A 6-part BBC serial in colour.
An orphan girl’s resolute optimism transforms a dour New England town. Sent to live with her embittered, duty-bound Aunt Polly, young Pollyanna Whittier introduces her ‘glad game’ to the community’s most troubled residents, including a reclusive bachelor and a cantankerous invalid. Her philosophy is put to the ultimate test following a severe accident that confines her to a wheelchair.
A Sunday teatime serialisation of the classic American novel. The production is notable for its attempt to replicate a Vermont setting on English soil and for casting American stage actress Elaine Stritch as Aunt Polly, whose authentic presence stood in contrast to the rest of the British cast’s efforts with the regional accents.
Broadcast: BBC1, Sundays, 7 October – 11 November 1973
Based on the novel by: Eleanor H. Porter
Dramatised by: Joy Harington
Director: June Wyndham-Davies
Producer: John McRae
Cast: Elaine Stritch (Aunt Polly), Elizabeth Archard (Pollyanna Whittier), Paddy Frost (Nancy), Ray McAnally (John Pendleton), Paul Maxwell (Dr Chilton), Bessie Love (Mrs Snow)
