User Reviews

DIRK BOGARDE gives one of his more restrained performances in the title role, a man whose friendship with a young boy (JON WHITELEY) drives a wedge between the boy and his over-protective father (MICHAEL HORDERN). It's the interplay between these three characters that drives the story and there are some melodramatic events before the happy ending.

But it takes its time in developing the characterizations, sags in the middle and then picks up again during the last half-hour when all the melodramatic conflicts have to be resolved.

Unfortunately, the TCM print shows murky color photography (especially after showing a dazzling print of BLACK NARCISSUS). Whether the film was shot in a process other than the usual British color I don't know, but the color photography was sometimes less than satisfying.

The story is one of friendship that the boy so badly needs when his father has too little time to share many activities with him. The bond between him and the Spanish gardener is based on mutual trust and the boy comes to hate his father when he realizes that he's been the cause of the man being jailed for a crime he didn't commit.

JON WHITELEY gives a remarkably natural performance for a child actor and his scenes with DIRK BOGARDE and MICHAEL HORDERN are excellently played.

There are problems of pacing that plague some parts of the film, but the last half is particularly absorbing and leads to a satisfying conclusion. Well worth watching.

I watched this movie when I was a kid and it has left a very nice feeling inside me whenever I remember it.

It is a very emotionally complicated movie with wonderful actors.

I also very much like the acting of the boy and the gardener.

The actor who plays the father is also very natural and delivers a believable and wonderful acting.

The other remarkable point is the screenplay and the story which is very deep. sometimes it makes you feel satisfied and entertained sometimes it makes you cry.

In all, It's a movie that you have to watch if you are a film lover.

8 out of 10 is my vote.

AJ Cronin 's book is a cruel one, and its denouement is not a happy one .It is actually one of the most depressing ending I know .

Although played by first-rate actor Dirk Bogarde and wiz kid John Whiteley he meets again after the poignant "hunted" ,the readers will be fatally disappointed ; the story was strongly watered down ,not only the ending ,but also the scenes with the charlatan /shrink Harrington Brande who must have got a Mickey Mouse degree .Which would not matter if it did not cause such a harrowing tragedy .The scenes in José's house are a pale reflection of the writer's depiction .

Fortunately ,the rapport José has with his friend,thanks to the sensitiveness of both principals ,is intact .One can enjoy their little trip in the country ,where they fish trouts and share their picnic; the scene in which José suffers humiliation when he brings his gift to the vain father was kept and climaxes the movie ; the way both friends communicate when the proud father forbides them to speak to each other warms the viewer.The polota game is also a great moment.

It was impossible to transfer the book to the screen while making a movie aimed at the family market .In the end ,Garcia will take all the blame deservedly and the father becomes a father again ,which has nothing to do with Cronin's bitter epilogue in Stockholm .

Watch it ,anyway;both Bogarde and his young co-star deserve your undivided attention and all your admiration.But,please,read the book afterward.

A minor English diplomat is posted to Catalunya in the aftermath of his collapsed marriage. He takes his young boy with him, with visions of nurturing the father-son bond. Unfortunately, Brande is a 'stuffed shirt', a cold prig of a man who fails to comprehend his son's needs. He orders the gardens of the residence to be reduced to bland English regularity, instead of leaving them as a wild, overgrown delight for a child's imagination.

Jose is jobless and penniless, but the local pelota champion is a prince among men - young, handsome, charismatic and kind. When Jose is taken on as the gardener, he begins to supplant Brande in Nico's affections.

A decision was obviously taken, pre-production, to dispense with Spanish accents. There is some sense in this, because it can seriously detract from the film's purpose if the actors are constantly struggling to sustain funny voices, but it does produce an odd result. Dirk Bogarde is 'darkened up' for the part of Jose and looks great, but his smooth middle-class English delivery seems incongruous in the mouth of a Catalan labourer. When Nico visits Jose's home, every generation of the extended family speaks flawless English. That would be amazing in the year 2000: how likely was it in 1956?

Brande (played beautifully by Michael Hordern as a spiritual cripple) embarks on a campaign of emotional blackmail towards Nico and a policy of bullying Jose. He is incapable of seeing that this approach is doomed to failure, or that the subtly obsequious Garcia (Cyril Cusack) is the Iago to his own Othello. The ungracious refusal of Jose's fish marks the first breach of trust between father and son, but character is fate, and Brande is set on a course from which he cannot extricate himself. The confrontation between Brande and Nico on the staircase is one of the best things in the film. Young Jon Whiteley, in the part of Nico, gives an outstanding performance.

