Rent The History of Mr. Polly (1949)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Mr. Polly (Sir John Mills) is a sensitive soul. Sacked from his job for daydreaming he despairs of ever finding another when his father's death suddenly brings him a large inheritance, and with it he embarks on a cycling adventure. Along his travels he meets and falls desperately in love with a young girl, but the relationship turns sour when her friends hear of it. Spumed, he hastily marries his cousin Miriam (Betty Ann Davies), and settles in a sleepy town where he opens a draper's shop. But his beliefs are eroded when, fifteen years on, bad debt and his floundering marriage bring him to a personal crossroads where he must make some major decisions.
- Actors:
- John Mills, Betty Ann Davies, Megs Jenkins, Finlay Currie, Gladys Henson, Diana Churchill, Shelagh Fraser, Edward Chapman, Dandy Nichols, Sally Ann Howes, Juliet Mills, Laurence Baskcomb, Edie Martin, Moore Marriott, David Horne, Ernest Jay, Cyril Smith, Wylie Watson, Irene Handl, Doris Hare
- Directors:
- Anthony Pelissier
- Producers:
- John Mills
- Writers:
- HG Wells, Anthony Pelissier
- Studio:
- Network
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: John Mills, Top 10 British Actresses of the 1940s, Top Films
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Reviews (1) of The History of Mr. Polly
Social Comedy. - The History of Mr. Polly review by Steve
Eccentric social comedy adapted from the HG Wells novel, which is pretty much a one man show for its star and producer John Mills. He plays a genial, self-effacing Edwardian slacker, who lacks ambition. His life is occasionally blown off course by a major event, but eventually drifts back into inertia.
Mills isn't usually comfortable playing outside the middle class, but he's fine here, and stirs up a few laughs with Alfred Polly's verbose pattern of speech: 'Suicide arsonical. Good idea. Right-oh!' Polly's world is dominated by assertive women, but in an episodic film, the female performances are cameos.
Megs Jenkins stands out as the comfortable innkeeper he settles for. Otherwise, Finlay Currie makes an impact as an idler much like Mr. Polly, but violent rather than passive. In their period clothes, the duo's slapstick scenes together recall the comedians of silent films.
Alfred is an unhappy man who seeks refuge from a world of conformity which he lacks the intelligence or gumption to transcend. It's an offbeat film, maybe even unique, full of elaborate, unorthodox language. More whimsical than hilarious. A treat for any who may identify with Mills' portrayal of an ineffectual introvert.