''The Assam Garden'' is a 1985 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Mary McMurray and produced by

Nigel Stafford-Clark Nigel Stafford-Clark (born 12 June 1948) is a British film and television producer, and the brother of the theatre director Max Stafford-Clark. He was educated at Felsted and Trinity College, Cambridge, and worked in advertising and in sponsore ...

with Peter Jaques as associate producer. Made by

Moving Picture Company The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is a multinational company providing visual effects, CGI, animation, motion design and other services for the film, TV, brand experience and advertising industries. Their artists have produced Academy Award W ...

and distributed by Contemporary Films Ltd., it was written by Elisabeth Bond. The music score was by

Richard Harvey Richard Allen Harvey (born 25 September 1953) is an English composer and musician. Originally of the mediaevalist progressive rock group Gryphon, he is best known now for his film and television soundtracks. He is also known for his guitar co ...

and the cinematography by Bryan Loftus. The film stars

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

and

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook, ...

with

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...

Zia Mohyeddin Zia Mohyeddin (; born 20 June 1931) is a British-Pakistani actor, producer, director and television broadcaster who has appeared in both Pakistani cinema and television as well as in British cinema and television throughout his career. Zia M ...

Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is an English actor. He is well known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series '' Game of Thrones'', as Thomas More in ''Wolf Hall'', as Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', as Prime Ministe ...

and

Iain Cuthbertson Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish character actor and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in ''The Border ...

. The film was shot at Priors Mesne in

Aylburton Aylburton is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, on the A48 road about two miles south-west of Lydney. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 689, increasing to 711 at the 2011 cen ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. At certain times of the year the garden is opened as part of the NGS (Gardens open for Charity) Scheme. In addition part of the land owned by Priors Mesne and run by the owners is now a Deer Park.

Plot

The recently widowed and somewhat cold Mrs. Graham (Deborah Kerr) discovers that her late husband's expansive garden has been selected for consideration as a "Great British Garden". Mrs Graham then devotes her days to tending the garden that her husband had devoted his life to, in the hopes of it being selected for this honour. While gardening, Mrs. Graham encounters and develops a close friendship with her neighbor, Mrs. Lal. Through working in the garden with Mrs. Lal, Mrs. Graham finds some joy and warmth in life. However, Mrs. Lal is homesick for her native India and at the end of the film, returns to India, leaving Mrs. Graham alone again. Mrs. Graham also learns that her husband left debts and she may be forced to sell her house and beloved garden, just when it looks like it has qualified for the Great British Garden list. The film ends with Mrs. Graham standing alone in the garden calling to her late husband to not leave her.

Cast

as Helen Graham * Ronald Russell as Mr. Grace * Daisy Bell as Elsie Edison *

Peggy Ann Wood Peggy Ann Wood (14 June 1912 – 30 May 1998) was a British actress, director and theatre manager associated heavily with the Bristol Old Vic. In partnership with her husband, Ronald Russell (1910–1994), she ran the repertory company the Ra ...

as Mrs. Grace *

as Arthur *

Paul Bown Paul Bown (born 11 October 1957) is an English actor. Acting career Bown is best known for playing a leading role in the Granada Television sitcom '' Watching'' (1987–1993) and ''Casualty'' in 2000 more recently as Philip Reid in BBC's ''Hol ...

as Water Board Man *

as Ruxmani * Waseem Aziz as Vijay *

as Mr. Lal *

as Mr. Philpott *

Paula Jacobs Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game '' EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a s ...

as Carol

Award nomination

References

External links

*
Gardens of Film Location open under NGS (national gardens Scheme)
1985 films 1985 drama films British drama films Films scored by Richard Harvey 1980s English-language films 1980s British films {{1980s-UK-film-stub