MovieChat Forums > Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Discussion > Paulie pronounced 'Polly'? (spoilers)

Paulie pronounced 'Polly'? (spoilers)

posted 14 years ago by heyuactor
19 replies | jump to latest

It's a minor point, considering the big issues raised in this film, but I've always heard it pronounced "Paulie", with the Paul part just the way "Paul" is pronounced, yet in the film (saw it last night) it seemed like no one knew that, everyone said "Polly". No one on the movie set suggested they say it properly? As to the bigger issues, as mentioned in other posts, was Manion really temporarilly insane? Of course the jury thought so, but, while I don't have trouble believing Laura was in fact raped, and more importantly, that Manion believed her, I don't see how he was anything other than jealous and in a rage, killing Quill deliberately and without excuse (other than the "unwritten law", not legally excusable). So, not believing the defense arguement, I find the ending unsatisfying, and can't rate AOAM more then a 7, in spite of the fine acting and courtroom conflict. If the filmmakers intended us to be confused, it worked in my case, but my not thinking the jury's decision was plausable is a letdown, after so much interesting back and forth drama and comedy moments. Does anybody else find the temporary insanity defense not acceptable, or as the question goes: did I miss something?

"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] fwetton27 14 years ago

In the upper peninsula of Michigan, nicknames are quite common. The nickname pronounced as Polly would be a play on the similarity in pronounciation with Paulie. Nicknames in the small towns up north are frequently humorous and used so commonly that sometimes a person's real name is almost forgotten. In fact Mrs Manion refers to the name Polly as "a funny name for a crazy lawyer".

[–] heyuactor 14 years ago

Very good, thank you fwetton.

"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.

[–] Flight_of_Fantasy 13 years ago

Paulie and Polly _are_ pronounced exactly the same way.... They're homophones (think that's the right word).

"He's already attracted to her. Time and monotony will do the rest."

[–] gribfritz2 13 years ago

They are?

Paulie - /ˈpɔli/ (pawlee)
Polly - /ˈpɒli/ (polee)

Are Mary, marry, and merry all homophones as well?

[–] gribfritz2 13 years ago

Well, IMDB certainly mangled that. Should have previewed it. Anyway, pronunciations can be found in online dictionaries.

[–] KlutzyGirl 13 years ago

Most people would pronounce Mary, marry, and merry differently; but my ear detects no difference between Paulie and Polly. It may be there, but certainly Polly is not pronounced pole-ee as your spelling implies. I think the Paul-ie from the book refers to emphasis, not pronunciation. Haven't read it, though.

[–] gribfritz2 13 years ago

Are you from NYC? There certainly is a difference unless you have a Brooklyn accent or something. Just take the time to look it up in any online dictionary and you will see the phonetics. Since the phonetics got mangled, here's my own phonetics which is easier for us humans to understand:

Paulie. PAW-LEE (like the paw of an animal)
Polly. PA-LEE (rhymes with ha, like laughter...ha ha ha)

[–] fnj2002 11 years ago

You're not helping your case. Everyone I ever heard speak pronounces paw and pa exactly the same, just like they pronounce Paulie and Polly exactly the same. I don't claim there is no one who pronounces them differently, but it's certainly not a given.

It's not a question of "Brooklyn accent or something".

[–] shiftylee 9 years ago

I pronounce them the same. Marry and Mary too. I'd like to actually hear tge difference. Evetything I've checked online pronounces them the sane.

[–] krp-7 8 years ago

Years ago, I used a vocabulary building course and the instructor said that he was from Boston and pronounced Mary, merry and marry differently but a person with a Western accent would say them the same.

That's what he said. As far as I could tell, even with his Boston accent, they all sounded the same.

The vast majority of people in this country pronounce them the same. Same with Paulie and Polly

[–] liscarkat-2 11 years ago

"Most people would pronounce Mary, marry, and merry differently"

Really? I don't think so, Henrietta Higgins.

[–] fnj2002 11 years ago

Whether you think so or not is not the issue. Everyone I ever heard speak pronounces Mary, marry, and merry the same. Is your experience somehow superior to mine?

[–] gribfritz2 11 years ago

Amusingly, some dictionaries have one pronunciation for "merry", two for "marry" (one of them being the same as the "merry" one) and a whopping three for "Mary" (one being the "merry" pronunciation and another being the "marry" one). It's obvious (to me at least) that these three different words are pronounced differently but with many people pronouncing them similarly over the years, the lines have blurred. I don't think there is any other way to rationalize three different pronunciations for a simple name like Mary.

At any rate, Dictionary.com makes it insanely easy:

Mary - mair-ee
marry - mar-ee
merry - mer-ee

As for Paulie and Polly, Paulie sounds like paw. Polly sounds like politician. I don't think anyone would make the same sounds for paw and politician.

[–] shiftylee 9 years ago

I do. Paw. Politician. Same pronunciation.

[–] jgroub 8 years ago

Well, gribfritz, I agree with you: both on Paulie/Polly, and on Mary/marry/merry. All five words are pronounced differently. Not a homophone in the bunch. And I am from Brooklyn (but escaped after 18 months to Long Island).

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] Jackeybird 13 years ago

In the book it's spelled "Polly." Paul himself even notes early on how someone strangely pronounces it "PAUL-ie."

[–] Zanza8 12 years ago

That's right, Jackeybird. I read the book and thought it was strange Paul was called Polly, but there's no mistaking the spelling. Guess it was just a funny nickname he picked up.

http://thinkingoutloud-descartes.blogspot.com/

[–] yfguitarist 12 years ago

They're pronounced the same.