We had planned to go to the Beatles exhibition today, but decided to wait as we thought that it might be a crowded for opening day, so instead we stayed home had pancakes and watched movies all day
One movie I like to watch largely for the visuals is Who are you, Polly Magoo?
This movie from 1966 takes a satirical look at the fashion industry and its opulence
The main protagonist is Polly Magoo. Model and It Girl from New York who everyone is enamored with.
A TV show interviews her and the host falls in love, while a Prince sees her photo in a magazine and falls for her also, ordering for his best secret agents to go find her.
The opening scene is a fashion show attended by Miss Maxwell, fashion editor and her identically dressed assistants, where we see Polly dressed in sheet metal as the star
Men stop her in the street, offering her dinner, shaving cream and cutting off bits of her wig...
In her apartment, she is interviewed for a TV show "Who are you..."
They show Polly, a young Beatles fan turned elegant fashion model
The scene most copied by fashion stylists, is this one, where the models sit applying their make up, discussing men and the Prince who is looking for a particular model to take away
 |
| Peggy Moffitt on the left |
The Prince waits...
But will Polly be his Princess?
The TV interviewer Gregoire, analyses Polly to the point of tears
And she kicks a ball into her own head
Meanwhile, Miss Maxwell continues to have Polly model, but she is slowly changing her mind about her pemanance
In a series of imaginations, Polly meets her Prince and vice versa
But Polly, now not sure if she can still model, considers if she should return with the Prince or fall in love with Gregoire
Miss Maxwell asks Polly to now be a rocket
Beep beep!!
Have you seen this film? What was your favorite scene?
Cat xo
I haven't seen the movie, dear Cat, and I enjoyed learning about it in this post of yours. It strikes me that this was a case of life imitating art. The star of the movie, real life former Vogue cover girl Dorothy McGowan, had been "discovered" by a talent agent when he picked her out of a sea of faces in a crowd of Beatles fans awaiting the Moptops arrival at Kennedy Airport. Dorothy's one and only screen appearance was in this film, Polly Maggoo, after which she vanished from both acting and modeling.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in which women line up at mirrors applying makeup and engaging in girl talk has indeed been the inspiration for countless fashion pictorials and has been used in many films and TV series. I remember similar scenes in Flashdance, The Playboy Club and The Last Days of Disco to name a few. The plot element of a handsome young prince from a small unknown country becoming obsessed with a beautiful American girl is also a familiar one, especially in Disney productions. It was very common in the Sixties to depict men of all kinds as being smitten, weak in the knees and prone to fawning, acting goofy and making fools of themselves in the presence of models and other attractive women.
Thank you for another entertaining movie review, dear friend Catherine, and have a super Sunday!
Yes it certainly is interesting that her life seems to be exactly the same as the film. Her departure in the film is almost like her real life departure from fame.
DeleteSince you mentioned it, i did notice that most men are that kind of goofy character in 60s films, a big departure from the movies of the 30s and 40s where women were helpless and definitely the damsels
enjoy whats left of your weekend!
My favorite scene is the first time Polly is interviewed. I was sad to hear that this was the first and last movie role for the actress. She left the industry after this film. I thought she was so good in this movie. I couldn't take my eyes off of her.
ReplyDeleteyes! i enjoy the scene too. she says some really profound things!
Deletegood movie and excellent caricature of the fashion 's world . I visit last year the André Bloc s' sculpture house (where the fashion show takes place in the film) and there were an exhibition with models of some clothes in Polly Maggoo : http://crazeegirl-wears-vintage-dress.blogspot.fr/2012/09/qui-etes-vous-polly-maggoo-exposition.html
ReplyDeleteoh wow! how lucky you were to go! I like that they kept the sheet metal models there for show. The building itself is so marvelous i wonder how they built it
DeleteI love this post!!!
ReplyDeleteIm glad you like it! xx
DeleteI just love this film! x
ReplyDeleteits fab isnt it? and the make up is fun to look at and study
Delete"movie I like to watch largely for the visuals" - I'm right with you on that one. Having said that, there are some pretty funny scenes in it. The character of Miss Maxwell is based on legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, apparently. Jean Rochefort, who is in this film, later went on to become one of France's most popular character actors, famous for his prominent moustache..
ReplyDeleteI used to have a A1 poster of that shot of Peggy Moffit and the lookalikes.
If you liked Polly Magoo, you might also enjoy the film William Klein did after this, titled "Mr.Freedom" (1970) - a fierce satire on American imperialism, also visually amazing.
Oh yes i forgot to mention that about Miss Maxwell. Diana Vreeland inspired many movie characters including the editor in Funny Face. I love that her staff follow her around in identical outfits which suits the sheep-like fashion industry itself in a way.
DeleteI will certainly go look for Mr Freedom, thanks for the tip! From a quick google search, it looks like a very good statement on Americanism - kind of like Team America - fighting for freedom in an ironic way...
Well, I'm horribly out of the loop, having never seen this magnificence!!!! Dazzling, I'm so getting hold of it.
ReplyDeleteXXX
Oh you certainly should! Its such a fun film to look at!
DeleteI want her hair!!!!! I'm cutting mine off in a couple of weeks, so maybe I will do it like hers...
ReplyDeleteOh yes! i love it too! i have been wondering, how would a wing look in this modern day and would people notice? haha
Delete