TV/Movie Set: Bedknobs and Broomsticks ( 1971 )

It has been a long, long time since we have featured a TV/Movie set article, so to bring the series back to life, my sister and I selected a house design that we have loved for years - the Bedknobs and Broomsticks manor. It's so fitting for this time of year, too. 

This beautiful English Tudor belonged to Eglantine Price ( Angela Lansbury ), the heroine of Bedknobs and Broomsticks, a bewitching 1971 musical from Walt Disney Studios. The film tells the story of a would-be witch who attempts to learn the secret of the missing spell of "Substituiary Locomotion" in order to help England defeat the Nazis during World War II. 

Miss Price's secluded house overlooked the chalky white cliffs of Dover. It was an ideal place for her to practice witchcraft without the citizens of Pepperinge Eye knowing what she was doing. She was disappointed to get saddled with three orphaned evacuee children from London, but once they learned that she was an apprentice witch, they come to her aid and help her to locate the missing spell.

Here is a quick sketch of the layout of the interior of the house. Since only one side of the living room was shown, I left that part of the sketch undone. 

Let's take a look at the house more closely with some screenshots......

EXTERIOR

John B. Mansbridge, a fabulous art director who was in charge of many of Walt Disney's productions throughout the 1960s and 1970s, was the art director of this film and he did a beautiful job of recreating a World War II-era English manor. Peter Ellenshaw is also credited as art director for the production, but since he was a matte artist, most of his work was probably painting the exterior shots of the house ( see the two screenshots above ). 

Like many old manor homes, Mansbridge designed the house to look like it had a number of additions added to it over the years. The "original" house did not have a kitchen, so as you can see in the sketch, it is one of the additions and located off the living room instead. 

When Miss Price first arrives home with the children in tow, we see a glimpse of a stone wall behind her. Later in the film, this would be the wall that the Nazis attempt to climb when they attack her house. 

Miss Price's house is very strongly built. The local clergyman ( Roddy McDowall ) knows this, too, and when he comes to deliver a telegram for Miss Price he tests out her porch by jumping up and down on it! He wants to have her house as his own, although the reason why is never expanded upon in the script. 

LIVING ROOM

Our first view of the interior is the living room. Isn't it charming? Miss Price's house is filled with numerous chairs, bric-a-brac, and lots of pictures hanging on the walls. The old beams add character to the place and it makes one think of the interior of an old inn. 

In this scene, Miss Price is heading towards a closet to stow away her new broomstick and below we see the stairs leading up to the room which she will give to the children to use. 

You can see the dining room behind Miss Price in this screenshot:

When the Nazis take over her house ( because of its prime location overlooking the Channel ), they make the living room their "headquarters". That's John Ericson as the handsome young Nazi captain. 

Emile Kuri and Hal Gausman were responsible for the set decoration and they did such a wonderful job. Both Kuri and Guasman had worked as set decorators on other Disney productions such as The Parent Trap ( 1961 ), Mary Poppins ( 1964 ), That Darn Cat ( 1965 ), The Secret of the Pirates Inn ( 1967 ), and Blackbeard's Ghost ( 1968 ). 

As Miss Price leads the children up the staircase we see lots of prints of hunt scenes and animals on the wall and, in the children's room, there is a picture of a military officer and battle scenes which gives us a hint into the character of Miss Price's father ( it was once his house ). 

CHILDREN'S ROOM

The fact that Miss Price left his room unchanged and told the children to "be very careful of everything in it" tells us a little bit about her character. 

Carrie is given the devon to sleep on and the boys will share the brass bed. Later, this becomes a traveling bed when the famous "traveling spell" is applied to one of the brass bedknobs. 

It's a plain room, but it gets plenty of light from the window. It could do with some new wallpaper, however. 

"Now how's a ruddy big bed like that going to get out of this room with those little windows?" asks Charlie. He's at the "age of not believing" and doubts magic altogether. But as you can see, the bed does indeed whisk itself away!

DINING ROOM

We don't get to see much of the dining room in the film. It's small but cozy. Miss Price serves the children cabbage buds, rose seeds, and other vegetarian goodies. The kids naturally like Mr. Brown's cooking better - he makes sausages and mash!

KITCHEN

Speaking of Mr. Brown, here he is. This floundering magician helps Miss Price in her hour of need and the more time they spend together the fonder she grows of him. He was portrayed by that wonderful English actor David Tomlinson ( Three Men in a Boat, Mary Poppins ). 

The kitchen is very bright and cheerful and has a beautiful hearth stove in one corner. Miss Price also keeps the pantry well stocked with garlic ( does she believe in vampires, too? )

THE WORKSHOP

Just off the kitchen is a storage room which we only get a glimpse of when the door to the workshop is open. This is the entry way leading to Miss Price's "witching room". She practices all of the latest spells from Mr. Brown's Correspondance College of Witchcraft here. 

