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1917 film
Polly of the Circus
is a 1917 American silent
drama film
notable as the first film produced by
Samuel Goldwyn
after founding his studio
Goldwyn Pictures
. This film starred
Mae Marsh
, usually an actress for
D.W. Griffith
, but now under contract to Goldwyn for a series of films. The film was based on the
1907 Broadway play
Polly of the Circus
by
Margaret Mayo
which starred
Mabel Taliaferro
.
[1]
Presumably when MGM
remade
Polly of the Circus
in 1932 with
Marion Davies
, they still owned the screen rights inherited from the 1924 merger by
Marcus Loew
of the Metro, Goldwyn, and
Louis B. Mayer
studios.
[2]
This film marks the first appearance of
Slats
, the lion mascot of Goldwyn Pictures and (after the company's 1924 merger)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
[3]
Prints and/or fragments were found in the
Dawson Film Find
in 1978.
Plot
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]
As described in a film magazine,
[4]
the parents of Polly (Marsh), a little horseback rider, are dead, and circus performers Jim (Playter) and Toby (Eldridge) are her sponsors. One night while performing Polly is thrown from her horse and injured. She is taken to the home of parson John Douglas (Steele), and the circus is forced to leave without her. The parson finds in Polly someone different than anyone in his flock, but his liking for the circus rider does not please the members of the congregation. They force Polly to leave and she reenters the circus, but thoughts of the parson make her unhappy. After a year's separation, the circus comes to town again. Douglas has not forgotten his little circus performer, and one night he goes to the tent to visit her. She tries to send him away, but he will not go. The circus tents catch fire, and in the general confusion and wreckage, Douglas and Jim bring Polly to safety. In the arms of the parson, Polly bids her circus friends goodbye.
Credited Cast
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]
- Stephen Carr as Little Johnnie Douglas
- John Carr as Little Jim Handy
- Harry LaPearl as Toby (credited as Harry La Pearl)
- George S. Trimble as P.T. Barker (credited as George Trimble)
- Charles Riegel as Deacon Strong
- Mildred Call as Little Polly
- Lillian Ward as
Mlle.
Nanette
- Vernon Steele
as Rev. John Douglas
- Lucille La Verne
as Mandy
- Dick Lee as Hasty (credited as Richard Lee)
- Mae Marsh
as Mlle. Polly
- Wellington A. Playter
as Jim Handy (credited as Wellington Playter)
Preservation
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]
The film was once thought to be
lost
, the last copy destroyed in the
1965 MGM vault fire
. However, a copy of it was found amid a collection of silent films buried in
permafrost
in
Dawson City
,
Yukon
,
[5]
in 1978.
[6]
The print is now part of the
Library of Congress
[5]
and Archives Canada, Dawson City Collection. The film is available commercially in
DVD
format.
References
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]
External links
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]