Back on the stage at 76, Pollyanna’s positively an example to all

Hayley Mills is now 76 but you can still recognise her as the angelic-faced child star from the classic family film Pollyanna. It’s been 40 years since I first watched the Disney movie starring Mills as the little orphan girl who refused to see the bad in the world. Its message about the power of positive thinking has always stayed with me.

The story, adapted from Eleanor H Porter’s 1913 novel, is easy to dismiss as schmaltzy nonsense. Indeed, calling someone a Pollyanna is often used to describe someone who is naïve or foolishly optimistic.

Yet a whole industry has grown up around the power of positive thinking in the decades since the movie was made. And it’s not just quackery either; countless scientific studies show it can help people live happier, healthier and longer lives.

But I was interested to hear what Pollyanna herself thinks. In our interview on pages 6&7, Mills, who won an Oscar for the role, tells us: “I think it’s vital to look on the positive side because if you don’t, then you won’t see the opportunities for change that will make things better.”

Mills is next starring in the stage version of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a story about retirees finding love and embracing second chances themes not a million miles away from her debut Disney role.

The actress admits it can be exhausting touring in her 70s but, as always, she is looking on the bright side.“It’s a real gift to see other parts of the country,” she tells us.

I’m sure Pollyanna would agree.