Polly of the Circus

This is probably the weakest of Marion Davies' MGM talkies because of the story and the likely cuts (it runs only 70 minutes). But Davies is fine as the spunky circus girl who falls for a small-town parson (Clark Gable) despite all the warning signs.

Based on a 1906 Broadway play and the 1917 silent films version (which starred Mae Marsh), the story seems a tad old fashioned but in 1932 America was still largely rural and hick towns maintained their 19th century prejudices.

Anyway, Polly causes a sensation when the circus comes to town and the hicks cover up the pictures of her in her trapeze outfit with pieces of cloth. But they turn out for the show. When someone in the audience yells out something rude, she makes a mistake in her aerial act and falls to the ground. She's taken to the parson's house (because it's close by) to recuperate. They fall in love and get married.

But the hayseeds don't want a parson who's married to a circus girl and he loses his job. Convinced she's causing his career harm, she picks a fight and goes back to the circus. Will love win out over small-town prejudice?

Davies is very good and Gable (still a rising star at MGM) is ok as the parson. Raymond Hatton is snarky as the drunken caretaker, and Maude Eburne is good. There's also C. Aubrey Smith as Gable's uncle, David Landau as the circus manager, and Ray Milland has a small role as a church usher.

Worth a look.

Davies stars as a trapeze artist who comes into contact with a young clergyman (Clark Gable). Eventually the two develop a relationship and much to his family's dismay, they marry.

The film begins to fall apart here with a series of long winded, hard to swallow scenes. The married couple has a falling out over his devotion to the church. Marion realizes for the first time that she is bad for her husband's career. This is so, despite the fact that she has been told this from the moment the two became interested in each other.

After stating her displeasure with his dedication to the church, she turns around and decides she must leave her husband so he can further his career. She is willing to do this because she loves him so much. Marion's plan is to divorce her husband, but when she is told by the reverend (played by C Aubrey Smith) that this is impossible she comes up with another plan. She will go back to the circus and fall during the trapeze act. Committing suicide so then she will no longer be a detriment to her husband's future.

As a rule, I have no problem with ridiculous melodrama. But the screenplay is weak and the acting staid. This film is based on an old chestnut of a play that was probably outdated when it was first filmed in 1917. The wrong side of the tracks girl and the clergyman is a great story in theory, but the film fails to make the relationship believable.

A small town is aghast when "Queen of the Air" aerialist Marion Davies (as Pauline "Polly" Brown) arrives with her circus. Promotional posters depicting Ms. Davies in costume are considered too revealing, and concerned citizens cover her legs. During Davies' trapeze act, a heckler shouts, "Hey Polly, where's your pants?" This causes Davies grief and she goes to recover at the nearby home of athletic minister Clark Gable (as John Hartley). You should be able to figure out what happens next...

This is a re-make of "Polly of the Circus" (1917), which starred Mae Marsh and was the first Samuel Goldwyn production...

In the original, Ms. Marsh was a rider who wore a dress; although it was cut above the knees, nobody complained. Marsh went back to the circus to be with ailing "Toby" (the equivalent of this version's "Beef"). The attempts to modernize the story are not successful. Davies and Gable (still not settled on the right pluck for his eyebrows) look good together, but are not convincing in their roles. Watch out for the duster (Raymond Hatton) and the usher (Ray Milland). The too few circus scenes are edited well.

***** Polly of the Circus (2/27/32) Alfred Santell ~ Marion Davies, Clark Gable, Raymond Hatton, C. Aubrey Smith

Marion Davies and Clark Gable makes movie enjoyable. It's not the best classic movie but if you have nothing to do and have 70 mins to spare you'll like it. It's short and sweet, if it was longer maybe that would of been a problem. Marion Davies always makes a film enjoyable. Movie Historians try to say that the only reason Marion was a movie star was because of her association with William Randolph Hearst, that's not true. Marion always gave good performances, if she didn't maybe I would think that. Marion was good with comedy and drama which she displays in this movie. Marion was a fine comedian, fine actress, great with facial expressions and gestures, and natural. This movie is a Marion Davies production. She was good with coming up with plots and stories and getting great cast. Clark Gable is good in whatever he is. This movie isn't his greatest. But Clark Gable fans would like to see this.

The year before,Gable had been a salvation army officer ("the laughing sinners") ;in "Polly of the circus" ,he took the plunge and became a minister .Like the precedent work ,it has not aged as well as "possessed" in which Gable played opposite Joan Crawford ,or even "men in white" .The problem is Gable's clergyman uncle who is not prepared to accept an acrobat (of the circus)as his niece :his nephew 's career -he went to college so he should become a bishop- would be in jeopardy and he would be relegated to selling Bibles for about twenty-five measly dollars a week.The best scenes are to be found in the circus ,complete with somersaults (without a safety net)