Miss Polly (1941)

Mrs. Minerva Snodgrass heads up the town's Purity League and is so good at imposing restrictions of keeping the girls and boys apart that there hasn't been a marriage in the town in over ... See full summary »

Director:

Fred Guiol

Writers:

Eugene Conrad (screenplay), Edward E. Seabrook (screenplay)

Stars:

Zasu Pitts, Slim Summerville, Kathleen Howard

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zasu Pitts	...	Miss Pandora Polly
Slim Summerville	...	Slim Wilkins
Kathleen Howard	...	Mrs. Minerva Snodgrass
Brenda Forbes	...	Patsy
Elyse Knox	...	Barbara Snodgrass
Richard Clayton	...	Eddie (as Dick Clayton)
Dink Trout	...	Postman Wilbur Boggs
William Newell	...	New Postman Hubert
Ferris Taylor	...	Mayor Walsh
Fern Emmett	...	Mrs. Frisbee
Vera Lewis	...	Elvira Pennywinkle
Sarah Edwards	...	Angie Turner (as Sara Edwards)
Virginia Sale	...	Orsina Wiggins
Walter Baldwin	...	Lem Wiggins
Mickey Daniels	...	Elmer, the Grocery Boy

Storyline

Mrs. Minerva Snodgrass heads up the town's Purity League and is so good at imposing restrictions of keeping the girls and boys apart that there hasn't been a marriage in the town in over two years. Her next-door neighbor, Miss Panadora Polly, aptly named based on what she lets out of the box later in the film, is doing her best to promote the romance between town-nerd Eddie and Minerva's daughter Barbara. Miss Polly also does a lot of reflecting on what-might-have been regarding her own life reference romance, or the lack thereof. She and her handyman Slim Wilkins and (described in the dialogue) "housekeeper and companion" Patsy try sampling some of the spirits in the cellar, as Miss Polly is looking for the one that makes one nervy and romantic, that she is sure is there according to family legend. She finds it and it works as advertised and even better, and it is no pretty sight when the horny Zasu Pitts puts a hit on grocery-boy Mickey Daniels. She skips - she really does - down to...

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Plot Keywords:

gas | owl | explosion | intoxication | gas explosion | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Travessura de Solteirona

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Miss Pandora Polly: A little innocent lovemaking never did anybody any harm.

User Reviews

Zasu Pitts puts an end to small-town hypocrisy...

A short comedy from '41 with ZASU PITTS starring as a woman with an eccentric handyman inventor (SLIM SUMMERVILLE). It should have been called "Love Potion 9" because it's all about the sip of special wine that puts the love gleam in someone's eye. Zasu's purpose is to cement the romance between ELYSE KNOX and DICK CLAYTON that is threatened to wilt if KATHLEEN HOWARD (Elyse's strict mother) has her say.

The scheme to concoct a love potion goes awry with a few amusing incidents piling up until Pitts and Summerville are able to convince the townspeople to loosen up and stop being under the influence of Kathleen Howard's puritanical ways. At a town meeting, they slip the mixture to Howard and she chases Summerville out of the courtroom with a love gleam in her eyes. The End.

Summing up: The kind of wacky comedy that only Zasu Pitts fans can truly appreciate. She's at her wide-eyed, fluttery best after a sip of the potion but it's very, very weak material, notable only for some of Summerville's wacky inventions.