I supposed "Polly of the Circus" fancied itself cutting edge: a reverend marrying a mouthy trapeze artist who loves to show off her legs. Maybe it was in 1932, but I can't imagine that even then it was all that compelling of a movie.
When the Nailor Circus stopped in a little town called Oranta it would forever change the lives of Polly (Marion Davies) and Reverend John Hartley (Clark Gable). Polly suffered a fall from her trapeze platform which critically injured her. The hospital was too far away so she was taken to Rev. Hartley's house to be cared for. When the ambulance came to transport her to a proper hospital the doctor said she was in no shape to be moved. As a result she remained at Hartley's place for the next two months recovering.
As you can imagine, the two fell in love. They didn't do anything sinful so what could've been the conflict? Polly wasn't the type of woman the reverend and an aspiring bishop should be marrying. The town wasn't going to like it and the church wasn't going to like it, which would put the two on a path of struggle.
I thought the movie was very basic, simple, and uncompelling. Marion Davies didn't do it for me as the leading lady and this movie didn't do it for me as a romance. Granted, I don't like romances anyway, but this was especially cheesy. Those 1932 romantic lines were certainly dated and sounded nothing like what a real human being would say.
When the Nailor Circus stopped in a little town called Oranta it would forever change the lives of Polly (Marion Davies) and Reverend John Hartley (Clark Gable). Polly suffered a fall from her trapeze platform which critically injured her. The hospital was too far away so she was taken to Rev. Hartley's house to be cared for. When the ambulance came to transport her to a proper hospital the doctor said she was in no shape to be moved. As a result she remained at Hartley's place for the next two months recovering.
As you can imagine, the two fell in love. They didn't do anything sinful so what could've been the conflict? Polly wasn't the type of woman the reverend and an aspiring bishop should be marrying. The town wasn't going to like it and the church wasn't going to like it, which would put the two on a path of struggle.
I thought the movie was very basic, simple, and uncompelling. Marion Davies didn't do it for me as the leading lady and this movie didn't do it for me as a romance. Granted, I don't like romances anyway, but this was especially cheesy. Those 1932 romantic lines were certainly dated and sounded nothing like what a real human being would say.