Customer Reviews
A sweet-natured, family film with a fine performance by Hayley Mills - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 09 Aug 2007 
I'll admit it...I like the movie. A lot. The story line -- the little orphan who unselfconsciously endears herself to others through her optimism & uncomplicated view of things -- could, in less expert hands, make a pig gag. Instead, & thanks in large part to Hayley Mills' performance, we have a sweet-natured family film which any number of adults may enjoy, especiallly if they watch it with their children. What I like about the movie:
1. Hayley Mills. She was a child actor who had talent & an un-pushy, natural personality. She wasn't a little tricked-up beauty queen who looked like a cheap doll. She just seemed like a nice, shrewder-than-you'd-expect kid. I doubt if the movie would have worked anywhere near as well as it does without Mills. For a look at just how versatile & good she was as a child, look at the movies Tiger Bay made the year before Pollyanna & Whistle Down the Wind made the year after. These are complex, serious stories about children & adults. Mills does much to make them as good as they are.
2. The by-play between Mills & Kevin Corcoran as Jimmy Bean. The two work well together without being icky. Corcoran was just about as unself-conscious a young actor as was Mills. The scene the two of them share with Adolphe Menjou when they first meet this mysterious old crank & then are taken into his home is fine ensemble acting before ensemble acting had a name.
3. Adolphe Menjou. As the ironic, smart curmudgeon who finds he has a heart after alll, Menjou gives an expert performance. Watch him as the manipulating lawyer in Roxie Hart; he's uproarious. Or the political general in Paths of Glory; he's reprehensible. He brings a lot of welcome skeptical relief to the movie.
4. Jane Wyman. She had a tough role. We had to start out seeing her as rigid, judgmental, controlling & unsympathetic...then Wyman had to let us see a little vulnerability that would make us question our first impression...then Wyman had to let us see that Polly actuallly was a woman we might like & who could love a man. Not easy. I thought Wyman did a good job.
5. The scene when Karl Malden as the churchman finallly stands up to Polly during his sermon. This is a setting that's as old as the hills (the mouse stands up to the squire, to the mayor, to the general, to the...) & it still works. We love seeing the self-righteous get theirs, & this is an emotionallly satisfying scene.
Pollyanna is an optimistic, sweet movie but with a little vinegar sprinkled here & there.
I'm Glad I Saw It, But I Won't See It Again Soon - By: Mark Baker, 02 Nov 2006 
Pollyanna Whittier (Hayley Mills) has had a hard life. Her parents have recently died, so the little girl is sent to live with her aunt Polly (Jane Wyman).
Polly is the only surviving adult heir of the Harrington family. As such, she is extremely rich. But she also has the responsibility of running the town, named Harrington after her family. With so many people depending on her, Polly has developed a pessimistic view on life. She does things out of duty, not because she wants to do them.
Into this world comes Pollyanna. She is an optimist. In fact, her family invented the "Glad Game." When Pollyanna starts to be overwhelmed by bad things, she looks for something to be glad about no matter the circumstances.
While Pollyanna's attitude has no effect on her aunt, it slowly begins to work on the town of Harrington. But can Pollyanna's attitude change the one person in town who needs it most?
I've been interested to see this movie for years. It was filmed in my hometown, & I've driven by Aunt Polly's house I don't know how many times. I finallly got a chance to see it, & I'm glad.
The movie is entertaining. Maybe because I'm an adult, I got drawn into the politics in the town. I was actuallly more interested in that then in watching Pollyanna work her charm on the grumps in town.
The biggest problem with the movie is the pacing. There are several repetitive scenes & scenes that would be cut for today's short attention span audiences. Maybe if I had seen this as a kid I wouldn't mind, but as an adult, I found myself watching the clock at times to see how much longer the movie would run.
Add to that the climax. Instead of being properly developed, the movie ends abruptly. I want to know what happened next. Still, I had come to care for the characters, so I was emotionallly affected by the ending.
This movie is well worth watching once. However, Disney has released better films over the years.
Hayley is joyful - By: M. G. Hatfield, 14 Jun 2006 
This is a famous story from a well known writer E Nesbit has written a lot of books that became popular TV show or movie I think a sequel should be made to this film as ther is a book callled Pollyanna grows up.
But this film is about everything about before that Hayley Mills has done many films for Disney over the years anjd her younger days are the best she seems to be able to do anything needed the most tricky was The Parent Trap but this film is too long for some younger viewers of Disney films Hayley Mills fans will enjoy it & older viewers will find it an enjoyable film.
if you know the story you spend your time critising the film but film hardly every stick to a book word for word even JKR's Harry Potter.
This film is at a great price & worth a buy if you don't want to take my word for it ret it then make up your own minds on weather to buy or not.
Smiles All Round - By: Joe, 13 Feb 2005 Hayley Mills can't fail to capture your heart. Fine performances from a range of endearing characters: grumpy old so & so's go through a process of enlightenment & transformation as a result of the charms of a 'new kid on the block'. Pollyanna brings a simple message of joy to an adult population that seem to have forgotten, or grown out of, life's basic pleasures. Perhaps a little 'squeeky clean' & slow in places, but smiles & tears almost guaranteed.
A tribute to Walt Disney's and Hayley Mills' talent - By: Miguel M. Santos, 14 Oct 2004 Pollyanna was one of the films I remembered having seen when I was a child & having enjoyed it very much, with bits of it sticking in my memory until now. It didn't disappoint me seeing it again after so long - Hayley Mills gives a wonderful performance as the optimistic little girl that changes a whole village in turn of the century America. The rest of the cast includes a very impressive line of Hollywood veterans, alll in top-form. It is a tribute to Walt Disney's talent that the film still holds so well.
The DVD looks amazing: this is surely the same restored copy as the 2-disc american release: one of the discs disappear while crossing the Atlantic, as well as some extras, but it includes a nice making of which is not mentioned anywhere in the packaging.
