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Polly of the Circus (1932 film)

October 28, 2023

Polly of the Circus is a 1932 American pre-Code MGM drama film directed by Alfred Santell and starring Marion Davies and Clark Gable.

Polly of the Circus
Directed byAlfred Santell
Written byLaurence E. Johnson (dialogue)
Carey Wilson
Based onPolly of the Circus
1907 play
by Margaret Mayo
Produced byMarion Davies
StarringMarion Davies
Clark Gable
CinematographyGeorge Barnes
Edited byGeorge Hively
Music byWilliam Axt
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • February 27, 1932 (1932-02-27)
Running time
69 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$438,000[1]
Box office$700,000[1]

Plot edit

When a traveling circus arrives in a small town, trapeze artist Polly Fisher (Marion Davies) is outraged to find that clothing has been added to posters of her to hide her moderately skimpy costume. She goes to see the man she mistakenly holds responsible, Reverend John Hartley (Clark Gable). He denies being the censor, but their relationship gets off to a rocky start.

When a heckler distracts Polly during her performance, she falls 50 feet (15 m) to the ground. John Hartley has her brought to his nearby house. The doctor advises against moving her. As she recuperates, Polly and John fall in love and marry. She willingly gives up the circus for him.

John's uncle, Bishop James Northcott (C. Aubrey Smith), questions the wisdom of the union, and John's congregation rebels at having an ex-circus performer as their minister's wife. As a result, he is fired and cannot obtain another church position because of his marriage.

Seeing how miserable her husband is, Polly goes to plead for the bishop's help, but he remains unmoved. When she tells Northcott she is willing to give John up, the clergyman tells her that a divorced minister is just as unacceptable. Polly sees only one way out - as a widower, John could return to the church. She pretends that she has tired of her husband and returns to the circus, planning to have a fatal "accident". However, Northcott has a change of heart. When he goes to tell the couple, Polly has already left. Northcott guesses what she intends to do. He and John speed to the circus' next stop and arrive just in time to save Polly.

Cast edit

Sources edit

The story started as a short novel by Margaret Mayo which she then adapted as a script for a 1907 play, Polly of the Circus, written for the entertainment magnet Frederic Thompson. The play, complete with a live circus and other spectacles on stage designed by Thompson, was Broadway success and eventually had several productions playing in cities around the country.

First film adaptation of the play edit

A silent film version of the Margaret Mayo play was made in 1917, the first film by Goldwyn Pictures. It was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey at Universal Studios when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based there at the beginning of the 20th century.[2][3][4]

Box office edit

According to MGM records, the film earned $530,000 in the US and Canada and $170,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $20,000.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ Koszarski, Richard (2004), Fort Lee: The Film Town, Rome, Italy: John Libbey Publishing -CIC srl, ISBN 0-86196-653-8
  3. ^ . Fort Lee Film Commission. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  4. ^ Fort Lee Film Commission (2006), Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 0-7385-4501-5

External links edit

October 28, 2023
polly, circus, 1932, film, polly, circus, 1932, american, code, drama, film, directed, alfred, santell, starring, marion, davies, clark, gable, polly, circusdirected, byalfred, santellwritten, bylaurence, johnson, dialogue, carey, wilsonbased, onpolly, circus1. Polly of the Circus is a 1932 American pre Code MGM drama film directed by Alfred Santell and starring Marion Davies and Clark Gable Polly of the CircusDirected byAlfred SantellWritten byLaurence E Johnson dialogue Carey WilsonBased onPolly of the Circus1907 playby Margaret MayoProduced byMarion DaviesStarringMarion DaviesClark GableCinematographyGeorge BarnesEdited byGeorge HivelyMusic byWilliam AxtDistributed byMetro Goldwyn MayerRelease dateFebruary 27 1932 1932 02 27 Running time69 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 438 000 1 Box office 700 000 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Sources 3 1 First film adaptation of the play 4 Box office 5 References 6 External linksPlot editWhen a traveling circus arrives in a small town trapeze artist Polly Fisher Marion Davies is outraged to find that clothing has been added to posters of her to hide her moderately skimpy costume She goes to see the man she mistakenly holds responsible Reverend John Hartley Clark Gable He denies being the censor but their relationship gets off to a rocky start When a heckler distracts Polly during her performance she falls 50 feet 15 m to the ground John Hartley has her brought to his nearby house The doctor advises against moving her As she recuperates Polly and John fall in love and marry She willingly gives up the circus for him John s uncle Bishop James Northcott C Aubrey Smith questions the wisdom of the union and John s congregation rebels at having an ex circus performer as their minister s wife As a result he is fired and cannot obtain another church position because of his marriage Seeing how miserable her husband is Polly goes to plead for the bishop s help but he remains unmoved When she tells Northcott she is willing to give John up the clergyman tells her that a divorced minister is just as unacceptable Polly sees only one way out as a widower John could return to the church She pretends that she has tired of her husband and returns to the circus planning to have a fatal accident However Northcott has a change of heart When he goes to tell the couple Polly has already left Northcott guesses what she intends to do He and John speed to the circus next stop and arrive just in time to save Polly Cast editMarion Davies as Pauline Polly Fisher Clark Gable as Reverend John Hartley C Aubrey Smith as Bishop James Northcott Raymond Hatton as Downey Hartley s servant David Landau as Beef the circus manager who raised Polly Ruth Selwyn as Mitzi Maude Eburne as Mrs Jennings Little Billy Rhodes as Half Pint Guinn Williams as Eric Alvarez Clark Marshall as Don Alvarez Lillian Elliott as Mrs McNamara a friend of the Hartleys Ray Milland as Church Usher uncredited Sources editThe story started as a short novel by Margaret Mayo which she then adapted as a script for a 1907 play Polly of the Circus written for the entertainment magnet Frederic Thompson The play complete with a live circus and other spectacles on stage designed by Thompson was Broadway success and eventually had several productions playing in cities around the country First film adaptation of the play edit A silent film version of the Margaret Mayo play was made in 1917 the first film by Goldwyn Pictures It was shot in Fort Lee New Jersey at Universal Studios when it and many other early film studios in America s first motion picture industry were based there at the beginning of the 20th century 2 3 4 Box office editAccording to MGM records the film earned 530 000 in the US and Canada and 170 000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of 20 000 1 References edit a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger Los Angeles Margaret Herrick Library Center for Motion Picture Study Koszarski Richard 2004 Fort Lee The Film Town Rome Italy John Libbey Publishing CIC srl ISBN 0 86196 653 8 Studios and Films Fort Lee Film Commission Archived from the original on October 20 2018 Retrieved July 23 2015 Fort Lee Film Commission 2006 Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry Arcadia Publishing ISBN 0 7385 4501 5External links editPolly of the Circus at IMDb Polly of the Circus at the TCM Movie Database Polly of the Circus at AllMovie Polly of the Circus at the American Film Institute Catalog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Polly of the Circus 1932 film amp oldid 1106320368, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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