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IMDbPro

The History of Mr. Polly

  • 1949
  • Approved
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
729
YOUR RATING
Finlay Currie and John Mills in The History of Mr. Polly (1949)
Drama

With an inheritance after his father's death, Alfred Polly finds love in the arms of a schoolgirl but marries an unattractive cousin and opens a shop, which leads him to unhappiness, arson, ... Read allWith an inheritance after his father's death, Alfred Polly finds love in the arms of a schoolgirl but marries an unattractive cousin and opens a shop, which leads him to unhappiness, arson, suicide attempts, and escape.With an inheritance after his father's death, Alfred Polly finds love in the arms of a schoolgirl but marries an unattractive cousin and opens a shop, which leads him to unhappiness, arson, suicide attempts, and escape.

  • Director
    • Anthony Pelissier
  • Writers
    • H.G. Wells
    • Anthony Pelissier
  • Stars
    • John Mills
    • Sally Ann Howes
    • Betty Ann Davies
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    729
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Anthony Pelissier
    • Writers
      • H.G. Wells
      • Anthony Pelissier
    • Stars
      • John Mills
      • Sally Ann Howes
      • Betty Ann Davies
    • 21User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos2

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    Top cast43

    Edit
    John Mills
    John Mills
    • Alfred Polly
    Sally Ann Howes
    Sally Ann Howes
    • Christabel
    Betty Ann Davies
    Betty Ann Davies
    • Miriam Larkins Polly
    Megs Jenkins
    Megs Jenkins
    • The Innkeeper
    Finlay Currie
    Finlay Currie
    • Uncle Jim
    Gladys Henson
    Gladys Henson
    • Aunt Larkins
    Diana Churchill
    Diana Churchill
    • Annie Larkins
    Shelagh Fraser
    Shelagh Fraser
    • Minnie Larkins
    Edward Chapman
    Edward Chapman
    • Mr. Johnson
    Dandy Nichols
    Dandy Nichols
    • Mrs. Johnson
    Juliet Mills
    Juliet Mills
    • Little Polly
    Laurence Baskcomb
    • Mr. Rumbold
    Edie Martin
    Edie Martin
    • Lady on Roof
    Moore Marriott
    Moore Marriott
    • Uncle Pentstemon
    David Horne
    David Horne
    • Mr. Garvace
    Ernest Jay
    • Mr. Hinks
    Cyril Smith
    Cyril Smith
    • Mr. Voules
    Wylie Watson
    Wylie Watson
    • Mr. Rusper
    • Director
      • Anthony Pelissier
    • Writers
      • H.G. Wells
      • Anthony Pelissier
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews21

    6.7729
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    Featured reviews

    8AlsExGal

    Very quirky, but stick with it...

    ... because in its entirety the film is very satisfying.

    Mr. Polly (John Mills) is hard to root for. He is a lazy employee in a shop who gets fired for reading novels when he should be working. He spends months looking - not very hard - for another job when he gets news his father died. His father left him a small inheritance, and so he decides to open a shop himself, although he hated working in one. Then he decides he needs a wife. He falls for a schoolgirl ten years younger than himself, but it turns out she is just teasing him for the amusement of her friends, so he dispassionately marries a spinster cousin.

    15 years later we are shown where Polly is - on the verge of bankruptcy, with his wife constantly nagging him about things that seem to be very true about himself. The shop is a failure, in part because it is chaotic - it does not seem to have a theme at all. So the unhappy Polly decides to commit suicide by burning his shop down with him in it while his wife is at church. Polly succeeds at burning the shop but not himself, and decides to hit the open road. And it is at this point he becomes a completely different kind of person than he has been for the first half of the film. In other words, he does become somewhat admirable - focused, not lazy. The odd thing is that Polly has no real basis for any of the actions he takes at any stage of his life. He certainly isn't doing anything because he wants to do so, and in some cases his actions make him unhappy, and in latter cases they lead to happiness.

