Don't forget to visit b.vikki vintage on Etsy!
Polly (an African-American adaptation of the movie Pollyana) was one of my favorite movies as a kid! I think I still know all of the words to the songs. This made-for-TV movie, directed by Debbie Allen and starring Keshia Knight Pulliam and Phylicia Rashād, was produced in 1989 but set in a segregated 1950s Alabama town.
The clothes (and songs!) are amazing. Here's a clip of the song Sweet Little Angel Eyes:
I remember wanting a dress that flared out to look like a cake as a child - one like the yellow dress seen around the 2:40 mark. I tested every dress I got into by spinning in it.
Still don't have one... I have to remedy that poste haste!
I only wish I could find some higher quality video clips of this movie online. I'd love to post some screencaps of the dresses.
Edit: Found some decent quality video clips and got these screencaps:
Don't forget to visit b.vikki vintage on Etsy!
This was a great movie. I also liked the one Keisha did when she went back in time to King Arthur's Court.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for that! I taped it off TV during the original airing, watched it over & over, memorized the songs & choreography until the tape warped with age. It has probably been a decade since I watched it. You just made my day.
ReplyDeleteI actually wore the tape out on the VHS tape I made when this came on. I loved this movie so much- mainly for Claire Huxtable and the kid playing Jimmy. I was ridiculously jealous of Rudy and her petticoat dresses.
ReplyDeleteNote: I saw a dress in this style in a store the other day. Unfortunately it was $420. I love the style, but am not insane so I didn't buy it. But I'm still thinking about it....
OMG! I haven't seen this movie in YEARS. I loved it so much!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is fantastic! It's like spending time with my late grandmother all over again. So glad to have found this!
I love the vintage pictures of my family and have pictures of my mother and great grandmother on my blog banner. I also collect vintage pictures and have Ebony's and Negro Digest from the early years. My father was a photographer and he had pictures for days.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this movie! I wanted Claire's hats and Rudy's dresses.
ReplyDeleteIt also inspired my ill-fated ballet/tap lessons!
thank you for this - i had a similar obsession with the cake-twirling dresses, but it also extended to white gloves and awesome hats in hatboxes. i've never met anyone else who was aware of this movie, but thanks to the internet, here we are, joined in aesthetic (and nostalgic) appreciation.
ReplyDeleteYou brought back some of the most amazing memories. I absolutely loved this movie! That was amazing! I know all the words too!
ReplyDeletegreatest movie ever! i wish i could find it on dvd!
ReplyDeleteI grew up singing and dancing to theres songs... also tape onto a vhs tape from the t.v.! My tape wore out years ago and when I found out I was pragnant with my first child I went on a desperate search to find this movie. I failed, but I sang what I could remember of the songs to my baby girl and later on to my son; "You're my sweet little angel eyes" has become a favorite of theirs! My children are now 7 and 6 yrs old and guess what? Last year my little sister found Polly released on dvd! She bought it for me and now I share it with everyone I know that has a little girl!!!!
ReplyDelete