Pollyanna is a delightful movie that lifts the spirits and provides many life lessons without ever being preachy or feeling like a school lesson. I was genuinely entertained and even a bit surprised at the bold steps the movie takes. Would you think this movie features a preacher most everyone fears, or has a bittersweet ending? I thought not. Well there's plenty more here to surprise you. Just give it a chance.

About the only thing I fault the movie for is being a bit too long. Some scenes just seem to go on and on, but that's what chapter stops and the fast forward button are for.

As for the DVD presentation, it's terrific. The movie looks and sounds stunning plus the second disc is just jammed packed with extra material. I was excited to listen to the commentary, but sadly it's as sugary and full of fake emotion as the movie is not. Still the other bonuses are well worth the extra bucks and there will probably never be a better presentation of Pollyanna.


A Disney and Hayley Mills Great   March 14, 2005
 19 out of 19 found this review helpful

"Pollyanna" was the first and, in my opinion, the best of the first six movies that Hayley Mills starred in for Disney, the others being "The Parent Trap" in 1961, "In Search of the Castaways" in 1962, "Summer Magic" in 1963, "The Moon-Spinners" in 1964, and "That Darn Cat" in 1965. While all six of the movies are enjoyable family fare, this movie has a depth and complexity approached only in "Summer Magic."

In the first thirty minutes a wide-eyed Pollyanna is witness to the power her Aunt Polly wields in her town, named Harrington after her family. Pollyanna also quickly begins to learn that there are numerous stories in her town, which she learns throughout the movie piece by piece, ultimately giving her a power different from her aunt's.

This movie takes place in the early part of the twentieth century. Aunt Polly's genteel and Victorian behavior, even if a little stereotypical, has a feel to it that we often attribute to that era. At one point Aunt Polly all but uses the term "noblesse oblige," which is how wealthy people often considered their obligation to society. The clothing and sets all appear to be realistic, enhancing the period believability. The quality of the costumes and the sets is but one of the remarkable features of this movie.

The background stories provide a field of torment and pain to enhance Pollyanna's consistently "glad" outlook on the world. It is Pollyanna's attitude toward life that slowly changes the lives of everyone in Harrington, one person at a time. Even better, Pollyanna teaches those she meets that it is okay to feel good, and to make others feel good. Even more importantly, she teaches people to feel from the heart, which in many cases leads to love. Hayley Mills was so skilled in this role that she was awarded a special Academy Award for most outstanding juvenile performance of 1960, the last such award given.

The supporting cast for this movie can truly be said to be all-star. Jane Wyman, who was nearing the end of a career spanning fifty years, is Pollyanna's initially grim Aunt Polly, who eventually learns that she should do things because she cares, not because of the obligation of the rich. Agnes Moorehead, a veteran of more than 70 movies and a recurring character on the popular 60s television show "Bewitched," is Mrs. Snow, a grumpy hypochondriac who has one foot in her casket, though there is actually nothing wrong with her.

Karl Malden is fire and brimstone Reverend Paul Ford who manages to keep many of the faithful wide-eyed on Sunday; he is also under Aunt Polly's control. Malden had just finished "The Hanging Tree" with Gary Cooper, and there is irony in that the character in this movie is almost completely opposite that of the role he had just played. Veteran Disney child star Kevin Corcoran plays mischievous orphan Jimmy Bean, who helps Mr. Pendegast, the town hermit, break out of his self-imposed shell. Adolphe Menjou played Mr. Pendegast in the last movie role of his 150 movie career. James Drury of television's "The Virginian" plays George Dodd, who is the love interest of Nancy Furman, Aunt Polly's maid, and Aunt Polly does not approve of the relationship. Nancy Olson was also in a number of other Disney movies, including "The Absent Minded Professor" and "Son of Flubber," with an uncredited cameo in 1997's "Flubber."

This movie benefits from an excellent transfer to DVD and a move to a widescreen format. I recommend purchasing this movie in this format if you currently have the movie only on VHS or have yet to purchase it. There are additional extras that viewers with interest in the era and how the movie was made may find enjoyable.

The movie drives its point home at the end, when Pollyanna is depressed following an accident and needs support herself. The support she receives from the townspeople is a testament to the power of Pollyanna's selfless love, which touches the hearts not only of the fictional town, but those of viewers.

This heartwarming movie is more than an excellent family film, more than an excellent Hayley Mills film and more than an excellent period movie; it is a great Disney movie at an artistic peak of the Walt Disney Company.



Reviewing the new DVD release . . .   May 10, 2002
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Many Amazon dvd reviews concentrate on the film, and not the dvd presentation . . . this isn't one of them . . . But I must say that if you haven't already seen the film, it ISN'T the sappy gag-inducer you probably think it is. David Swift did a great job at adapting the film and achieving a balance between sentiment, drama, and fun. Now, on to the dvd . . .

