Pollyanna is one of my favorite movies that was introduced to me as a child. Whenever I'm feeling a bit blue, I just pop this in and I feel glad again. For those not familiar, it's the story of a young girl who comes to the small town of Harrington to live with her rich aunt after her parents die. She is a breath of fresh air in the stuffy town and brings joy and positive thinking to everyone she comes across.
In this scene, Pollyanna meets Mrs. Snow played by the legendary Agnes Moorehead. Mrs. Snow is the definition of curmudgeonly and is always making plans for her imminent death, though she is hardly ill. Pollyanna has brought some food generously donated from the town's Ladies Aid Society. Mrs. Snow first appears annoyed and insulted by the young girl and tells her she has "a stubby little nose", but with the help of some rainbow-making prisms, Pollyanna even wins over the impossible Mrs. Snow. It's a lovely little scene with Agnes nailing every line (my personal favorite: "And the doctor: all he gives you is pills - pills and bills, just pills and bills, that's all" A line which I often incorporate into my everyday speech).
Along with Hayley Mills who gives one of the most impressive child performances I've ever seen, this film also boasts an extremely impressive adult cast: the aforementioned Moorehead, Jane Wyman (who will be showing up in later posts), Karl Malden, Adolph Menjou, Richard Egan, Nancy Olson, Donald Crisp and little Kevin Corcoran of Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson fame. Though the movie may sound a bit frothy, it's message is a powerful and important one: always try and look for the good in people, because "when you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will."
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