicholas forms a loving and trusting friendship with the estate gardener Jose {Dirk Bogarde charming}. Bitten by jealousy and tortured by his own inadequacies as a father, Brande becomes nasty and spiteful, and it gets to the point where he will stop at nothing to break up the friendship. All of which is keenly observed by the shifty, and often drunk butler, whom it seems has a very vested interest in the family proceedings.The Spanish Gardener is a lovely sweet movie that really hits the spot if one is looking for a warming humanistic fable. It has no pretensions to be ground breaking or feel the need to garner critical appraisal. It's message is simple and it relies {and succeeds in my case} on the viewers basic willingness to be engaged by its integrity and story telling worth. Yes it's far from flawless. You will need to accept Dirk Bogarde as being Spanish, what with his fluctuating tan shades throughout the picture being obvious, not really helping that train of thought. Then you will have to get over a disappointment that the budget didn't let the production utilise more of the sumptuous Cataluña {oh my that Sea} location {interiors done at Pinewood Studios}. But couple the warmth and sincerity of the story with John Veale's lovely score, and it's not with the niggles that you come away with.It's not one I would suggest you rush out to see, but if you get the chance to watch this film, you should do so, for I'm sure you will feel all the better for it come the end. 7/10

The "Spanish Gardener" is a warm-hearted film that entertains, teaches and gratifies all at the same time. Dirk Bogarde is a wonderful actor who never got his due as a great interpreter of character on screen. This is a simple film, but what a film it is! Sometimes simplicity is a more powerful conveyor of truth than complex renditions that lose the audience before they can redeem themselves. So much garbage is being produced currently on film today that I wonder why filmmakers don't just sit back and learn from their predecessors, often English directors, who can teach so much just by simply observing how they craft their films?Jose helps form a bond of friendship with a young boy that cannot be broken even by the boy's jealous older father who selfishly guards his young son as a prized possession who must not have contact with anyone. This film reminds me of "A Man Without a Face" (1993) with Mel Gibson, another wonderful film.I cannot recommend this film too highly. It will warm your heart and break it too. But isn't that what films are supposed to do? Touch your heart and get at the universal emotions of people, much like a Beethoven Symphony would, to stir, conquer and triumph! This 1957 film is a victory because of fine directing, acting, story and execution of plot which allows the audience time to absorb and feel the emotions that develop within and between the characters, resolving itself towards a beautifully crafted ending.