She was especially excited when she got to fly her first broom. Cosmic Creepers, her cat, watched as she came tumbling down from the sky after her first attempt. It takes some practice to work a broom properly. 

Miss Price didn't have too much luck the first time she tried the Substituary Locomotion spell either and the household wardrobe began to take on a life of its own. 

At the end of the film we see this view from the front of the manor. I wonder if Miss Price knew what a prime piece of property she owned! Perhaps she did, and that was why she wanted to defend her corner of England...even via witchcraft. 

TV/Movie Set - When Ladies Meet ( 1941 )

Back in the studio-system days of Hollywood, if a film turned out to be successful at the box-office, within a decade you can be sure that a remake would be filmed. Why chance a new script when you have a winner on hand? Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer loved digging out old scripts and re-working them for their current stars. One such production was When Ladies Meet ( 1941 ), a re-telling of the 1933 comedy starring Ann Harding. 

MGM gathered together a few of their biggest talents, surrounded them with a top-notch production crew, and updated the script a bit to add some modern pizzazz to the old war-horse. What resulted was good box-office. Hey, it's a formula! 

Having not seen the original I can only comment on this remake and say that it is quite an entertaining bit of fluff. But even more impressive then the wonderful cast ( Greer Garson, Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Herbert Marshall, and Spring Byington ) was the set design....particularly the house of Bridget Drake, portrayed by Byington. Like most of her roles, she plays a rather dizzy woman ( but obviously not dumb since she is living in such a beautiful home ). Her boyfriend Walter converted an old water-wheel into the extravagant country retreat and, on one afternoon, she finds herself saddled with some old friends staying for the night : author Mary Howard ( Crawford ) who hopes to have a rendezvous there with her publisher/lover Mr. Woodruff ( Herbert Marshall ); Jimmy ( Taylor ) who comes to follow Mary; and Mrs. Woodruff ( Garson ) who arrives not knowing that she will be meeting her husband's mistress. 

The things that go on in seemingly respectable country homes!.....Tsk, tsk, tsk. 

This lovely timber-framed Connecticut-style farmhouse boasted hardwood floors, beamed ceilings, thick white stone walls, and plenty of fireplaces to keep the guests cozy on rainy nights. It just so happened to be a rainy night when Robert Taylor and Greer Garson arrive unexpectedly. 

THE EXTERIOR

The Backyard - Or is it the front? Believe it or not that "pond" is the swimming pool, which Joan Crawford just splashed into from her perch atop a rustic swing. 

The Front Drive - The driveway skirts around the pool. We are never shown the garage but there certainly is one, and it is probably where the servants quarters are, too. 

THE INTERIOR

Dizzy Bridget was so proud of Walter's handiwork she gave the characters a tour of her house and, since she conducted it so well, we will just follow in her footsteps and make some remarks as we pass by these beautiful rooms. 

The Living Room - One of the best features of a traditional "Connecticut" style home is the sunken-living room. While it is open to the bar/kitchen and the staircases, the off-setting depth of the living space gives the room a warmer cozier feel and adds contrast.

The wrap-around sofa reminds me of the interior of a ski lodge. That's a model ship hanging on the wall. There are a number of them throughout the house. Walter must have shared a common interest in yachting with Claire Woodruff. 

When it's raining cats and dogs outside, sit beside the piano and sing a duet. At least, that is what Claire and Mary decide to do. After they find out they share a love for the same man, they no longer have much to sing about. 

Time for Drinks! - The merry foursome now head off towards the bar, which is actually the conversation room of the house, for this is where the inside of the "wheel" is kept. The water-wheel, that is. Look how thick the supporting beams are! This house is built to withstand a Blitz. 

The Bar - Another sloppy screenshot pastiche. If you want to see a larger image simply click on the photo...but be warned, the images only get blurrier the larger they are viewed. 

To the Dining Room! - After Walter's signature cocktails have been downed, he precedes to show them the dining room, tastefully furnished in Early American style. 

The Dining Room - Straight out of the 1941 Ethan Allen catalog. 

UPSTAIRS INTERIOR

The Upstairs Hall - Bridget now ushers her female guests to the upstairs guest rooms. There are four bedrooms in the main-room and supposedly two additional rooms above the barn. Bridget and Walter have separate bedrooms....she claims. 

Guest Bedroom #1 - Mrs. Woodruff is shown her cozy corners. Bridget plays the perfect hostess and even offers her a new toothbrush and nightgown ( why can't we be invited to Bridgie's place? )

Guest Bedroom #2 - Mary's chamber is much larger and there seems to be a flower theme going on here. 

