The Chalk Garden

Ronald Neame (The Odessa File) directs this stately adaptation of Enid Bagnold’s play which tells of a haughty matriarch (Edith Evans, The Whisperers) who employs a governess (Deborah Kerr, The Innocents) with a shadowy past to take care of her troubled teenage granddaughter (Hayley Mills, Take a Girl Like You, Endless Night), and her neglected garden. John Mills (Town on Trial, The Wrong Box) plays the butler who develops a soft spot for the governess, and navigates the fraught interpersonal relationships of the house. A hit with audiences upon its original release, The Chalk Garden benefits from a nuanced screenplay by the great John Michael Hayes (Rear Window) and tasteful photography by Arthur Ibbetson (Where Eagles Dare, Fanatic). INDICATOR STANDARD EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES High Definition remaster Original mono soundtrack Audio commentary with film historians Lucy Bolton and Josephine Botting (2021) The BEHP Interview with Ronald Neame (1991, 107 mins): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the acclaimed director in conversation with Roy Fowler Fertile Ground (2021, 8 mins): assistant production accountant Maurice Landsberger remembers filming at Eastbourne 8mm Location Footage (1963, 1 min): excerpts from John Mills’ home movies shot at Beachy Head during production Clever Conversation (2021, 22 mins): appreciation of Malcolm Arnold’s score by author and musician David Huckvale Loved and Envied (2021, 11 mins): Josephine Botting on the life and career of Enid Bagnold Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing