Pollyanna (1960)

This is a great family movie. I recommend this movie for children & their mothers. It might be a little cheesy for dads or men. It is very idealistic - Good values - good plot. It is not for everyone - especially if you are not "young & pure at heart" (or at least long to be). This Disney film is about a young girl and her joyous, Christian outlook on life. Her view & beliefs turn the town around. Hayley Mills was a wonderful young actress who also starred in Parent Trap (original), Summer Magic, That Darn Cat, etc. I have to make this review at least 10 lines - so I'll just end by saying that I hope this becomes a family favorite in your house, as it is in ours.

Fmovies: This movie ,,Pollyanna'' is quite fascinating especially the leading actress makes a wonderful atmosphere while watching the actual film. A good adaptation but it would have been nice if they'd show the ending with Pollyanna on crutches. In some moments you could have seen a tear in my eye, which proves the fact of the movie being sad and realistic. Sweet Haylie Mills and the other actors make a great-standard presentation of their talent.Unfortunately their seems to be something missing and my vote goes for the ending. I also loved to see Agnes Moorehead and the lovely cooks.If you liked this movie you'd probably love ,,The parent trap'' with the same actress, or should I say actresses taking the lead. A good film for the whole family.

The DVD double-disk edition of this movie is a perfect example of just how GREAT DVDs can be! Ostensibly a "big-kids' movie," "Pollyanna" is good enough to appeal to adults as well. I saw it when I was 10 years old, and fell in love with it then. I also had a crush on Haley Mills, as did most of the other boys I knew. Coming back now and finding the movie on DVD to be a treasure for myself--- nostalgia, childhood revisited, etc.--- came as no surprise. However, finding the high quality of bonus materials and extras on the two disks was amazing. Good for Disney Studios... Very well done!

Contrast "Pollyanna" DVD extras with those found on the new "Harry Potter" DVD. "Harry," an excellent movie, nonetheless has DVD extras that are mostly geared towards children. "Harry's" entire second DVD disk, the bonus disk, has high production values (that is, it was obviously expensive to produce), but most of it is so simplistic and slow that one can only imagine it was designed for the 8- to 12-year old crowd. Which is fine (note, however, that the "Interviews" selection on that disk is excellent and informative for adults, too).

"Pollyanna," however, gives us half a dozen bonus disk features that are ALL aimed at adults (yet might also be appealing to older, brighter, more inquisitive children). For example, Disney's film restorer guy gives a behind the scenes explanation and multiple demonstrations of how and why color film degrades, and how it can be brought back to life. "Where are they now?" type things give us modern day glimpses of the surviving stars of the movie. We get to hear them relate their experiences on the set, and experiences vis-a-vis the movie since that time. We see archival TV footage of Walt Disney commenting on the movie, what Haley Mills thought at the time, what she went through, what her dad (famed actor Sir John Mills) said, and what she thinks NOW, etc. The film's writer and director also makes in-depth appearances in various features on the bonus disk, AND, he and Haley Mills provide an interesting audio commentary as the feature itself is viewed (I read that the director, whose name I cannot recall this instant, died at the age of 80 or 81, just a few months ago. His death came just after the DVD bonus materials were prepared). The whole thing was as meaty and appropriate and entertaining as anything I've ever seen on The History Channel, or A&E or Bravo channels.

Finally, the movie itself has been restored and lovingly presented (again, optional director and star commentary is available). It is still a good and solid entertainment! I gave this DVD edition of "Pollyanna" 10 out of 10. Seriously, I hope the other studios and DVD makers will study this disk religiously, and learn how it's done! I'd love to see ALL my DVDs prepared with this degree of detail, care, and mastery.

Pollyanna fmovies. Pollyanna is one of the sweetest movies I've ever seen. So what if it's cheesy at times? Movies are still cheesy today, sometimes, but at least Pollyanna is wholesome. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not an advocate for violence-free, nudity-free, perfectly goody-goody movies. But I do think this is a beautiful movie that just happens to be OK for everyone. Young children might be scared by the minister or by the ordeal Pollyanna faces, but the fun and happy scenes in the movie (the carnival is my favorite) will more than make up for the -- in the words of Pollyanna herself -- "gloomy" ones. Hayley Mills is terrific. Watch Pollyanna's expressions. You can tell, at times, she thinks everyone in town is completely nuts, but she never says it out loud. Instead, she keeps a happy and hopeful demeanor through most of the movie. And while, at first, the townsfolk resent her attitude and even insult her, she doesn't lose it, and she is rewarded for it in the end. This is a great message.

Filling the tiny, but oh so impressive feet of Mary Pickford in one of her most acclaimed silent screen classics was quite a chore for Walt Disney. But in an impressive American screen debut, Hayley Mills launched her career in a most impressive way as Pollyanna.

Pollyanna, who is now an orphan, comes to live with her aunt Polly played by Jane Wyman who is one reserved New Englander. She's the richest woman in town and pretty much everyone kowtows to her. But when the eternally optimistic Hayley Mills comes to live in that town, her infectious spirit seems to effect everyone and everything around her.

Pollyanna is one of Disney's best live action films, Mills and the rest of the cast make it believable without being maudlin. Disney gave Mills and Wyman an impressive roster of players in support that include, Donald Crisp, Leora Dana, Karl Malden, Nancy Olson, James Drury, Reta Shaw, Mary Grace Canfield, and Kevin Corcoran as Mills's partner in juvenile hijinks.

Two people deserve special mention. One is Adolphe Menjou because this turned out to be his last film. He plays Mr. Prendergast the old miser who lives alone and miserable, but who softens at the warmth Pollyanna brings in his life. The second is my favorite here, Agnes Moorehead, who plays crotchety old Ms. Snow, one of those old folks who seem to enjoy being sick and miserable. Her scene at the end with Hayley Mills is the most touching of all in the film.

Pollyanna like George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life both never realizes all the good she's done in that town and like Jimmy Stewart's character faces a crisis. But all her friends rally to her in an It's A Wonderful Life type climax.

Walt Disney does a wonderful job in recreating that era before World War I in small town America, very much like The Music Man. Pollyanna is what they mean by fine family entertainment, as good now as it was when I first saw it in theaters in 1960.

In fact it might just make one curious enough to check out the Mary Pickford silent version.

This is an absolutely remarkable film.It is uplifting,life-affirming,and painfully truthful about human ways.Even though it is set in the early 1900's, its message is still very applicable in the modern world.I was blown away by the genuine power of Hayley Mill's performance.The supporting cast is also excellent,especially Karl Malden and Agnes Moorehead.If you want to see a nearly flawless and absolutely charming fim,than this is the one to see.Far and away Hayley's best performance.