to die. Everyone in the house hates him and hopes he will finally die because of his bad temper. The two gradually become friends as Mary tells him about his mother's garden and how she and Dickon have been restoring it. At last Colin is curious enough that he demands to see this garden. With Dickon's help, Mary take Colin in his wheelchair to visit the garden in secret. Soon Colin declares that the garden must be magic, which inspires him to take his first steps unassisted. The house gardener Ben Weatherstaff (Michael Hordern), who has been spying on the children, witnesses this and is amazed. Ben offers to help revive the garden as well, and Colin tries to learn to stand and walk by himself. Far away in London, Mr. Craven receives a letter from Dickon's mother Susan insisting he return to Misselthwaite Manor at once. Mr Craven arrives to discover the secret garden in full bloom, with the children gathered there. Colin rises and walks to his father for the first time, announcing that he is well now and will live forever. When the adult Mary finishes remembering her childhood, Ben Weatherstaff greets her and gives her the key to the secret garden. They discuss what happened to Dickon, who died in the war, at the Forest of Argonne. Then the adult Colin (Colin Firth) enters the garden, having been wounded and released from the hospital. He says he has asked Mary to marry him before, but she never answered. She says she has been waiting for him to ask her in their garden. Colin proposes again, and Mary accepts. The film actually caused confusion to some, as at the end of the movie, adult Colin proposes to Mary and the two share a kiss. In the novel, the two are said to be cousins, and Archibald Craven is Mary’s uncle, which made viewers question the morality of the kiss. In this version, they are not cousins, and are very explicitly written as such. Cast Gennie James as Mary Lennox Irina Brook as Adult Mary Lennox Barret Oliver as Dickon Sowerby Jadrien Steele as Colin Craven Colin Firth as Adult Colin Craven Billie Whitelaw as Mrs. Medlock Cassie Stuart as Martha Sowerby Michael Hordern as Ben Weatherstaff Derek Jacobi as Archibald Craven Lucy Gutteridge as Mrs. Lennox Julian Glover as Colonel McGraw Margaret Whiting as Nurse Boggs Philip