This was a surprising little gem to catch on Turner Classics this morning; I had only been aware of the 1993 version and did not know of an earlier one. This is only the third film I've come across utilizing the black and white transformation into color technique, probably best known for it's use in "The Wizard of Oz". The other one I'm thinking about is Abbott and Costello's "Jack and the Beanstalk".
Ostensibly a children's movie, I kept considering why so many scenes were played out in darkness with that horrible crying sound of the young Colin Craven (Dean Stockwell). The old, dark Craven mansion was, in the words of the film, an excellent house for bitterness and not for children, but fortunately, Mary's (Margaret O'Brien) alliance with Dickon (Brian Roper) helped their new friend to find joy in life along with the ability to walk. It still bothers me, even after the picture is over, that the sour Uncle Craven (Herbert Marshall) was willing to subject his own son to a debilitating condition instead of insisting on a cure that could make him a happy young boy again.
That all had to do with the death of his wife of course, ten years earlier due to an unfortunate accident. It's somewhat mysterious that the picture would take the viewer in the direction of a crime implicit in Mrs. Craven's death when there was already enough tension to go around. The virtually abandoned son would have been privy to those whispered conversations as well, adding even more to his imposed misery.
Fortunately it's the youngsters who carry this picture. O'Brien, Roper, and Stockwell form a unique trio, blooming as it were, along with the newly tended garden after the abandonment of a decade. Though the feel good ending seems somewhat forced, it's appropriate that the old Uncle is cured of his own personal demons to redeem himself as a father to the young Colin.
Ostensibly a children's movie, I kept considering why so many scenes were played out in darkness with that horrible crying sound of the young Colin Craven (Dean Stockwell). The old, dark Craven mansion was, in the words of the film, an excellent house for bitterness and not for children, but fortunately, Mary's (Margaret O'Brien) alliance with Dickon (Brian Roper) helped their new friend to find joy in life along with the ability to walk. It still bothers me, even after the picture is over, that the sour Uncle Craven (Herbert Marshall) was willing to subject his own son to a debilitating condition instead of insisting on a cure that could make him a happy young boy again.
That all had to do with the death of his wife of course, ten years earlier due to an unfortunate accident. It's somewhat mysterious that the picture would take the viewer in the direction of a crime implicit in Mrs. Craven's death when there was already enough tension to go around. The virtually abandoned son would have been privy to those whispered conversations as well, adding even more to his imposed misery.
Fortunately it's the youngsters who carry this picture. O'Brien, Roper, and Stockwell form a unique trio, blooming as it were, along with the newly tended garden after the abandonment of a decade. Though the feel good ending seems somewhat forced, it's appropriate that the old Uncle is cured of his own personal demons to redeem himself as a father to the young Colin.