Look how wide the doors are! Marvelous. 

The Barn Loft Guestroom - Finally, the barn loft, where Jimmy gets to bed for the night. He wonders why he can't stay in the main room, insisting that he has been "housebroken". 

THE TALENTS BEHIND THE SCREEN

The art direction of When Ladies Meet can be attributed to that artistic genius of MGM - Cedric Gibbons - whom you will find on the credits of over 1000 films. Almost all of his sets were decorated by Edwin Willis, who naturally did this film as well. When you have two talented individuals like these fellows working together you are bound to see some great house designs up on the silver screen, and, for me, Bridget's house in When Ladies Meet ranks as one of the best "country retreats" to be seen. 

This post is our contribution to The Favorite Film and TV Homes Blogathon being hosted by Phyllis Loves Classic Movies and Love Letters to Old Hollywood. Simply click on the links above to read more posts about fabulous house sets from the golden age of Hollywood. 

Belle Fountaine - "The Chalk Garden" House

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies and Love Letters to Old Hollywood have teamed up to host The Favorite Film and TV Homes Blogathon ( great idea Phyllis! ) which is taking place today and tomorrow. This brilliant event gives architecture enthusiasts a chance to gush about their favorite sets. Hopefully this will turn into an annual event because there are too many great film and TV homes to cover in one blogathon. 

Belle Fountaine, the cliff-side mansion of Mrs. St. Maugham in Universal's The Chalk Garden ( 1964 ) is my selection for this event for several reasons. First off, it is not a house that I would particularly wish to move into, but it has a number of great architectural and interior design features that I would love to adapt to my own home....when I eventually get one. This includes plenty of greenery, thick hardwood floors, bright walls, an open inviting floor plan, and lots of sunlight. The second reason is the location of this estate - the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs on the southern coast of England, near Brighton. Even today, the area surrounding these pearly white cliffs is devoid of housing communities ( thank goodness! ) and so, perhaps because this is an "ancestral" home, it is perched quite near the cliff. From within, one can see a view of the channel and the cliffs. 

Belle Fountaine, as seen from the back side

For those not familiar with the film, The Chalk Garden was a Technicolor production produced by Ross Hunter in 1964. Like most Ross Hunter films ( such as All that Heaven Allows and Portrait in Black ) it features lush settings and a cheerful color palette to offset all the emotional drama going on in the script. 

The film is based upon a marvelously clever Enid Bagnold play that tells the story of a bratty love-starved teenage girl, Laurel ( Hayley Mills ), who takes pleasure in "exposing" the governesses that her grandmother, Mrs. St. Maugham ( Dame Edith Evans ), selects for her. She does this to get rid of them. Her and the manservant Maitland ( John Mills ) are British crime enthusiasts and Laurel delights in exposing people's faults. However, when the new governess Miss Madrigal ( Deborah Kerr ) arrives, she finds her greatest challenge yet. This woman is enshrouded in mystery, and what Laurel does uncover about her turns out to be more sinister than she imagined. As Laurel penetrates deeper into Miss Madrigal's past she unintentionally opens a wound that should have been left to heal, and comes to regret hurting the one person who truly cared for her. 

Like many stage dramas, the actions of The Chalk Garden were confined to several rooms in the original play. For the film, much of the story is still confined to the house ( to keep the claustrophobic tension intact ) but audiences get to glimpse some lovely location scenes as well, including the village of Beachy Head where most of the film was made. 

The front of Belle Fountaine, as seen from the walkway

Thanks to this confinement, studying Belle Fountaine is fairly easy and I took numerous blurry screenshots from my well-worn DVD copy, so you can take the house tour as well. 

The Chalk Garden could have easily been made into a somber black-and-white melodrama, but thanks to Ross Hunter's elegant taste, it is surprisingly colorful. Now that you have caught a glimpse of the exterior of Belle Fountaine, let's take a closer look at the inside. We follow Miss Madrigal as she arrives and one of the first scenes is of Maitland descending the staircase to answer the front door. The color scheme of this beautiful foyer reminds me of Mary Poppins ( 1964 ) with light-toned walls and light-colored furniture offset by dark wood-paneled doors and lots of greenery. ( Simply click on the images to view them larger. )

The Foyer

Maitland ushers the first applicant for the governess position, as well as Miss Madrigal, into the conservatory, which is connected to the living room and acts as a sun-room and breakfast room for the St. Maughams. 

