Mary Lennox is orphaned when her unloving parents die in India. She’s sent to England to the home of her Uncle, Lord Craven who is still in mourning for the death of his wife 10 years before. Mary is shut up in a dark, forbidding room by the housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock and told to stay out of the way. But she’s a determined child and soon begins exploring the house and grounds. A robin leads her to a walled-off garden where weeds have taken over. With Dickon, a boy who lives on the moor, she fixes things up and when spring comes, the garden turns beautiful once again. It had belonged to Lord Craven’s wife, Mary’s aunt, but when she died (falling off the garden swing) her husband forbade anyone to enter.

Meanwhile, Mary’s explorations lead her to the room of her cousin, Colin. Colin has never been out of bed and is treated like a cripple. Mary and Dickon take him outside and show him the garden. Colin soon begins to walk and becomes healthy for the first time in his life. Lord Craven is off traveling somewhere. In a strange nighttime ceremony complete with chants, Colin summons his father home. His father hears the summons in a dream and returns. He finds the children in the garden and sees Colin walking. He hugs Colin and Mary and everything is right with the world.

• From IMDB — The costume design is so detailed that the initials "M.L." (Mary Lennox) can be seen embroidered on Mary's stockings for the split second they appear on-screen, while Mary's Ayah is dressing her at the beginning of the film.

A strange movie. The opening credits run over a scene where 10-year-old Mary is being dressed by a servant and the way the camera moves over her body makes it look like a seduction scene. During the first half of the movie, everything is dark and depressing. Once Mary fixes the garden and spring comes, everything is sunny and bright (unless Mrs. Medlock is around). The maid, Martha, is perpetually chipper to an annoying degree. The strange nighttime magic ceremony is just plain weird. Colin is a pathetic little wimp. Lord Craven is one of the most worthless characters I’ve ever seen. Mary is cute, and played by a talented young actress — talented enough that she seems creeped out when Colin (her cousin) declares he’s going to marry her and tries to hug her. She is the only character I cared about and the only one who made the movie worth watching.