William Klein: Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

Klein’s madcap romp of a photo-novel brilliantly translates his cult ’60s film into book form

Based on the original images and dialogue of William Klein’s 1966 film Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?, this fantastic photo-novel tells the adventures of Polly Maggoo, a star model played by Dorothy McGowan (model for Vogue in the 1960s). The plot unfolds across the fashion world of Polly Maggoo; the world of television (based around the character of director Jean Rochefort); and a magical kingdom of operetta whose crown prince (played by Sami Frey) is in love with the young model. Also featuring in this star-studded cast are Alice Sapritch, Delphine Seyrig, Philippe Noiret, Roland Topor and Jacques Seiler.
The publication ingeniously translates into book form the zany universe of the film. Klein’s masterful framing gives exquisite rhythm to its page composition and flow as we follow the crazy adventures of the extraordinary heroine in a madcap race through the streets and rooftops of Paris, all the way up to a distant palace lost in the snow.
Born in New York, William Klein (1926–2022) was a multidisciplinary artist whose practice revolutionized photography, particularly fashion and street photography. His fashion work was the subject of several iconic photobooks, including Life Is Good and Good for You in New York (1957) and Tokyo (1964). In the 1980s, he turned to film projects. His works are held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.