Pollyanna (1960)
Pollyanna (1960), directed by David Swift.
Still catching up on family films I missed when young, although I don't suppose many boys saw this one (voluntarily) at the time.
An orphan girl moves in with her rich aunt who is a big wheel in her small town. Most everyone is strict and sour but, employing a positive outlook, a bit of matchmaking, and a talent for tactical disobedience, Pollyanna melts hard hearts and reforms the whole place. We have time for a weepie episode before the happy comeback.
It's sweet but not as syrupy as I would have thought. Pollyanna is earnest and not at all smug or preachy, which would just kill the story. Great sets and a strong cast. Mostly I marvel at the natural talent of Hayley Mills in her second movie. She's 13 but looks younger. She did Tiger Bay (1959) the year before and in just eight more would be in Twisted Nerve (1968). Time flies. She did a slew of Disney films in between.
It's over-long at 2 1/4 hours. The director was eager to cut 20 minutes and more but Disney, although he did not interfere with filming, had a hard time cutting; he fell in love with every scene and had to keep everything.
The DVD has a commentary track with Mills and the director recorded 41 years later. Lavish praise for everyone involved:
Karl Malden showed up two weeks early so he could rehearse his speeches off-contract. The director never had another actor do that.
Malden said his scenes with Hayley starred "two noses".
Walt Disney would cry during dailies. He took Hayley and her family to the park and rode all the rides with them.
They had a hard time finding a Pollyanna until Mrs Disney and another studio wife saw Tiger Bay (1959) in London.
The plot has a Lincoln quote engraved on a locket: "When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will." Months after the premier the director saw a Disneyland shop with thousands of the lockets for sale. He made them stop: the quote is fake, he'd just made it up.
Mills, a growing girl at the time, still remembers the heaps of food available on the set. Quality eating time.
