''Polly'' is a 1989 American made-for-television

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

adapted from the book '' Pollyanna'' by

Eleanor H. Porter Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist, most known for ''Pollyanna'' (1913) and '' Just David'' (1916). Biography Eleanor Emily Hodgman was born in Littleton, New Hampshire, on December 19, ...

featuring an all

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

cast (with the exception of

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to ...

). It was directed and choreographed by

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...

, starring Keshia Knight Pulliam,

Phylicia Rashad Phylicia Rashad ( ) (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and director who is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom '' The Cosby ...

and also featured the final performance of actress

Butterfly McQueen Butterfly McQueen (born Thelma McQueen; January 8, 1911December 22, 1995) was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in films as "Prissy" in '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939). She was unable to attend the film's premiere b ...

. ''Polly'' was originally broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on November 12, 1989.

Plot

Set in Alabama during the 1950s, Polly Whittier, an orphan who is sent to live with her aunt Polly Harrington, who is a descendant of the founding family of a small

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

town (also called Harrington) during the segregation era. A key point in dividing the town is a ravine which has an unrepaired bridge which burned down many years ago, and no one knows how it started and is suspicious of everyone else. Polly is able to convince people to look at the bright side of things, but tragedy strikes when Polly falls two stories from a tree, suffering a spinal injury. ''Polly'' proved to be a ratings hit and a sequel, ''Polly: Comin' Home!'', followed in 1990. Both of these films are available on DVD exclusively from the Disney Movie Club and Disney Movie Rewards.

Cast

* Keshia Knight Pulliam as Polly Whittier *

as Aunt Polly Harrington *

Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood (born August 6, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in '' The Jesse Owens Story'' (1984), Paul Strobber on '' Strike Force'' (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2003). E ...

as Dr. Robert Shannon * Barbara Montgomery as Mrs. Conley *

T. K. Carter Thomas Kent Carter (born December 18, 1956) is an American actor. In films, he is mostly known for his many comedic performances, such as the street-smart Chester in '' Seems Like Old Times'' and the karaoke-singing Iceman in ''Ski Patrol''. He ...

as George Dodds *

Vanessa Bell Calloway Vanessa Bell Calloway ( Bell; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy ''Coming to America'', as well as for her roles ...

as Nancy Palmer * Brandon Quintin Adams as Jimmy Bean *

as Miss Priss * Larry Riley as Reverend Gillis *

Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in t ...

as Mr. Pendergast *

as Miss Snow *

Ken Page Ken Page (born January 20, 1954) is an American actor and singer. Page created the role of "Ken" in the original Broadway production of '' Ain't Misbehavin, and played the role of " Old Deuteronomy" in both the original Broadway and filmed st ...

as Mayor Warren

Musical numbers

#Overture #By Your Side- Polly #Honey Ain't Got Nothin' On You- Polly, Nancy, & Girls #Sweet Little Angel Eyes- Jimmy Bean, Polly, George, Nancy, & Kids #Something More- Ms. Harrington #Shine A Light- Robert, George, & Mayor Warren #Rainbow Maker- Polly, Ms. Harrington, & Nancy #Stand Up- Rev. Gillis, Robert, Polly, Nancy, Jimmy Bean, George, & Ensemble #Finale- Ensemble

Soundtrack

The original television soundtrack recording of ''Polly'' was released on CD and

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ott ...

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...

on November 30, 1989. ;Track listing #"Overture" (2:36) #"By Your Side" – Polly (2:30) #"Honey Ain't Got Nothin' On You" – Polly, Nancy & Girls (2:07) #"Sweet Little Angel Eyes" – Jimmy Bean, Polly, George, Nancy & Children (2:17) #"Shine A Light" – Mayor Warren, Dr. Shannon & George (2:35) #"Something More" – Aunt Polly (2:24) #"Rainbow Theme" (0:35) #"Rainbow Maker" – Polly, Nancy & Aunt Polly (2:00) #"Delivering Baskets" (0:54) #"Stand Up" – Reverend Gillis, Dr. Shannon & Congregation (4:28) #"At the Bazaar" (1:40) #"Swingin' Sisters" (2:10) #"A Prayer/Polly's Day" (2:00) #"Finale" (2:50)

Home media

Both ''Polly'' and ''Polly: Comin' Home'' were released on VHS by

Walt Disney Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

in 1990. Around 2000 the two movies were released on DVD on Disney Movie Club Exclusive.

Award nominations

External links

* * {{Pollyanna 1989 television films 1989 films 1980s musical films African-American musical films American musical films NBC network original films Disney television films Films based on children's books Films based on American novels Films set in the 1950s Films set in Alabama Films directed by Debbie Allen Films scored by Joel McNeely 1980s American films