Hoodoo Ann

In some ways, this film starring Mae Busch reminded me a bit of some of Mary Pickford's films--such as "Daddy Long Legs" (which actually came after "Hoodoo Ann"). It's like that in that the main character is an older teenager who is worked like a dog at an orphanage and who eventually finds happiness through some nice benefactors--but otherwise, "Hoodoo Ann" is much more of a silly but sweet comedy.

The film begins in the orphanage where, oddly, Ann is treated a lot like Cinderella. However, instead of having two mean step-sisters and a step-mother, all the female residents (who look too old to be there as well as frolicking on a playground) and the matrons treat Ann like a sort of slave--making her do all the work. However, when there is a fire at the place, Ann rescues another girl and is a hero. In response, a nice old couple decide to adopt Ann and take her to live with them. There she meets a nice neighbor (Robert Herron) and they fall in love. There is a subplot involving a doll and a black lady who talks about 'hoodoo' (sort of like a voodoo curse) on Ann--but this really is pretty unimportant to the story.

Now towards the last half of the film, the movie takes a really weird shift--away from a sad tale to a funny film. Ann and her new boyfriend go to the cinema and see a film. As Ann is a bit backward, she takes the film way too seriously. She thinks it's all a bit too real and she also goes home and pretends to be an actress. In the process, she dresses up and plays with a gun she thinks isn't loaded--leading to funny circumstances that really improve the overall film. It's rather inconsequential and silly, but also satisfying--and I don't want to say more as it might give away too much.

Overall, Busch was a very pleasant actress with a nice flair for comedy and pathos--and helped to make the film worth seeing. I liked the film very much--but didn't love it. Incidentally, the film was written by D.W. Griffith but not directed by him.

A star vehicle for Mae Marsh. Interestingly, this would be a fairly typical sort of movie for Mary Pickford in three or four years. Here, the first half, set in an orphanage, does not wear well, since the inmates consist of 12-year-old boys and twenty-year-old girls. Rather backwards girls for their ages, except physically. The second half is somewhat better, although the entire production rambles hither and yon and despite some excellent production values -- including a spectacular fire -- never quite makes up its mind as to what it wants to be.

Miss Marsh gives a fine performance, particularly in the comic bits. Robert Harron is, alas, rather wasted. Scripted and produced by D.W. Griffith.

Friendless Mae Marsh has been left, as a baby, at "The Clarissa Parker Orphanage", on Friday the thirteenth. Due to the superstitions associated with the date, she becomes known as "Hoodoo Ann". Still, she "lives in sweet unconsciousness of her unhappy lot." Young artist Robert Harron (as James Vance) lives in the same town, on Peaceful Street. One day, Ms. Marsh steals Mildred Harris (as Goldie)'s doll, which seems to trigger some "hoodoo" (bad luck) in the form of a fire; actually, the fire is caused by stepping on matches. Obviously, they are the self-striking kind of matches. Although Marsh hides the doll under a dirty mop, it cleans up well. The fire sequence is well done; and Marsh becomes a heroine. This leads to her eventual adoption.

After riding in a very cool looking early 1900s Ford automobile, Marsh is taken in by a kindly couple. "You are going to stay here and be our little girl," they explain, dressing her in a very funny looking outfit. Marsh gratefully begins to scrub chairs. As luck would have it, Marsh discovers Mr. Harron is her new neighbor, and they begin to date. Harron takes Marsh to see a western move, which they enjoy; oddly, the other members of the audience seem bored. Then, a shooting incident makes Marsh think her "hoodoo" has returned…

The director of record is Lloyd Ingraham; but, it's a safe bet D.W. Griffith, who also wrote the scenario, helped out behind the camera. The story is rather absurd; it's difficult to accept the legend of "hoodoo" based on Marsh's arrival date, and the superstitious palm-reading of "Black Cindy" (Madame Sul-Te-Wan). The cast performs well, considering; notably, young Mildred Harris caught Charlie Chaplin's eye. The folks running that orphanage must have had a parallel place, where they kept the older boys and younger girls. Though "Hoodoo Ann" has charms, they're much better presented in Griffith's similarly-themed, and highly recommended, 1918-19 films.

****** Hoodoo Ann (3/26/16) Lloyd Ingraham, D.W. Griffith ~ Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Mildred Harris

22-year-old Mae Marsh tries to steal Mary Pickford's thunder by playing an orphan who, at the start of this drama, is presumably supposed to be 12 or 13 at the most. She at least refrains from pulling the childlike faces that Pickford's fans found so appealing back then, and is actually quite appealing in the part. The story is slight, though, and the plot feels as if it has been padded out in order to achieve a feature-length running time, switching from Marsh's poor treatment by her fellow orphans to a sort-of murder-mystery once she finds a home. Directed by Lloyd Ingraham from a story by D. W. Griffith.

Whenever silent fans around the world talk about the Amerikan actress Dame Mae Marsh, inevitably the name of Herr D. W. Griffith is part of the silent chatter due to the importance that the Amerikan director had in Dame Marsh's career, a close and fruitful collaboration indeed. Both silent celebrities started their careers during the pioneers times with Dame Marsh being discovered accidentally by Herr Griffith and then later becoming one of his most distinctive classical heroines.

After having worked with her mentor in the milestone film "The Birth Of A Nation" (1915), Dame Marsh played "Hoodoo Ann" in the silent year of 1916, a film actually directed by Herr Lloyd Ingraham but with a scenario by Herr Griffith. The Dame Marsh character in this small film production has many recognizable elements of Herr Griffith's heroines (not surprising considering who did the script) that this count mentioned before: a little orphan girl ( it is well-known that Herr Griffith has a special fondness for little orphans… ), an innocent and long-suffering child who will overcome many problems during her life with her special persistence.

So we have a classic Herr Griffith heroine who is outspoken and encounters some unexpected misfortunes but finds a handsome and rich fiancée who will bring about a happy ending. However, first an intriguing mystery will have to be solved.

But not all the credit of "Hoodoo Ann" should go to the Griffith/Marsh duo; Herr Ingraham did his part too, directing the film with resolute hand, using elaborate film narratives techniques to entwine comedy with tragedy.

In spite of Dame Marsh being too grown up to be playing a little girl, her performance is honest and unpretentious like the film itself. After all, "Hoodoo Ann" is a small film whose principal intention is to entertain, much like what happens when our heroine attends a "moving pitcher" show, in which she can escape from reality, like so many others, and be fascinated by such an odd invention. Surprisingly, the movies play a strong part in resolving the plot when a curious incident happens in the vicinity; after all, reality is stranger than fiction.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must act as godfather to a little but rich German orphan.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/