Pollyanna

Pollyanna is the young girl who can find something happy in any situation. She faces numerous unfortunate events, starting with the death of her father, leaving her an orphan in the Ozarks. She travels to her surly aunt in far-off New England, cheerfully greeting the pouring rain and mud at the train station, and a sparse room in her aunt's attic. Her cheerfulness makes everyone else happy. But then finally a disaster strikes that's too awful for even her optimism. What happens? Are things made right in the end? Sorry, no spoilers from me!

Pollyanna's cheerfulness in the face of misfortune makes the story too cheerful to believe. But somehow Mary Pickford managed to make the character and the story work. Although she was in her late 20s, she made a convincing young girl, thanks to her shortness, good costuming and hairdressing, but mostly her acting talent. This movie shows how she got the nickname "America's sweetheart" and became the movie industry's first great star.

If your skin will break out from too much sweetness, light and Hollywood "reality", you should skip this picture.

Mary Pickford is mostly believable as a preteen girl since the adult cast towers over her. Nice sets and costumes (though no Hollywood glamour) and a pleasant look at small town life.

This is Mary Pickford's first film for United Artists (of which she was a part owner), so it was supposed to be a safe moneymaker and Mary is cast to and plays to what sold in the past.

There's a difference between knowing a story will be a sure hit and the laborious hatred in composing that story into a screenplay. This was writer Frances Marion's dilemma when sitting down to pen the script for Mary Pickford's "Pollyanna." First off, calling someone a 'pollyanna' is not the most complementary term, which means a person who is wildly over-optimistic and incapable of facing the reality of a bad situation.

"We (Pickford and Frances) proceeded with the dull routine of making a picture we both thought nauseating," recalled Marion. "I hated writing it, Mary hated playing it."

But when the movie version of the 1913 Eleanor Porter book and the play it was based upon was released in January 1920, "Pollyanna" became a huge hit. This was Pickford's first United Artists-produced movie, and it made well over $1 million at the box office, an astronomical amount in those days. The national censor board and the clergy loved its wholesome message. In one memorable showing in Hartford, CT, the promotional tour of the 'glad' film garnered over one thousand children and six crippled dogs in the audience during a special matinee.

The downside for the actress, however, was because of its enormous financial success, Pickford was exiled to playing 12-year-old orphaned children for the next six years, despite being in her late 20s and aging every day. The motion picture proved to be the actress's defining picture, one that even today's movie buffs, if they had to name one film of hers, automatically recite "Pollyanna."

The story was reprised in 1960 as a Hayley Mills/Walt Disney vehicle as well as a 2003 made-for-TV version. The 1920 movies was nominated by the American Film Institute as in its 100 Most Cheerful Movies Ever Made.

It would be hard to find a role more suitable for a particular actress than the role of "Pollyanna" is for Mary Pickford, and in this adaptation she adds her own charm to the old-fashioned story about the 'glad girl'. This version moves quickly, and has a good balance between humor and drama, with Pickford making the most of what the unashamedly upbeat story offers.

The story is the familiar one of young Pollyanna moving in with her austere Aunt Polly (Katherine Griffith, who is pretty good in the role), making a habit of finding ways to brighten the lives of those who need it, but then finding herself faced with a crisis in her own life. The characters are fairly simple, but the cast portrays them believably. The script does a good job of telling the story efficiently and enjoyably, and everything fits together pretty well.

I own every version of "Pollyanna", and I have to say that I will possibly watch this one the most. I am not saying anything is wrong with the 1960 Disney version (it is a great film), but this version is half the length of the others (it is hardly an hour long) and much more sentimental. If you are a "Pollyanna" fan (the book or movies) or love sentimental movies, this is a must-see. Mary Pickford stands out in this well-acted film as Pollyanna, and is very convincing despite being an adult. Howard Ralston is also great as the orphan Jimmy Bean. The film is only about 60 minutes long while the others are over 2 hours, and it may be hard to believe, but this version is cut down as much as possible while still being logical, and that is a major feat. I highly recommend it.