The Chalk Garden (Universal Pictures) (1964)

DEBORAH KERR HAYLEY MILLS JOHN MILLS EDITH EVANS in A ROSS HUNTER PRODUCTION “THE CHALK GARDEN” TECHNICOLOR co-starring EDITH EVANS FELIX AYLMER ELIZABETH SELLARS Screenplay by JOHN MICHAEL HAYES From the play by Enid Bagnold Directed by RONALD NEAME Produced by ROSS HUNTER A Quota Rentals Ltd. Picture A UNIVERSAL RELEASE Miss Madrigal. DEBORAH KERR Lavrele 2 eee HAYLEY MILLS Maitland. JOHN MILLS Mrs. St. Maugham EDITH EVANS Olivia........ ELIZABETH SELLARS Judge McW hirrey FELIX AYLMER Director of Photography, Arthur Ibbetson; Art Director, Carmen Dillon; Set Decorator, John Jarvis; Sound, A. W. Watkins, Jerry Turner: Music, Composed and Conducted by Malcolm Arnold; Production Manager, Harold Buck; Film Editor, Jack Harris; Costume Designer, Julie Harris; Make-Up, Ernest Gasser; Hair Stylist, Gordon Bond; Assistant Director, Basil Rayburn. (Not for Publication) When Madrigal (DEBORAH KERR) arrives at the imposing house standing on the chalk cliffs of Southern England to apply for the position of governess-companion to 16-year-old Laurel (HAYLEY MILLS), she seems strangely unmoved by the knowledge that several other applicants have fled before meeting their prospective employer, imperious Mrs. St. Maugham (EDITH EVANS), Laurel’s grandmother. Hints about the fiery nature of her prospective charge from an unservile servant, Maitland (JOHN MILLS), and a brief, nerve-wracking meeting with Laurel, fail to prevent Madrigal from seeking the job. Eccentric herself, Mrs. St. Maugham fails to find anything unusual in Madrigal’s blunt refusal to discuss her past or provide references, hiring her solely on the strength of her gardening knowledge. Rigidly upholding the social principles of a bygone age, Mrs. St. Maugham has never forgiven her daughter, Olivia (ELIZABETH SELLARS) for divorcing her first husband and marrying a second time. Convincing the child she is abandoned and unloved by her mother, Mrs. St. Maugham determines to keep Laurel as her own, and the appointment of a companion is her preparation for a legal battle over Laurel’s future. The old lady’s only other ruling passion is the garden, the chalk garden, whose sour earth cannot sustain the seedlings she plants there. And just as the earth in the garden is sour, the atmosphere in the house is one of twisted emo tions and frustrations. Laurel, living in an imaginary world, claiming she saw her father shoot himself and that she was assaulted when 12 years old, directs her hostility toward the newest, most vulnerable member of the household, Madrigal, trying to discover the secrets of her past. Sensing that Laurel is desperately in need of love, Madrigal attempts to penetrate her carefully constructed facade, only to meet continued rebuff. Maitland, drawn to the attractive Madrigal, as she is to Laurel, tells her the truth about Laurel’s wild stories, exposing the child’s tales as fantasy, and for a short Copyright 1964 — Universal Pictures Co., Inc neern for Hayley Mills, who seems to be emulat ing the older woman’s tragic past, makes for tense drama in the Ross Hunter Production in Technicolor, ‘‘The Chalk Garden,” a Universal release. Film also co-stars John Mills and Edith Evans. while, harmony, brought about by understanding, prevails in the house. But when Mrs. St. Maugham introduces a lunch guest, Judge McWhirrey (FELIX AYLMER), Miss Madrigal is visibly disturbed. Laurel is the only person to sense her discomforture until, forced to drink wine with her meal, Miss Madrigal loses the firm guard she has kept on her emotions. When the Judge quotes the words of a woman he pronounced guilty of murder many years before, a woman named Constance Doris Wakeland, Madrigal argues the case violently with him. Laurel, realizing she has heard these words and arguments in a different context before, from Miss Madrigal, is convinced her companion is Constance Doris Wakeland, convicted murderess. But some of Madrigal’s efforts to reach through the barrier of hate surrounding Laurel have succeeded. The cihld swears a pact of silence with Maitland who persuades Madrigal to stay and fight for Laurel’s future. Realizing that given love and understanding she, herself, might have lived a different life, Madrigal takes a stand against Mrs. St. Maugham, saying that Olivia must have her child. Laurel overhears this conversation and understands for the first time that she was never abandoned. When Olivia arrives to plead for Laurel, she finds her daughter waiting and wanting to come with her. But although Madrigal has found the right solution to Laurel’s problems, she has denuded Mrs. St. Maugham of grandchild and fantasy world, leaving her with only the garden and its struggling, stunted plants. Through her distress, Mrs. St. Maugham has sense enough to realize that she needs the company and love of Madrigal. She overcomes her sense of social propriety and asks her to stay, promising that, before she dies, she will find out whether Madrigal was murderer or victim. (Still No. 1933—EX. 1) BRITISH COFFEE BREAK (Current) While in London, supervising set construction for his current release in Technicolor, Universal’s ‘‘The Chalk Garden,”” now at the Theatre, Producer Hunter was startled when, right in the middle of a discussion with painters, they walked off! Thinking he had inadvertently offended them with something he said, Hunter followed them trying frantically to apologize. It wasn’t necessary. When he got off the stage, he found them on their institutional “tea time.’ That’s identical with the American “coffee break.” Grass Grows Fast Under Film's Lights (Current) The laws of nature added to the cost of making Universal’s drama in Technicolor, ‘‘The Chalk Garden::”: now) at. the:.22.2.5.. 