UNLIMITED STREAMING
WITH PRIME VIDEO
TRY 30-DAY TRIAL
Home > Drama >

The Spanish Gardener

The Spanish Gardener (1956)

December. 25,1956
|
6.8
| Drama

British diplomat Harrington Brande takes up his new lowly post in Spain accompanied by his son Nicholas. That his wife had left him seems to have affected his career. Nicholas sees it all as something of an adventure and soon becomes friends with the new gardener, Jose. As Nicholas begins to spend more time with Jose, his father takes offense and is concerned at the boy's loss of affection for him. It leads him to bar Nicholas from even speaking to the gardener. And soon tensions mount.

...

Watch Trailer

Cast

Similar titles

Reviews

Benedito Dias Rodrigues
1956/12/25

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

More
angelofvic
1956/12/26

The Spanish Gardener is a quiet, beautifully emotional film. Dirk Bogarde shines as a loving and convincingly Spanish gardener and athlete in small-town Spain, where stuffed shirt Harrington Brande (veteran British actor Michael Hordern) has been stationed as a small-time diplomat. Brande's son Nicholas (young Jon Whiteley) is kept out of school, out of the sun, and out of other children's company, ever since his mother left the family. The possessive, stuffy single father becomes repressive and protective of his only child when Nicholas shows interest in the outdoors life of the gentle, loving gardener.With a sub-plot somewhat similar to 'Captains Courageous' regarding the education of fathers, and excellent performances all around, this is a fine film for fans of classic films.

More
John Frame
1956/12/27

Nicholas is a `sensitive' British pre-teen, an overprotected only son who is forced by circumstance to accompany his unfamiliar father to a new posting as Ambassador to a Spanish region.The residential estate's handsome gardener, Jose (played by Dirk Bogarde), takes the boy under his wing, teaching him to enjoy his physicality, the beauty of nature and the joy of life itself.Even though the father appreciates the burgeoning health and happiness in his son, he allows jealousy and internalised homophobia to determine his actions.In a dramatic conclusion father, son and friend all prove their integrity and devotion.Over the years, each time I've seen this film I'm amazed by its beautiful colour and enthralled the interplay of the characters. I get a greater feeling of the father as a self-loathing homosexual - but there is no evidence that this is the case. Certainly the audience must expect an accusation of paedophilia - but when Jose is accused of stealing and imprisoned, then that still gets him out of Nicholas' life. The Spanish Gardener is, above all, a fine film about the value of `mentoring'.

More
Antonio-37
1956/12/28

Jon Whiteley stars as young Nicholas, a lonely and troubled English boy living on a Spanish estate with his cold father, played by Michael Hordern. Dad has money and power, but no time or attention for his son who is desperate for a male role model.Dirk Bogarde stars as the gardener, who starts out caring for the plants then begins to care for Nicholas too.This movie is based on the novel by the famous English physician, A. J. Cronin. How Green Was My Valley, with Roddy McDowell is another of his famous novels made into a movie, which also tells a boy's life story.Nicholas becomes happy through the attention and caring of the gardener. But Dad is jealous of the influence of the hired help on his son. Yet the two have fun with simple things, like a fishing trip to the mountains.The dark part of the movie is the father's use of power and influence to cruelly sever the relationship between the two. The loss of his son's happiness means nothing, power means all.Contrast this movie to Captains Courageous, three movie versions available, by Rudyard Kipling. Here, a neglected boy finds love from a simple fish boat captain. This care and attention turns the boy into a proper man. Such is the power of love.

More