Bogarde plays the accusation scene with spot-on coolness, but would the theft of a watch, even at Franco's apogee, even if it involved a foreign diplomat, merit custody, handcuffs and an armed Civil Guard escort? Would someone accused of such a minor offence really prefer to take to the hills as a brigand?

Brande's Lear-like volte face in the rain-sodden mill is an affecting scene, and though the whole thing is rather far-fetched, it works as an entertaining fable.

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

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 he plays a young boy who has to follow your bitter father in sunny small city in Spain, meeting a young gardener they quickly became friends, which have hassled by 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 fabulous spots at Catalonia deserves receive some credit to the picture.

Resume:

First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

To watch ' older ' films at this point in time when new films are sparse, it is good to refresh the mind with the more or less forgotten cinematic experiences of the past. Dirk Bogarde is not one of my favourite actors; courageous in choice of roles, yet somehow repressed in his acting. Leacock was a rather ' detached ' director, almost cold in the face of complexity and he partly succeeds in putting this complex and strange novel to the screen. On Wikipedia the book itself is listed as an LGBT novel, and if it is then Leacock cloaks this as much as he can which was necessary considering the very sexually repressive years of 1950's British film. Melodrama very much comes to the fore especially towards the end, but before that we see a father far too devoted towards his young son and fighting off a young Gardner who equally seems to want the boy's love. Added to this overheated brew there is a third man who runs the house who is also obsessed by the boy to the drunken point of assault and threats of killing him. I thought of Henry James's ' The Turn of the Screw ' but not quite in the same literary class. Franco's Spain is the background to all this, which adds a further turn of the screw of repression. I think the film is very watchable, and Michael Hordern is excellent in the role of the father, but Jon Whitely less so as he seems an actor too confused about the role he is playing. Dirk Bogarde does his best, but the English accent gets in the way. Surely a Spanish young actor could have been chosen and that goes for the other actors hopelessly trying to be ' Spanish ', but the box office attraction of Bogarde was clearly too tempting. What does suceed is the emotional struggle for the boy and how destructive it could have been for him psychologically and possibly marking him for life. Unsuitable for children this film got a ' U ' certificate, aiming it towards a general audience which given the unhealthy undercurrents seems strange in itself. Despite my criticisms I found it interesting and beneath the cloak of repression fascinated to find what really lay beneath.

I don't want to sound mean or be too harsh on this minor film.

However, a plainly irritating, "delicate" (as his father calls him) curly blonde schoolboy and a charisma-free Dirk Bogarde, who could have at least sprung up some light accent don't make for great entertainment these days.

Michael Horden, however, is perfect as the work-is-all diplomat, who's so far removed from real life by his over protection for his son, that the story becomes about him and of a spent dinosaur of imperialist bigot-ism.

Every other review chants on about homophobic this and that, but, any child, boy or girl who is cocooned by an oft absent but overbearing single parent is going to find company, solace and friendship in any stranger who spends any time at all within their sight or grasp. Thus, it's perfectly natural for that child to explore beyond the strict boundaries set out - it's natural exploration. Any adult who sees a change for the better in that child is most likely to quietly encourage it.

Jose (Bogarde) is just an everyday Joe and as the Spanish Gardener in question, sees the increasing injustices to the boy and then, to himself. Quietly reliable, he is the opposite to the boy's father and so they click. Interfering house staff, fed up with both master and child do them no favours. The film then proceeds in a routine manner of misunderstanding, injustice and then, not wanting to spoil the ending...

The Technicolour is pallid, you don't see much of Spain and so the overall effect is a bit of a non-event but there is a story there and quite a good one at that.

After the first two-thirds of the movie I would have given it 9 out of ten. My only problem was the gardener's impeccable English, which made the whole enterprise somewhat unrealistic. But unfortunately the last third descends into a somewhat improbable melodrama. I think the same effect and resolution could have been achieved in the much quieter and subtle manner that the first two-thirds exhibited. Because it's the movies, the studio probably demanded a much different, happier ending than the book, which apparently is much, much darker. It's a shame, because much of the movie was wonderful and affecting.

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.

