The History of Mr. Polly (1949)
Directed by Anthony Pelissier

Film Review

This faithful film adaptation of H.G. Wells' popular novel The History of Mr Polly has retained much of its homespun charm, even if its modest production values and Anthony Pelissier's cautious direction date it somewhat, more so than the earlier Wells adaptation Kipps (1941). Pelissier's subsequent films include some other literary adaptations, The Rocking Horse Winner (1950) after D.H. Lawrence and Encore (1951), a collection of Somerset Maugham stories.

The film's main attraction is John Mills' understated yet very effective portrayal of the tragicomical Mr Polly, which brings both substance and pathos to the somewhat nebulous character of the H.G. Wells novel. The supporting cast includes such recognisable faces as Megs Jenkins, Finlay Currie and Dandy Nichols. Mills' daughter Juliet (soon to become a successful actress in her own right) appears alongside her father, as she had done in the previous The October Man (1947).

Some well-staged comedy-action set-pieces liven up a lacklustre plot, but between these things drag a little, the vague and aimless character of Mr Polly being transferred to the character of the film as a whole.  It's a charming little film, despite its imperfections, although it doesn't quite succeed in getting across Wells' central message, that, however it may otherwise appear, a man is always the master of his own destiny.  'If the world does not please you, you can change it...'.

Film Synopsis

A dreamer and bibliophile, Alfred Polly prefers to live in the world of his imagination than in the drab England of the late 1800s.    His daydreaming costs him his job as a draper's assistant and he realises how unfit he is for the life Fate has thrown his way.  Unemployment brings on a period of depression, which isn't helped by the death of his father.  With his inheritance he buys a small tailor's shop in a seaside town.  Perhaps too hastily, he also decides to marry his cousin Miriam.    Fifteen years later, on the threshold of middle-age, Mr Polly realises that his life has been for nothing.  He hates his wife, he hates his shop, he hates everything.  With nothing to lose, Mr Polly resolves to kill himself.  When he botches a dramatic suicide, he has a change of heart and decides to make a fresh start.  Leaving Miriam, he heads for the countryside, where a whole set of new experiences await him...