Hayley Mills in this her first film for Walt Disney not only became a bona fide star, but also won the very last Academy Award bestowed for the best Juvenile Performance of the year. She was in fine company previous winners were Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien. After Ms. Mills win, children were nominated in the regular acting categories and sometimes won such as Patty Duke and Tatum O'Neal. At any rate, young Ms. Mills absolutely deserved her Oscar, she is the pivot of the whole film, and "Pollyanna" ultimately succeeds due to her.
Based on a 1913 bestselling novel by Eleanor Porter "Pollyanna" had been both a successful stage play and a silent film starring Mary Pickford in one of her most remembered roles. In this remake, Walt Disney made some changes all to the good. Writer/Director David Swift with Disney's collaboration and approval fashioned an excellent script. The story takes place in 1912 in a New England town called "Harrington" where Polly Harrington (Jane Wyman) a cool, repressed spinster is the town's wealthiest woman and more or less controls the town. Her young, orphaned niece Pollyanna Whittier (Hayley Mills) comes to live with her. Pollyanna's open friendliness and optimistic view of life effects a positive change on all with whom she comes into contact, such as the misanthropic recluse Mr. Pendergast (Adolphe Menjou), the crotchety hypochondriac Mrs. Snow (Agnes Moorehead), and the town's troubled minister Reverend Ford (Karl Malden). Still, Pollyanna's relationship with her Aunt Polly remains unresolved, as Polly keeps Pollyanna at arms length and is complicated by the return of Aunt Polly's old beau Dr. Edmund Chilton (Richard Egan). Polly and he still have strong feelings for each other, but clash over the fate of the town's decrepit orphanage which was built by Polly's father.
Director David Swift had come from television, and Walt Disney chose him personally to direct this, Swift's first feature film. He does a fine job, and would do even better the next time out with Hayley Mills in the Disney smash hit "The Parent Trap". The production is quite handsome, great care and loving attention is given to recreate an idealized view of America in the halcyon first part of the twentieth century, similar to that of the earlier masterpiece "Meet Me in Saint Louis". The location settings in Santa Rosa, Petaluma and the Napa Valley in addition to the Disney Studio in Burbank, CA were wise choices serene and idyllic. You believe you're back in 1912 in a small New England town, the color and lighting is warm and bright, and sun dappled since most of the scenes are filmed outdoors. You feel you can almost breathe in the pure fresh air of an innocent, more simpler time, and temporarily let go of the stresses of the twenty-first century. The bazaar sequence is a prime example, with it's huge hunks of watermelon being sold for one cent apiece, the slabs of homemade layer cake, the big kettles of corn on the cob, the dunking booth and the sprightly geriatric band with their zippy tunes, check out the peppy lady drummer! One of Hollywood's most gifted costume designers from it's Golden Era, Walter Plunkett whose credits included "Gone With the Wind" created authentic period clothes that are beautifully done. The set decoration by Emil Kuri and Fred MacLean is equally splendid down to the littlest detail of the cut glass prisms on the lamps, Polly's sprawling Victorian mansion is especially sumptuous and awe-inspiring.
A very impressive cast of gifted, seasoned actors provided outstanding support to Ms. Mills and made her shine even more. Nowadays you wouldn't see such an outstanding cast in one film, three Oscar winners, and three Oscar nominees. Chief among them is Jane Wyman, who has to tread a very fine line in portraying Aunt Polly, she can't be mean to Pollyanna, and although reserved and proper, she can't be an ice maiden. Ms. Wyman is able to suggest that Polly Harrington has lived alone for so long that although relatively young; she is set in her ways. Very conscious of her position as the town's leading and richest citizen, Polly has an interest or control in most of Harrington's businesses. She believes her way is the right way and over the years has become an autocrat. This happy go lucky child disrupts her prim routine, and she doesn't know quite how to deal with her, although you feel she probably loves her but has difficulty expressing it. A very good scene early on that features this ambivalence is when Pollyanna asks on her first night if she may kiss Aunt Polly goodnight. You can see the conflict on Ms. Wyman's face when Pollyanna flings her arms around her, kisses her, and exclaims, "I love you, Aunt Polly!" She doesn't know how to react to this spontaneous display of affection, for a moment she's bewildered before she regains her customary poise. As Reverend Ford, Karl Malden has a chance to emote strongly almost falling out of his pulpit when he thunders out a fire and brimstone sermon in the manner of the notorious Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards. In more reflective moments he shows how Reverend Ford is torn between the spiritual and the temporal in the commanding presence of Polly Harrington. One of classic Hollywood's best character actresses, Agnes Moorehead does wonders with the vinegary pseudo invalid Mrs. Snow who regains her will to live under Pollyanna's influence. Nancy Olson is fetching as the warm-hearted maid Nancy, who befriends Pollyanna, Hayley Mills and she share a charming little duet. Disney regular Reta Shaw and especially the sour faced Mary Grace Canfield are just right as the other domestics in Polly's household. Veteran actors Adolphe Menjou and Donald Crisp register strongly, as does Richard Egan as Polly's love interest, Doctor Edmund Chilton. Fellow Disney child actor Kevin Corcoran as the scrappy orphan Jimmy Bean is an ideal sidekick for Pollyanna. Nods of appreciation should be given as well to Anne Seymour, Edward Platt, Leona Dana and James Drury.