Cold, unfeeling British diplomat in Spain, abandoned by his wife and raising his 8-year-old son alone, has isolated the boy from other children--he even harbors the untrue notion his child is ill to keep him over-protected. The youngster wants to be just like other kids and craves friendship, soon becoming close pals with the handsome gardener his father has hired. Based on the novel by A.J. Cronin, this is odd material for the movies; although it's certainly performed well (particularly by child-actor Jon Whiteley), the relationships at hand are intricate--and the conflicts which arise are a bit uncomfortable. Director Philip Leacock establishes early on that Dirk Bogarde's athletic gardener is heterosexual (by giving him a girlfriend), although there also seem to be insinuations that the boy's hero-worship for his new friend borders on an intimate need. In this instance, some may say the father's desire to keep the two apart is rational from a concerned parent's point of view; however, the father is specifically written not to be a rational man. Becoming enraged like a jealous lover, he has the gardener arrested for stealing and sent to prison! This portion of the film is highly contrived, dismantling the subtle psychology of the situation and turning it into cheap melodrama. Worth-seeing for the acting--and the attempt alone--but the results are not satisfying. ** from ****

A beautifully filmed (in VistaVision and Technicolor) and very interesting character study. A sort of Eternal Triangle story where the three main characters are male. Adapted from A. J. Cronin's controversial 1950 novel of the same name, the plot concerns a middle aged diplomat at the British Consul in Madrid, Harrington Brande (Michael Hordern), who is posted to a sleepy coastal town on the Spanish Costa Brava. His wife has left him and all he has is his eleven years old son, Nicholas (played by eleven years old Jon Whiteley), on whom he dotes and of whom he is so possessive that he will not allow him to go to school or to make any friends at all, even of boys his own age. Brande wants his son all to himself. His excuse for this is that Nicholas is "delicate", having suffered a serious childhood illness and must be "protected." When Brande hires Jose (Dirk Bogarde) as a gardener for the villa, Jose and the lonely Nicholas become firm friends from their first meeting, much to the consternation of the insanely jealous Brande, who goes to much trouble to destroy the friendship between his son and the gardener.

At the time, Jon Whiteley's parents were concerned about the implied sexual relationship between Jose and Nicholas in Cronin's novel and were assured by the director, Philip Leacock and the producer and screenwriter, John Bryan, that "the darker side of Cronin's novel would be omitted and the film designed for family consumption." One scene from Chapter 15 of the novel that was cut entirely from the film was where, at Brande's insistence, his friend Professor Halevy (the character changed to Doctor Harvey for the film and played by Geoffrey Keen) has a "man to man" talk with Nicholas as the boy lays on his bed in his semi-darkened bedroom and talks to Nicholas about the boy's sexual feelings and tries to get him to admit to having a sexual relationship with Jose…especially when he and Jose went fishing together in the isolated countryside…something which, much to the consternation of Halevy, who is convinced that there is something of a sexual nature going on between them, Nicholas will not admit to. Even though all this was left out of the film, the film still comes across as ambiguous and the viewer is left to put their own interpretation on the relationships between Jose and Nicholas and between Nicholas and his very possessive father.

Overall, the performances are uniformly fine, only in one instance coming across as contrived…the scene where Nicholas runs into Jose's arms and sobs. Good as he was within his range, Jon Whiteley just couldn't handle this scene and comes across as the worst sounding and most unconvincing sobber in film history. Whether or not he could have handled the scene of the "man to man" talk about his character's sexual feelings and his feelings for Jose if it had been left in the film is a debatable point. Certainly, he had the right director in Philip Leacock to help him through such a scene, as it was Leacock who, three years earlier, had directed him in "The Kidnappers", for which Jon had won an Academy Award.

The very first frame brilliantly sets the mood and theme. As the movie opens, young Nicholas is isolated on the frame's left side leaving the remainder to a void, specifically, the gloomy interior of a British Embassy. He is peering out a window at a busy street below. Soon we hear raised voices from the next room. Then, two men enter, and the story swings into action. But this first glimpse shows us what we need to know—a lonely, curious boy separated from the world by elegantly impersonal surroundings and apart from adults in his life. In effect, the movie's 90-minute remainder shows us the boy's difficult journey from that detached space above to the worldly space below.

Naturally, a human interest story like this depends heavily on the quality of the performances. Fortunately, they're almost uniformly outstanding, particularly Hordern's. As the emotionally bottled-up father he's simply superb. He's very good at concealing unwanted emotions before they betray inner conflict and possible weakness. And being a diplomat in British employ, the self-discipline goes logically with the job. The trouble for Brande (Hordern) is that he has allowed that professional demeanor to take over his private life, as well, resulting in an emotional prig who's already lost his wife and is in the process of losing his son. The latter are quietly wrenching scenes, especially when the Spanish gardener Jose (Bogarde) arrives and the boy's conflicts become painfully evident.

