Pollyanna (1960)

A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.

Director:

David Swift

Writers:

Eleanor H. Porter (novel), David Swift (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman, Richard Egan

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hayley Mills	...	Pollyanna
Jane Wyman	...	Aunt Polly
Richard Egan	...	Dr. Edmond Chilton
Karl Malden	...	Reverend Paul Ford
Nancy Olson	...	Nancy Furman
Adolphe Menjou	...	Mr. Pendergast
Donald Crisp	...	Mayor Karl Warren
Agnes Moorehead	...	Mrs. Snow
Kevin Corcoran	...	Jimmy Bean
James Drury	...	George Dodds
Reta Shaw	...	Tillie Lagerlof
Leora Dana	...	Mrs. Paul Ford
Anne Seymour	...	Mrs. Amelia Tarbell
Edward Platt	...	Ben Tarbell
Mary Grace Canfield	...	Angelica

Storyline

A little girl comes to a town that is embattled by feuds and intimidated by her aunt. By the time she must leave, she has transformed the community with her indominatable will to see the good side of even the worst situations and bring it out for the betterment of all.

---

Plot Keywords:

girl | dysfunctional family | orphan | clothes | reverend | 

---

Taglines:

Meet the people, the pleasure, the entertainment of the year! All the love, laughter and drama that life can hold, poured into one unforgettable motion picture!

---

Genres:

Drama | Family

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Hallmark Channel

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alle lieben Pollyanna

Filming Locations:

Mableton Mansion - 1015 McDonald Avenue, Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film opens with a close-up of a naked backside of young blond boy, who swings from a rope swing away from the camera jumping into a river. The boy is played by William Betz, who was 7 at the time of filming, who recalled in 2009 that at the time of filming, people weren't really allowed to swim in that river, White Sulfur Springs. He said his mother also had a very brief background extra role as one of the ladies at the train station where Pollyanna is picked up. Neither of them were actors but just locals where the movie was filmed. He is amused that the small Vermont town depicted in the movie was actually a mix of various locales miles apart in Napa Valley and Sonoma County, California.

---

Goofs

When Pollyanna (and her doll) fall from the high bedroom window, near the end of the film, they land on the pathway some distance from the house. They should have landed, at most, just a few feet from the building.

---

Quotes

Reverend Ford: We looked for the good in them, and we found it, didn't we?

---

Connections

Referenced in Pollyanna: The Making of a Masterpiece (2002)

---

Soundtracks

"Early One Morning"
Traditional
Performed by Hayley Mills and Nancy Olson

User Reviews

Wonderful performances make this worth viewing

A vast improvement on the cutesy, blatantly unrealistic and cliched story on which it is based, the Disney film Pollyanna is a truly enjoyable, BELIEVABLE film. It has a very charming, nostalgic feel to it. The period costumes and sets are very good, and the direction is good, too. The best thing about it, however, are the performances. The talented cast really makes you believe in them and forget they're all stereotypes. Jane Wyman is quite good as Aunt Polly, as are Agnes Moorehead, Adolphe Menjou, and espicially Karl Malden. And Hayley Mills more than holds her own, giving a very good, subtle, believable performance. This Pollyanna does not spend all her time chatting her mouth off and misinterpreting every cold act of her aunt's as an expression of love, which made her very annoying in the book, but rather, she really gets to know people and very subtly brings out the best in them. A truly good family film, much better than the book, and one really worth viewing.