The Spanish Gardener **** (1956, Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, Michael Hordern, Cyril Cusack) – Classic Movie Review 4,598

Dirk Bogarde stars as José, the gardener who actually can communicate with the teenage son (Jon Whiteley) of the brusque British consul (Michael Hordern) in Spain, in the 1956 British film The Spanish Gardener.

Director Philip Leacock’s 1956 British film adaptation of A J Cronin’s 1950 novel about the brusque British consul in Spain who cannot reach out and touch the heart of his teenage son makes a distinguished star vehicle for Dirk Bogarde as José, the consul’s gardener who actually can communicate with the boy.

It features splendid performances from Bogarde, young Jon Whiteley as Nicholas Brande, Michael Hordern as the minor provincial consul Harrington Brande, and Cyril Cusack as García, another one of the consul’s servants, who is jealous of Bogarde’s character José, and frames him for the theft of Nicholas’ wristwatch.

In those far off days of the mid-Fifties, any emotional undercurrents were of course deeply hidden in favour of a very British stiff-lipped look at relationships in the screenplay by Lesley Storm and John Bryan. But it is effective, none the less. And Bogarde’s remarkable, nuanced performance was one of the early signs that he was a real actor, not just a Rank matinée idol.

The screenplay changes the ending of the book and eradicates any kind of sexual subtext between José and Nicholas.

Also in the strong cast are Geoffrey Keen, Maureen Swanson (who died on 18 November 2011, aged 78), Lyndon Brook, Josephine Griffin, Bernard Lee, Rosalie Crutchley, Ina de la Haye, Harold Scott, Jack Stewart, Richard Molinas, Susan Lyall Grant, John Adderley and David Lander.

Christopher Challis provides lovely VistaVision widescreen Technicolor cinematography.

It was shot in London at Pinewood Studios and in Spain at Palamós, near Mas Juny estate, and in S’Agaro on the Costa Brava, Catalonia.

The film was an unlikely hit as one of the most popular at the British box office in 1957.

Bogarde and Whiteley previously teamed for Hunted (1952). It is Bogarde’s second film with Leacock, after Appointment in London (1953). Whiteley worked previously with Leacock on The Kidnappers [The Little Kidnappers] (1953), winning an Academy Award for Outstanding Juvenile Performance.

Keen and Lee both became Bond regulars. Keen was Sir Frederick Gray, The Minister of Defence, in six movies starting with The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and ending with The Living Daylights (1987). Lee of course was M in 11 films from Dr No onwards. He died in 1981 before he could film his scenes for For Your Eyes Only and, for respect, the script was re-written so that M was on leave.

Scottish child film actor Jon Whiteley (19 February 1945 – 16 May 2020) became a distinguished Oxford art historian.

The cast are Dirk Bogarde as José, Jon Whiteley as Nicholas Brande, Michael Hordern as Harrington Brande, Cyril Cusack as Garcia, Maureen Swanson as Maria, Lyndon Brook as Robert Burton, Josephine Griffin as Carol Burton, Bernard Lee as Leighton Bailey, Rosalie Crutchley as Magdalena, Ina De La Haye as Jose’s Mother, Geoffrey Keen as Dr Harvey, Harold Scott (dubbed by Maurice Denham) as Pedro, Jack Stewart as a police escort, Richard Molinas as a police escort, Susan Lyall Grant as the maid, John Adderley as the taxi driver, David Lander as the policeman, and Susan Lyall Grant.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4,598

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