Pollyanna (1973)

For those viewers who prefer that movies based on books stick close to the source material, this version of Pollyanna should please you. Not only does the story adhere closely to Eleanor H. Porter’s children’s novel, but because it is a series, it included much more detail than other versions. And Pollyanna is just as talkative here as in the book, chatting constantly to everyone she meets.

The acting is adequate. I suspect they were short on budget or time, because a few times the performers flubbed their lines a bit and kept going, and to me, Elaine Stritch as Aunt Poly appeared to be reading cue cards a few times as her eyes strayed. But they all do a credible job. Also, because the Pollyanna actress is a child with a lot of lines, she really talks fast and sometimes her words are hard to make out. I picked up a lot of it because I had recently read the book and had an idea what she was going to say. A lot of her chatter refers back to previous conversations and mixed up ideas she has formed.

Mostly I thought it was fine. Aunt Polly’s reaction and change in opinion about Pollyanna reflected the novel, and there were lots of nice moments, such as when fairly early on the kitten started appearing in her lap.

The transition to the final scene seemed a bit rushed to me considering at this is a longer series rather than a two hour movie. Still, I wouldn’t discourage anyone from watching it.