The centerpiece of course is Hayley Mills Pollyanna, and she is just superb. Flaxen haired with deep blue eyes, young Ms. Mills is an ingratiating charmer. The name "Pollyanna" is considered to be a synonym for a "goody two shoes", which in Ms. Mills playing she certainly is NOT! She has spirit, as when she sticks out her tongue at the crabby maid Angelica, (Mary Grace Canfield), stands up to the initially "scary" Mr. Pendergast, winds up bossing him about in his own home and tells off the self-pitying Mrs. Snow. When she first meets Jimmy Bean she is superior and dismissive, and she teases Nancy about her boyfriend George (James Drury). Her Pollyanna is also courageous, when she disobeys Aunt Polly to go to the fund raising bazaar for a new orphanage to fulfill her commitment, and even climbs down the towering tree outside her window to do so. She's really a fairly normal young girl, and she plays Pollyanna in a realistic matter of fact manner, as someone who just has a very optimistic positive attitude. Ms. Mills is never cloying,sugary sweet or preachy and this saves the film from being overly sentimental and maudlin.
The extras are extra good starting with a very informative and entertaining commentary by star Hayley Mills and writer/director David Swift. Theirs is a mutual admiration society, which is fine since it seems genuine on both sides, and they would work again even more fortuitously in next year's "The Parent Trap". Just to give a quick preview it's revealed Walt Disney would be in tears after viewing the daily rushes of the film, and there is also a very funny story about Pollyanna's locket and the quote engraved upon it. Other highlights are "Pollyanna: Making of a Masterpiece" with contributions from Hayley Mills, David Swift, Nancy Olson, and Kevin Corcoran, and "Re-Creating Pollyanna's America" which both are very interesting, particularly the latter as to how the background was created, sets, costumes, hairstyles, furnishings etc. There is included one of Disney's Mickey and Minnie Mouse color cartoons entitled "Nifty Nineties" and complements "Pollyanna" in it's period time frame, and is rather cute. One of my favorites is from the Disney Vault, which shows Walt Disney introducing "Pollyanna" when it made it television debut on three consecutive Sundays on "The Wonderful World of Color" in 1963. I was nine years old, and I remember seeing this, I loved seeing and hearing the theme song by the Sherman Brothers, and Tinker Bell flying over Cinderella's Castle while fireworks explode. Watching this show was a staple of my childhood every Sunday evening, and Walt Disney's introductions until his untimely death in 1966 were always welcome. It was a delight to me to see these again, and hear his comments on the film. The only sour note is this extremely saccharine song that is sang by this male group of singers about Pollyanna played over a montage of scenes, odd since Walt Disney had made a point of downplaying this quality in the film.
I was a Disney kid, and loved Hayley Mills's Disney films starting with this to her final one in 1965 "That Darn Cat!" My favorites were this, "The Parent Trap" and "The Moonspinners", and when I see them now I have a pleasant sense of nostalgia for my long ago boyhood. If you are a Disney fan like me, you will probably have an extra fillip of pleasure watching this film. If you're not, I still recommend you see it, the story, the production, and especially the performances will draw you in to its endearing charms. Walt Disney felt in retrospect that the title should have been changed, because even though the film got raves particularly for Hayley Mills, the film in it's initial run made only a slight profit, and that the title might have scared away the male population. Don't you be worried, this film has stood the test of time, title or no. Be sure you pay attention to the immediate opening shots, you'll be surprised by something you wouldn't expect to start a Disney film, and be sure to listen to David Swift's accompanying anecdote on the commentary, you'll be "glad" (to coin a phrase) to you did!
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From the manufacturer
Pollyanna 2-Disc DVD
Hayley Mills received a special Academy Award (1960) for her performance as Pollyanna in this timeless Walt Disney tapestry of small-town Americana. Here you'll meet Pollyanna, the orphan who brings sunshine into the lives of everyone she meets. But her Aunt Polly (Jane Wyman) is too concerned with appearances, propriety, and local politics to appreciate her effervescent niece. It isn't until the town almost loses their "Glad Girl" that Aunt Polly realizes the power of love and lightheartedness.
Featuring an impressive all-star cast and a story filled with fun, laughter, and tears, Pollyanna will inspire your entire family and prove that the art of positive thinking is just as delightful today as it was at the turn of the century!
Also starring Karl Malden, Nancy Olsen, Agnes Moorehead, James Drury, Adolphe Menjou, Donald Crisp, Anne Seymour, Reta Shaw, Mary Grace Canfield, Edward Platt, and Disney favorite Kevin Corcoran. Written and directed by David Swift (The Parent Trap).
Reviews with images
Poor
We love this classic movie and the first time we tried to watch it, it froze, was blurry and wouldn’t play despite our efforts. Very disappointed.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2013
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Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2018
Top reviews from other countries
Jeanette shadwell
Arrived on time
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2024Patty
Una película para disfrutar con los pequeños
Reviewed in Mexico on November 4, 2020
LC
Great Disney family movie ~ Enjoyed it as much now as when I was a child
Reviewed in Canada on February 20, 2019