It's significant that the boy's mentoring companion is made a gardener—that is, a man who knows how to make young things grow. (Note too how quickly the screenplay connects the handsome Jose with a girlfriend, thereby forestalling possible innuendo.) Ironically, then, it's the understanding menial and not the father, who provides Nicholas with the needed opportunity to grow. Thus, when Nicholas doffs his white shirt to join in the gardening and the sun, it's a highly symbolic act, and I was reminded of those imperial times when the conquering British were disparagingly said "to go native" by adopting customs from the locals. As a result, the rivalry between the cultured diplomat and the athletic gardener can be taken in that broader sense as involving more than matters of personal jealousy. Thus Dad's first admonition to Nicholas is to put the shirt back on, and all that signifies.

To me, the movie's first two-thirds come across as a triumph in the art of stylistic naturalism—the riveting seaside vistas, the subdued performances (excepting Cusack's overdone Garcia), along with the sensitive dialogue— for example, note the subtle lengths Robert Buford and others go to so as not to offend the insecure Brande. However—in passing —I do think the accusatory line about failing as a man is unnecessary and contrary to the film's strength, a strength that lies in "showing" rather than in "telling". In short, we've already been shown Brande's key character failing, no need to tell us.

Unfortunately, the movie's final third turns baldly melodramatic and contrived. The stagey storm and chance meetings at the mill may provide some dramatic action, but they also undercut the modulated naturalism that's so effectively defined the movie. I don't know how much of the melodrama was in the Cronin novel, but the sudden departure prevents the movie from being the classic it should have been, at least in my little book.

Nonetheless, it's an unforgettable film in so many ways. Of course, the slow pace is not everyone's cup of tea-- which may be why the last part was turned into melodrama. Still and all, there's so much that's impressive, from Whiteley's affecting performance to Bogarde's smiling approach from the bosom of the seaside. I guess the story could be taken as an allegorical comment on what happens to even the coldest-climate British when introduced to the soothing rays of the Spanish Riviera. However that may be, it remains a moving film of memorable moments and one of my favorites.

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'.

Dirk Bogarde is "The Spanish Gardener" in this 1956 film also starring Michael Hordern, Cyril Cusack and Jon Whiteley.

Hordern is Harrington Brande, a low-level diplomat sent, against his wishes, to Catalunya. His marriage is over, and his young son Nicholas (Whiteley) is everything to him - so much so, that he cannot see that his son needs to be with children his own age and participate in the same types of activities that other children do.

He hires a gardener, Jose (Bogarde) who befriends the boy and becomes almost a surrogate father to him, letting him help with the planting and digging, talking with him and playing with him. When Nicholas' father finds out how close the gardener and his son have become, he forbids the boy to speak to him any longer. When that doesn't work, he takes further steps to make sure that Jose doesn't steal the love of his son.

This isn't the plot of the Cronin novel - in that story, the father is a closet case who can't handle his attraction to the gardener.

Nevertheless, "The Spanish Gardener" is a wonderful character study of a gentle soul with a kind heart, the gardener, coming up against a class-conscious, jealous, embittered man who thinks the best way to keep his son's affection is to make sure he never socializes with anyone else who may pose a threat. He doesn't realize that the worse he treats Jose, the more his son hates him, and that love sometimes means letting go.

The acting is superb. Hordern is fabulous as a person whose career hasn't progressed because he hasn't progressed as a person, and Whiteley is sympathetic and earnest as the young boy, whom the gardener calls Nico. Bogarde is at the peak of his handsomeness in this film, and gives a beautiful performance, playing a man of humility but not submission.

Interestingly, I doubt a film like this could be made today. I'm sure in the '50s, the friendship between the gardener and Nico was taken for what it was without suspicion of sexual misconduct, which would certainly be an element now and add another dimension. Simpler times.

Definitely worth seeing.

I just want to correct a little misstatement made by FAC (fachang@mailexcite.com) in his (or her) well written Spanish Gardiner comment. He (or she) mistakenly says Spanish Gardiner and How Green Was My Valley were novels both written by A.J. Cronin. In fact, the latter was written by Richard Llewellyn.