    The entire thing is very ironic as the first and second parts merge into a very ironic and short third act. It's definitely original, and John Mills always improves any film.
    6frascud

    a charming but simple tale saved by the brilliant music

    HG Wells was one of the most successful novelists of the early 20th century, particularly famous for his science fiction. But earlier his tales of life among the ordinary people won him great success and eventually a wide reputation as a thinker and commentator as well as a writer. He wrote from personal experience - his mother was a domestic servant in a great house called Uppark, now one of the showplace of the National Trust. Mr Polly was a typical Wells characters - easy-going, unambitious, an innocent in a wicked world. John MIlls, one of the best-loved of British actors, captures perfectly the character of this harmless, well-meaning man, destined to be pushed hither and thither by a variety of females. But the film lack a strong story line and is often aimless and boring. THere are some hilarious scenes - the funeral of his father, which was more like a wedding party than a wake, with young women circling the newly rich innocent like sharks round a seal. Best of all was the scene where Mr Polly tries his hand at punting, struggling with his passenger and throwing them both in to the water. The music here was brilliantly written for the wind of the orchestra and played by a team of virtuosos with an outstanding clarinettist - who were they? The composer William Alwyn was probably the most prolific film composer of his or any generation. His work here saved the film from well-meant but earnest tedium. There should be a celebration of Alwyn's contribution to the art of film.
    5geoffm60295

    Meandering, Light hearted Film

    I was underwhelmed by the tale of a simple and weak character, Alfred Polly, played by the stalwart of the British cinema, John Mills, who has had enough of being henpecked, so leaves her and his shop to seek fresh pastures. It has several amusing scenes where Mills encounters the drunken, oafish Uncle Jim, played by the wonderful Finlay Curry, but overall the film is disappointing, for it seems to drift aimlessly from one scene to another without a clear and cohesive thread. I loved the music which gives the film a carefree and whimsical dimension but the real problem with the film is it's central character. It's very difficult to sustain interest in Mr Polly, a meek and mild character, who's simply wishing to see a quiet life.
    9clanciai

    Mr Polly and the idylls of the king

    This is probably H.G.Wells' best story or at least his most human and charming one. It's a petty triviality, but in the small things you can find some golden traces of hidden treasures worth discovering, which is what Mr. Polly does. John Mills is perfect for the job, especially since he fails in all his official ones, while all he is good for is reading old tales of chivalry and dreaming of some faint ideal far beyond his reach. Accidentally he gets married, and she turns out to make the worst for him, so he plans to get away by suicide and fails completely even with that. But a great momentum is waiting for him.

    Finlay Currie is equally perfect as the hooligan Uncle Jim, who is only good at making mincemeat of people and tries hard at it, (they were better partnered together just previously in "Great Expectations" as Pip and Magwitch,) but also he fails completely, leaving Mr. Polly out of breeches and in a strange situation with a lost body, which later turns up to most accidentally again save him from further trouble...

    The small man finally finds his kingdom and the proper idylls to it, where he can at last get thorough in reading his tales of chivalry and enjoy some meditation and fishing.

    It's an idyllic comedy with some hardship to it and a titbit as such, with excellent acting, enjoyable direction and tailor-made music to suit it all as well. I saw it the first time some 40 years ago but enjoyed the revenue even more.
    6boblipton

    John Mills Plays A Comic Coward

    John Mills prefers to read and dream rather than learn the haberdasher's trade, so he's fired. His father up and dies, and leaves him a nice sum of money. He enjoys bicycling around, saying he is "looking for a busienss to invest in", but marriage with his cousin, Betty Ann Davies, forces him to be a shop. It soon turns into a dull routine and marginal business. He burns it down for the insurance, then takes off. Soon he has settled down at a waterside inn run by Meg Jenks, punting the ferry and doing odd jobs.

    Anthony Pelissier did not have a tremendously productive career as a writer-director, but he turned out fine screen transitions of literary works. In his first movie, he tackles H. G. Wells novel about a man who just wants to get by and not meddle in affairs that are none of his business.... and as it turns out, he does meddle and demonstrates that, as ridiculous as he appears fighting off Miss Jenks' drunk and vindictive uncle Finlay Currie, time and chance are on his side. What we are to make of this, except that people are ridiculous, I don't really know. But it does demonstrate that. With Diana Churchill, Sally Ann Howe, Juliet Mills, Moore Marriott, and Irene Handl.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      An earlier Hollywood version starring Charles Laughton went into production, but was cancelled following the outbreak of World War II.
    • Goofs
      When the first fight between Polly and Jim starts, Polly moves quickly to the left and in so doing the shadow of the camera falls briefly full on his back.
    • Quotes

      The Innkeeper: I want an odd man about the place.

      Alfred Polly: I'm odd all right.

    • Connections
      Remade as The History of Mr. Polly (1959)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 15, 1950 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • История мистера Полли
    • Filming locations
      • Denham Film Studios, Denham, Uxbridge, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(studio: made at Denham Studios, London, England.)
    • Production company
      • Two Cities Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 35m(95 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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