''Polly With a Past'' is a play by George Middleton and Guy Bolton. A comedy in three acts, it depicts the efforts of two young men to help a shy friend, Rex, win the attention of the aloof woman he loves; they arrange for their young housekeeper, Polly, to pose as a glamorous French rival for Rex's affections, but this leads to romantic complications. The play opened on Broadway in 1917 with a cast headed by

Ina Claire Ina Claire (born Ina Fagan; October 15, 1893February 21, 1985) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Ina Fagan was born October 15, 1893 in Washington, D.C. After the death of her father, Claire began doing imitations of fellow bo ...

as Polly,

Herbert Yost Herbert Yost (also credited as Barry O'Moore and Bertram Yost; December 8, 1879October 23, 1945) was an American actor who in a career that spanned nearly half a century performed predominantly on stage in stock companies and in numerous Broadw ...

as Rex, and Winifred Fraser, H. Reeves-Smith,

Thomas Reynolds Thomas, Tom or Tommy Reynolds may refer to: Politics * Thomas Reynolds (Assemblyman) (1840–1919), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly *Thomas Reynolds (Australian politician) (1818–1875), Premier of South Australia, 1860–1861 *Thomas Reyno ...

and

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

in other roles. It ran for nearly a year at the Belasco Theatre. The piece was presented in London in 1921 starring

Edna Best Edna Clara Best (3 March 1900 – 18 September 1974) was a British actress. Early life Born in Hove, Sussex, England, she was educated in Brighton and later studied dramatic acting under Miss Kate Rorke who was the first professor of Drama at ...

and

Donald Calthrop Donald Esme Clayton Calthrop (11 April 1888 – 15 July 1940) was an English stage and film actor. Born in London, Calthrop was educated at St Paul's School and made his first stage appearance at eighteen years of age at the Comedy Theatr ...

, with a supporting cast including

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

Edith Evans Dame Edith Mary Evans, (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was an English actress. She was best known for her work on the stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and towards the end of her career. Between 1964 and 1968, she was no ...

, Henry Kendall,

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...

and C. Aubrey Smith, running for three months. It was adapted for film in 1920 and a musical version played on Broadway in 1929.

Background and original productions

George Middleton was an American playwright, director and producer. Guy Bolton was an English playwright and writer of

musical comedies Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

who worked mainly in the US. They collaborated on ten shows, of which the most enduring was ''Polly With a Past''. The play, written in 1916, was staged the following year by

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...

. It was given a tryout at

Long Branch, New Jersey Long Branch is a beachside City (New Jersey), city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,< ...

, starting on September 1, 1917, before opening on September 6 at Broadway's Belasco Theatre, where it ran for 326 performances. In 1921, Gilbert Miller staged the piece in London at the St James's Theatre, where it ran from March 2 to June 4."Polly With a Past", ''The Times'', March 3, 1921, p. 8

Roles and original casts

Plot

Polly Shannon, the orphaned daughter of a Methodist minister, has come to New York hoping to take music lessons and become a singer. To earn a living, she takes a job as a housekeeper, working for Clay Collum and Harry Richardson, two young men who share an apartment. They have a shy young friend, Rex Van Zile, who is in love with a young woman named Myrtle Davis. She is too distracted by her zealous good works saving people fallen from grace to notice Rex's devotion. Polly suggests to the three young men that if Rex seems threatened with social or moral ruin, Myrtle will immediately rush to his side. Polly recommends finding a suitable young woman to pose as a glamorous temptress with whom Rex should appear to be madly infatuated. When they find out that Polly's mother was French, and that she speaks the language quite well, the three young men offer to pay for her music lessons if she plays the role of the exotic enchantress. Polly agrees. At the Van Ziles' summer home on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, a month later, Polly is now posing as "Paulette", a French international heart-breaker. Clay and Harry have done a good job to talk up her reputation as a ''

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

'', and they hatch the idea that Rex should "rescue" her from drowning – a suitably romantic touch. After this, gossip does the rest. Polite society is appalled. Myrtle decides that she must try to save Rex, but by this time Rex has realized he does not want to be saved: he truly loves Polly, and after a series of complications he gets his way, and they become engaged to be married.

Critical reception

In his review for ''

The Evening World ''The Evening World'' was a newspaper that was published in New York City from 1887 to 1931. It was owned by Joseph Pulitzer, and served as an evening edition of the ''New York World.'' History The first issue was on October 10, 1887. It was publ ...

'', Charles Darnton, called the play "a refreshing comedy with an ideal cast. … It doesn't matter if the general scheme is a bit farcical. The authors are to be credited with uncommon humor and ingenuity". '' The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' judged it "an amusing and wholesome little play". When the play was presented in London, '' The Times'' commented that the outcome of the plot was predictable and that the action was slow. In '' The Observer'',

St John Ervine St John Greer Ervine (28 December 1883 – 24 January 1971) was an Irish biographer, novelist, critic, dramatist, and theatre manager. He was the most prominent Ulster writer of the early twentieth century and a major Irish dramatist whose work in ...

termed the play "unpretentious and agreeable", slow at the beginning but gathering pace, and "constructed … with considerable ingenuity".

Adaptations

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Cae ...

was made of the play in 1920. Ina Clair as Polly was the only member of the stage cast to appear in the film. In 1928, Middleton and Bolton collaborated with Herbert Stothart and

Phil Charig Philip Charig (August 31, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was a composer and lyricist for plays in New York and London. He wrote ''Follow the Girls'' and others. Musicals * ''Yes, Yes, Yvette'' (1927); music also by Ben Jerome * '' Just Fancy'' (1927); mus ...

(music) and Irving Caesar (lyrics) on a musical adaptation of the play, given the title ''Polly''. In the pre-Broadway tryout in Wilmington, Delaware, the role of Rex Van Zile was played by Archie Leach, who later became known as Cary Grant. Also in the cast were Fred Allen (in a newly-created part – a press reporter) and

June Tripp June Tripp (born June Howard-Tripp; 11 June 1901 – 14 January 1985), sometimes known just by her screen name, June, was a British-American actress. Biography Born June Howard-Tripp in Blackpool, she worked mainly on stage (in revue). She m ...

in the title role. Leach was replaced as Rex by

John Hundley John Walker Hundley (born July 4, 1899, Hightstown, New Jersey – died April 17, 1990, New York City) was an American musical comedy actor, singer, and, later, a CBS television executive. Hundley was the namesake of his grandfather, the Reverend ...

for the Broadway run, which opened at the Lyric Theatre on January 8, 1929, and closed on January 19 after 15 performances."Polly"
, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved March 29, 2020

References and sources

References

Sources

* {{cite book , last=Middleton , first=George, author2=Guy Bolton , title=Polly With a Past , year=1923 , location= New York and London, publisher= Samuel French, oclc=314957153 1917 plays American plays adapted into films