Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “Polly”
Can’t Touch Her Skin
Quirky might have been an understatement when it came to describing Ms. McQueen. In one scene in the movie, she was supposed to touch Keshia’s cheek with her hand. But she told Debbie Allen, she couldn’t do it because she had an aversion to physical contact. Allen told People the story and how she compromised with McQueen: “For one emotional scene, Allen wants McQueen, as the church pianist Miss Priss, to cup Keshia’s face in her hands ‘I can’t touch her skin,’ the actress nervously protests. Sympathetic but determined, Allen offers her a pair of white cotton gloves. McQueen accepts, and with her covered hands trembling, she manages the caress. Grateful for the compromise, she tells Allen, “Bless your heart. That’s the way I wanted to play it all along.”