322 Theatre, and at the same time gave studio gardeners additional work. In order to be able to shoot, regardless of the weather, producer Ross Hunter had a huge, sprawling lawn used in key scenes recreated on the stage. To make it, hundreds of feet of real grass was gathered from nearby Ascot. A few days later, it was discovered that the grass was growing so rapidly, scenes taken one day did not match those taken the next. The concentrated heat from the huge arc lamps spurred the growth. The solution: the lawn was mown every day, but at night so as not to interrupt filming. And the studio gardeners were paid overtime for their work. An intense and highly dramatic moment in the Ross Hunter Production in Technicolor, ‘““The Chalk Garden,’ when Deborah Kerr reveals her tragic past in which Felix Alymer as the judge played an important part. In the photo, from left, are Hayley Mills, Aylmer, John Mills, Edith Evans and Miss Kerr. The highly dra matic picture is a Universal release. (Still No. 1933—74) Page 2 Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, Entire The Chalk Garden’ Production Superb Movie (Review) Producer Ross Hunter waited three years for Hayley Mills to attain the age of the dramatic role she plays in Universal’s “The Chalk Garden” and what appears on the screen proves the wisdom of his patience. Combining a memorable cast, co-starring Deborah Kerr, Hayley, her father, John Mills, and Edith Evans, superb direction by Ronald Neame, tasteful writing and beautiful photography in Technicolor, “The Chalk Garden” is a consummate dramatic triumph. The screenplay carefully develops the theme that when love and understanding replaces hate and sordidness, life can flourish even in the bleak barreness of chalk. It gets its title from the chalk cliffs in Southern England where Miss Evans and her grand-daughter live. When the picture opens, Miss Kerr becomes governess-companion to Hayley. To the governess, her own childhood is mirrored by the circumstances surrounding Hayley—of being raised by her grandmother even though the grandmother’s daughter and her own mother, Elizabeth Sellars, now wants Hayley back. Even though Miss Kerr is terrified that her background will be exposed, in a highly emotional episode she is forced to reveal the tragic past, and through this revelation, get Hayley to return to her own mother. Told in its bare essentials, it is a simple but very powerful story. On this framework, the producer, the writer and the director have created some memorable, strong, full-blooming characterizations. Miss Kerr’s tragic story is told with forcible clarity, heightened by an outstanding performance. Hayley is the spoiled, highly imaginative and vicious teenager who moves without restraint to crush the things’ she_ should cherish. She has the first real acting challenge of her young career and measures up to it fully. Mills, in a finely-etched characterization of the servant-functionary who had lost his own family in an accident, is the perfect sponge for Hayley’s barbs, while Miss Evans as the loving over-protective, yet tyrannical, grandmother is a vivid, real person. Both give better than their usual excellent performances. In supporting roles, Felix Aylmer, as the jurist friend of the family, and Miss Sellars, now happily remarried, are finely drawn. All phases of this polished film have been meshed perfectly. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes from the play by Enid Bagnold works very well with the color photography by Arthur Ibbotson. The costumes created by Julie Harris and the music, composed and conducted by Malcolm Arnold—both accomplish their design of heightening the moods of the complex character clashes. The sensitivity of Ronald Neame’s direction, evident in every scene, is indicated in the lasting impression the whole picture creates. For the over-all excellence, however, kudos must go to producer Ross Hunter whose very capable knowledge has _ transferred the successful stage play to the screen as a powerfully €atertaining motion picture. Women Who Work Should Leave Troubles At Work Says Noted Deborah Kerr (Advance) One of the motion picture industry’s most honored actresses has one sage bit of advice for her fellow working women who want to successfully combine home and career: “Leave your troubles at work and take a smile back home with you at the end of the day.” That’s the candid opinion of glamorous Deborah Kerr, one woman who also practices what she preaches. For on screen Deborah has portrayed many unhappy women. She has portrayed cast-off mistresses, distraught wives, disgruntled fiancees, and has won six Academy Award nominations for roles that should give her at least the unofficial title of “most criedover actress on the screen.” In her latest film, the Ross Hunter production of the smash London and New York stage hit, “The Chalk Garden,” a Universal tre, she plays a woman in search of love whose entrance into the life of an English family unleashes a strange set of circumstances. Co-starring with her are Hayley Mills, John Mills and Edith Evans. And yet the drain of demanding emotional performance throughout her screen career have touched her lightly. Her face is unlined and the green-blue eyes look as though they’ve never shed a tear, the clear, precise voice has no catch-in-the-throat quality. Although a typical working day often means that Deborah has to produce real tears herself or give a tragic-enough performance that the audience will produce tears, she refuses to take her role home with her. “Tm tragic from 8:30 until 6,” smiles the glamorous red-head, “and then I forget about the problems of the day.” For working wives who have difficulty leaving their troubles at their jobs, Miss Kerr, happily married to famed author Peter Viertel, offers this piece of advice: “When you get home, don’t dwell on the problems of the day, but let your mind concentrate on how you can make your husband and family happier today than you did yesterday. Those are the problems that can be tackled with satisfaction.” Create Film's Mood With Color, Music (Advance) The importance of color and music in subtlely developing the mood of a motion picture has never been given more careful consideration than that which producer Ross Hunter gave for the Technicolor Universal release, “The Chalk Garden.” Co-starring Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills and Edith Evans, the emo “Since film-exposition relies on the deep-feelings it arouses, we have consciously used every psychological stimuli to the fullest,” Hunter says. ‘‘For instance, all the sets have a predominantly white background to symbolize the chalk atmosphere in which nothing will grow, least of all love. The colors are varied, for a change of mood. Miss Evans wears green for a heart-tearing scene when she realizes she will lose her grand-daughter; and mauve and purple for a scene in which she is the hostess at a small dinner party. Color has been carefully weighed for the other players similarly. As for the music, each star has a different musical theme to subtlely identify and express his film character.