Spanish Gardiner also made a strong impression on me, since I was at the age of the boy in the film when I saw it first in a cheap black and white copy, at a garden cinema in Izmir, in the Fifties. Dirk Bogarde had been my hero then due to the Spanish Gardiner in which he was unjustly treated and along with it his other two films in both of which he died. (In A Tale of Two Cities he was the first character I watched being beheaded by the guillotine. In The Singer Not The Song, he was a handsome, malicious, romantic villain wearing black from top to hills and paying for his sinful deeds at the end.) I was very sorry for Bogarde at that time. I thought however he was a bandit villain (in The Singer Not The Song) he should marry beautiful Mylene Demongeot. (Oh! How could I have forgotten her for so many years!) COSKUN BUKTEL

Heartrending story of a friendship between two very honest people, a simple Spanish gardener and the young son (about 10) of the hopeless bureaucrat he is working for, who doesn't understand his own son's own good and keeps on blundering through the whole film, until it is too late to make amends, succeeding only in ruining his own life and almost his son's. But they made a great drama out of this seemingly idyllic trifle from the paradise of Costa Brava in Spain, and the acting is wonderful - all are perfect. Michael Hordern makes a very difficult part as the father, you hate his stupidity with all your heart and must understand and share the boy's very reasonable feelings in the end, Dirk Bogarde plays by understatements as usual and makes his part the more efficient for that, while the real character is Cyril Cussack as the servant in the kitchen - the man releasing the shocks.

I have never seen a film made on a novel by A.J.Cronin that failed, I have said this before, they seem all to approach the level of masterpieces just by their psychology, and this is certainly no exception. The very efficient music and the wonderful colouring add to a real treat worth wasting an evening on. Almost a tenner, at least 9,5.

This film fails to engage for two main reasons. Firstly Michael Horderns part is grossly overwritten. He is totally unbelievable as the possessive and overbearing father. Secondly Bogarde is seriously miscast. Couldnt they find a good European actor or did they have to use Bogarde as he was a Rank contract actor.

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. ****

British diplomat Harrington Brande (Michael Hordern) gets a disappointing posting in a minor Spanish provincial outpost. His wife left him and that has affected his career. He does have his son Nicholas, but he's over-protective. Nicholas befriends their gardener Jose (Dirk Bogarde). Garcia (Cyril Cusack) is the butler.

This is a codependency drama. It is one-sided and I don't know if that counts. This is an interesting film about class, about loss, about parenthood. Apparently, there is a book and some criticize the movie for not being the book. That happens every time. Obviously, I rarely read books and none of that matters to me. I would like the father to proactively intercede in the case. At the end, Jose is still guilty of escaping. I do like the performances.

You do not change a winning team:Dirk Bogarde and the young Whiteley shone in Crichton's "hunted" a harrowing work you should absolutely see if you have not.

"The Spanish gardener" is perhaps not as successful artistically and after the trick of the watch ,the movie becomes a bit "too much" ,turning José into a martyr and dad as a monster of selfishness and hatred ,although it was watered down,compared to the novel (the scenes with the so-called shrink were omitted and José survives,to make the movie "suitable for all audiences")

But "the Spanish gardener " is a very endearing work,very simple,and it's this simplicity ,this spontaneity ,we are so in need today;although Bogarde is made up to look "Spanish" -he who is British to the core-,his talent marvelously survives.The young boy is equally efficient and when we share their simple pleasures of life,we are overjoyed;the father is not really bad,but he poisons his child with affection and protection ("Nicco" has a medical exam every week it seems) and the kid stands no chance to open up :an "illiterate" (not true by the way ;the gardener speaks (no accent)and writes English,which is a bit implausible)crude working man teaches a diplomat's son the outside world ,they go fishing ,they meet children with whom the brat plays cards :not only his child is "stolen" but it is by an uneducated man ,not from the high society he is part of;the father's hate knows no bounds.

This moving movie is suitable for the whole family;it shows that a simple man can see clearer than a well-respected one,that humble people are sometimes happier ,and moreover,they can help their fellow men in their pursuit of happiness ;José told us so :"he is not happy".

like this ....try these......

Charles Crichton "hunted"(1952)

Luigi Comencini 'Incompreso'(1967) and 'Voltati Eugenio"(1979)

Imagine the sheer racial dismissiveness of the film makers as they daub brown face over Dirk Bogarde, John Cusack and various other Brits intended to play Spaniards in this dreadful film while reminding them that they needn't bother to employ Spanish accents or indeed any inflection other than standard Shakespearean English. And while we're on the general subject of English voices imagine, if you can, the extreme irritability produced by child actor John Whitely's poor little tyke, Oliver Twist-ish tones. Throw in a dull story about a too controlling dad and a conniving servant, with a tacked on happy ending (always shocking in a Brit film since they rarely employ that tired Hollywood trope), plus poor print and sound quality (basically, I've seen more professional looking films in my tenth grade social studies class back in the late 60s) and you can see why there is no writer listed in the credits. Someone, at least, had the good taste to be embarrassed! C minus.