Polly of the Circus (1917)
Polly of the Circus (1917)
DVD5 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC | 4:3 | 720x480 | 6500 kbps | 4.7Gb
Audio: English AC3 2.0 @ 224 Kbps
01:17:00 | USA | Drama
DVD5 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC | 4:3 | 720x480 | 6500 kbps | 4.7Gb
Audio: English AC3 2.0 @ 224 Kbps
01:17:00 | USA | Drama
When circus aerialist Polly Fisher is injured, she is taken to the nearby home of minister John Hartley. The two fall in love and marry secretly. But when the news leaks out, the minister loses his pastorate over disdain by the parishioners for Polly's background as a performer. Polly must decide whether to stay with the man she loves or leave him for the good of his calling.
Directors: Edwin L. Hollywood, Charles Horan
Cast: Mae Marsh, Vernon Steele, Harry La Pearl, Wellington A. Playter, George S. Trimble, Lucille La Verne, Dick Lee, Charles Riegel, Lucille Southerwaite, Jack B. Hollis, Helen Sallinger, Isabel Vernon, Viola Compton, John Carr, Stephen Carr, Mildred Call, Maurice Stewart, Louis R. Grisel, Bingo and the Rest of the Beasts, Lillian Ward
Extras:
- Mable and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco 1915) 17 min (8 min longer than IMDB says)
- Mable Norman and Fatty Arbuckle
IMDb
This early Goldwyn picture is an ambitious piece that intended to nurture not only the corporation, but its star, Mae Marsh, recently poached from D.W. Griffith. It is a pretty good effort, with its Mark Twain-style opening, although the many titles and overt sentiment drag a bit until Lilian Ward falls from the high wire.
After all the kids grow up, a decent plot involving ministers, the circus and a well-photographed horse race ensue and matters are satisfactorily resolved at the end. The modern viewer may have some issues, like the white actors in blackface, but Mae Marsh is her charming, fluttery self. It was undoubtedly an excellent money-maker for the Goldwyn Corporation (later MGM) and a boost in the careers of not only the uncannily named Edwin Hollywood, but cinematographer George W. Hill, who a dozen years later would be MGM's go-to director for rough fare.
~ boblipton
Polly of the Circus (1917)
Polly of the Circus (1917)
Polly of the Circus (1917)
Polly of the Circus (1917)
