Polly with a Past is a 1920 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Metro Pictures and directed by Leander de Cordova.

[2][3] Minister's daughter Polly Shannon, in order to earn money go to Paris and study opera, takes a job as a maid for Clay Cullum and Harry Richardson.

Cullum and Richardson are friends with shy Rex Van Zile, whose love for do-gooder Myrtle Davis is unrequited.

In December 1919, Metro acquired the play Polly With a Past (1917) from Guy Bolton and George Middleton for $75,000, reputedly the highest price paid for a stage story to that time.

From the start, Ina Claire, who had played Polly on the stage, was intended to star in the film version.