Having breakfast in the conservatory

Miss Madrigal arrives with a indifferent demeanor and no references and Mrs. St. Maugham initially intends to decline her application, until she mentions that she was once put in charge of a garden. Mrs. St. Maugham's delight is her garden, but she does not have a green thumb and her plants are suffocating in the overly chalky soil that they were planted in. This proves to be reference enough and Miss Madrigal is hired for the job, of not only caring for Laurel but the garden as well which are "similar in many ways" ( both are malnourished ).

Unfortunately, we do not get to see much of this garden but, as Miss Madrigal puts it, the garden itself and the grounds of the estate could be made into a place so full of life that "people would come from everywhere to see it". A worthy ambition. With its old ivy-covered brick walls it certainly resembles one of those house/gardens that are opened to the public. 

Miss Madrigal's bedroom

Miss Madrigal is given the "governess" room which is a beautiful bedroom painted in light blue with white accents. In addition to two standard dressers there is also a large armoire ( evidently the St. Maughams thought their governesses dressed for balls ). 

Laurel's bedroom is directly across the hall from Miss Madrigal's making it convenient for Laurel to spy on her. Miss Madrigal even helps her in this endeavor by leaving her door open and Laurel sees her pace the floor every night "like a caged animal". Laurel's room is primarily white and is not decorated at all like you would expect a teenage girl's room to be. The pictures on the wall and decorations are mainly botanical related and her few feminine possessions ( her fairy-tale books and doll ) are kept hidden away in the closet, for she is ashamed to admit that she likes them. 

Carmen Dillon was the art director of The Chalk Garden. This talented woman trained for six years as an architect before she joined Fox Studios in England. Female art directors were a rarity but Ms. Dillon slowly built up a solid reputation of setting the scenes for British films, notably Hamlet ( 1948 ), The Browning Version ( 1951 ), The Importance of Being Earnest ( 1952 ), Richard III ( 1955 ), The Go-Between ( 1971 ), and The Omen ( 1976 ).

The upstairs hall outside Laurel & Miss Madrigal's bedrooms

While credit can be given to Ms. Dillon for the interior design of Belle Fountaine, I think more praise is due to John Jarvis, the set decorator, for Mrs. St. Maugham's character is revealed in the furnishings of her house. Oil paintings adorn the wall, sculptures can be found in just about every corner, and the entire house reveals a woman of class. The house is formal but not overly so. In fact, it is quite comfortable and "lived in". One could imagine a Helen Hayes grandmother-type character living here as well. 

The doors are covered with layers of thick glossy paint ( a British tradition ), the hardwood floors have a rich dark brown shellac, but the walls are light-toned throughout, giving emphasis to the decorative furnishings. 

The Dining Room ( note the large wall tapestry )

John Jarvis knew well how to decorate a house. He dressed a number of films uncredited ( The Wicked Lady, Quartet, The Miniver Story, The Hour of 13 ) and only made a handful of films where he was given full credit as set decorator. But the few sets he dressed were memorable : The Haunting ( 1963 ), The Yellow-Rolls Royce ( 1964 ), Sleuth ( 1972 ) and The Last of Sheila ( 1973 ). 

Views of the Kitchen

Fortunately, we can catch a glimpse of just about every room in the house in The Chalk Garden. In several scenes we are given a view of the kitchen, a fairly large kitchen that has at least three ovens as you can see in this shot ( don't mind the Mills' in the foreground ). Notice the blue and white tiling on the wall behind the stove. This decorative motif also appears around the kitchen sink. 

The Study

Another room we are shown briefly is the study which Maitland claims as his own when Mrs. St. Maugham has gone to bed. It has a well-stocked library ( including a complete set of the True British Crime series ) and a blazing fire in the fireplace. Plenty of bourbon and sherry are stored near by, too. It is here that Mrs. St. Maugham also keeps her photo collection of old beaus ( with "Puppy" earning the center spot ). 

Another room, which is shown only briefly, is the living room. Glass doors lead out from the living room into the conservatory letting in plenty of light. There is a grand piano, a large fireplace, several couches, and a number of armchairs, too. 

The Living Room ( hiding behind the characters )

The exterior of Belle Fountaine is actually Clapham House, located in Litlington, East Sussex. This 18th century estate is situated on 24 acres and was once the residence of Lady Fitzherbert, mistress to King George IV. Only a few playful ghosts remained. In 1978, the son of Elizabeth Brassart, the directrice of the famous cooking school Cordon Bleu de Paris purchased the property and, with his wife, converted it into a French cooking school - L'Ecole de Cuisine Francaise. 

Clapham House in the 1800s

Today it is a private residence and, like many film locations, few realize that it was featured in The Chalk Garden. 

This post is our contribution to The Favorite Film and TV Homes Blogathon. Simply click on this link to read more posts about beloved film and TV homes.