Polly

• Director: Debbie Allen
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Children's/Family
• Movie Type: Musical Comedy
• Main Cast: Celeste Holm, Phylicia Rashad
• Release Year: 1989
• Country: US
• Run Time: 97 minutes

Plot

There were those in 1989 who bellyached that Disney Television's Polly was a far from faithful adaptation of Eleanor Porter's classic novel Pollyanna. What they meant was that Polly did not resemble the 1960 Hayley Mills movie version of Pollyanna, which itself played fast and loose with the source material. In Polly, The Cosby Show's Keshia Knight Pulliam portrays the "Glad Girl" who brings along a satchelful of happiness and optimism when she visits her wealthy aunt one summer. Tranposing Porter's all-white story to a middle-class black community in the Alabama of the 1950s (Celeste Holm is the only white costar) isn't nearly as self-conscious or gimmicky as it seems on paper. Nor is any damage done to the original by adding musical numbers, especially when taking into consideration that the film was directed by renowned choreographer Debbie Allen (the sister of Phylicia Rashad, who plays Polly's aunt--and who in 1989 was costarring with Keshia Knight Pulliam on a weekly basis on The Cosby Show). Polly scored a boffo ratings hit, prompting Disney TV to assemble a 1990 sequel, Polly: Comin' Home! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Brandon Adams; Vanessa Bell; George Anthony Bell - Mr. Tarbell; T.K. Carter; Dorian Harewood - Doctor Shannon; Celeste Holm - Miss Snow; Tom McGreevey - Doctor; Butterfly McQueen - Miss Priss; Ken Page; Brock Peters - Mr. Pendergast; Phylicia Rashad - Aunt Polly; Vickilyn Reynolds - Mrs. Tarbell; Larry Riley - Reverend Gillis; Anthony Newley - Dabney Mayhew; Michael Peters - Mr. Thurm; Barbara Montgomery - Mrs. Conley; Keshia Knight Pulliam - Polly; Ashanti

Credit

Debbie Allen - Choreography, Debbie Allen - Director, Isidore Mankofsky - Cinematographer

Similar Movies

Sepia Cinderella; Porgy and Bess; Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

polly	Polly Pocket
Polly Pockets	Polly Highchair