I'm no technical genius, but the movie looks and sounds fabulous. The print is clean and bright, with no visible flaws. The color range seems accurate and the film is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio. One little touch I especially appreciated was the option to watch the cartoon originally accompanying the film ("Nifty Nineties" starring Mickey Mouse) right before our "feature presentation," just as 1960's movie-goers would have.

As if the picture quality wasn't enough to make this a disc worth purchasing, the extras will convince you. The features are interesting without being excessively repetitive. On the main disc we get a really nice audio commentary with Haley Mills and David Swift, the writer/director/producer.

Disc 2 has the rest of the features. The menu has several layers, but is well-laid out and easy to use. It's also surprisingly attractive, giving you the feeling of actually looking at materials in the "Disney Archives."

There are two good documentaries, "Pollyanna: Making of a Masterpiece," which provides interviews with Swift, Mills, Nancy Olson, Kevin Corcoran, etc. and good background info on the adaption of the book, art-direction, filming, and more. The involvement of David Swift in these materials really makes these disc 2 items particularly enlightening.

There are quite a few different image galleries, the original promos and trailers, and Walt Disney's intros from when Pollyanna was broadcast on tv. A short in which Nancy Olson describes the job of the actor, a little film with archival fottage of "1912," and a little yearbook that goes through all of the projects Disney was working on in 1960, for movies, tv, animation, etc.

All of these items are good, but a few of features really stood out for me, and they are only hinted at on the official list of features.

1. Restoration of the Pollyanna Film Print:
Longer-than-expected explanation of how Disney Studios resurrected the Pollyanna negative from color fade and deterioration. As an archivist myself, I always look forward to these kinds of features, but find them superficial and disappointing. This time I was very pleased. It even takes the time to explain what a three-color-separation archival negative is! Hurrah!!

2. Pollyanna Merchandising:
We get a gallery and a little featurette, where the items are displayed and explained. I was especially surprised about the Pollyanna music . . . which leads me to . . .

3. The Sound Gallery:
This was an incredible surprise!! I didn't see any mention of it on the disc specs. You get to hear the original radio ad, and Haley Mills herself sing the songs "Pollyanna" and "Jimmy Bean," that appeared on the 1960 Pollyanna albums. Neat-o! But the last item in the Jukebox totally blew me away. The ENTIRE 1960 Pollyanna story album!! Movie studio really haven't produced these things since the 80s, but there used to be a time when you could take out your record player and recreate the movie experience at home; the only way to do so before home video. The Pollyanna album is nice since it even features dialogue from the film, rather than a redramatization with a different cast.

I was immensely pleased with the "Vault Disney" production of Pollyanna . . . let's hope Vault Disney continues. It's too bad that not all studios show such care and respect for their "children's" releases. A good "children's" film appeals to everybody!


A Sweet-Natured, Family Film With a Fine Performance by Hayley Mills   May 21, 2006
 12 out of 12 found this review helpful

I'll admit it...I like the movie. A lot. The story line -- the little orphan who unselfconsciously endears herself to others through her optimism and uncomplicated view of things -- could, in less expert hands, make a pig gag. Instead, and thanks in large part to Hayley Mills' performance, we have a sweet-natured family film which any number of adults may enjoy, especially if they watch it with their children. What I like about the movie:

1. Hayley Mills. She was a child actor who had talent and an un-pushy, natural personality. She wasn't a little tricked-up beauty queen who looked like a cheap doll. She just seemed like a nice, shrewder-than-you'd-expect kid. I doubt if the movie would have worked anywhere near as well as it does without Mills. For a look at just how versatile and good she was as a child, look at the movies Tiger Bay made the year before Pollyanna and Whistle Down the Wind made the year after. These are complex, serious stories about children and adults. Mills does much to make them as good as they are.

2. The by-play between Mills and Kevin Corcoran as Jimmy Bean. The two work well together without being icky. Corcoran was just about as unself-conscious a young actor as was Mills. The scene the two of them share with Adolphe Menjou when they first meet this mysterious old crank and then are taken into his home is fine ensemble acting before ensemble acting had a name.

3. Adolphe Menjou. As the ironic, smart curmudgeon who finds he has a heart after all, Menjou gives an expert performance. Watch him as the manipulating lawyer in Roxie Hart; he's uproarious. Or the political general in Paths of Glory; he's reprehensible. He brings a lot of welcome skeptical relief to the movie.

4. Jane Wyman. She had a tough role. We had to start out seeing her as rigid, judgmental, controlling and unsympathetic...then Wyman had to let us see a little vulnerability that would make us question our first impression...then Wyman had to let us see that Polly actually was a woman we might like and who could love a man. Not easy. I thought Wyman did a good job.

5. The scene when Karl Malden as the churchman finally stands up to Polly during his sermon. This is a setting that's as old as the hills (the mouse stands up to the squire, to the mayor, to the general, to the...) and it still works. We love seeing the self-righteous get theirs, and this is an emotionally satisfying scene.

Pollyanna is an optimistic, sweet movie but with a little vinegar sprinkled here and there.