Little Orphant Annie

I decided to watch 'Little Orphant Annie' because of Colleen Moore who was only about 19 when the film was made and still without her signature bobbed hairstyle. I had never before even heard of James Whitcomb Riley and the poem on which this picture is based, and I think I really missed something. There are enough reasons to watch the film even if you don't like Moore. It is nice and slow and poetic. Of course it is in many ways more than old-fashioned: it is archaic. However, it advocates values which today are (or should be) as topical as they were a hundred years ago, even though it does this in a sometimes quite drastic fashion. Cruelty to children and animals is shown in a way that modern viewers would probably find disturbing if they were less used to violence on film. I for one found the way Annie is being whipped and her cat thrown about pretty unsettling. But the message is that you should treat children and animals kindly, and that is as true today as it was in 1918. The special effects in 'Little Orphant Annie' appear of course quaint from a modern perspective, and the story line lacks a proper ending. The photography was not particularly innovative either, at least compared to earlier films shot in Europe such as for example 'The Student of Prague' (1913) that I watched some time ago. Still, all in all 'Little Orphant Annie' is nice enough and I am happy I spent an hour with it.

This was the first starring role of Colleen Moore; the only time Hoosier dialect poet, James Whitcomb Riley ever appeared in a movie; and the last feature produced by Selig Polyscope. It was rotting on film cans, the way so much of our silent heritage is, until Eric Grayson badgered the Library of Congress into letting him have the materials, set up a Kickstarter funding, and roped in people like Bruce Lawton, Ben Model and other silent film nuts, into helping him blend remnants of five prints into something that is a close approximation of the original film. Bravo!

Mae Gaston keels over and dies right before the eyes of her daughter, who is sent to an orphanage. There, she grows up to be Colleen Moore, who likes to tell the other orphans witch stories about what happens to bad children. She is sent to live with her uncle and aunt, who beat her, but is succored by Tom Santschi, and by Lafe McKee and Eugenie Besserer, who have about a dozen other children.

The movie is bookended by Riley himself, telling the children the story. It's filled out with the images of the witches and gobble-uns, actors in masks and costumes, who are inserted witchily into the film. To the modern eye, these are primitive and obvious effects.In 1918, they were incredibly difficult and startling.

Director Colin Campbell tells the story in a straightforward, slightly stodgy fashion. Miss Moore, although almost unrecognizable without her signature hair-do of the 1920s, is very good. Although the movie is more interesting for its connections than its actual execution, its good humor makes it very watchable, even today.

The film, based on the Riley story, is entertaining. There are interesting, fun and effective special effects. Of course, the scene of Riley telling the story to the children is a great piece of history on film. There is an excellent restoration DVD/Blu Ray available with added commentary and music which is well worth the price.

Colleen Moore plays Little Orphant Annie. Her parents die when she is very young and she is sent to an orphanage where she regales the kids with stories about goblins who will get them if they don't watch out. The goblins are creatively staged as overlaid double exposures in various scenes in costumes on people of all shapes and sizes. When she reaches a certain age, she must go to live with her cruel aunt and uncle. Animal-lovers might want to shy away due to the mean treatment a cat receives.

Unfortunately, the plot feels more like a set-up for a film that never really gets going. A possible sequel is teased but never came to fruition.

A 35 mm print of the newest restoration by Eric Grayson and Thad Komorowski was run at Capitolfest in 2017. It draws from several surviving prints in various condition and is the most complete version available.

The 35mm restored print shown here at Capitolfest in Rome, N.Y. is a marvel of modern technology. It was spliced together using several sources and lost footage inserted and owes its existence to a 1926 reissue by an obscure distributor from a 16mm print. The good people at the Library Of Congress did the honors.

There are several innovative photographic touches used in the film including overhead track shots, dissolves, multiple exposures and other camera shots, plus tinting that make the picture seem newer than it really is. Speaking for myself I did not feel it was good as I had anticipated and is a somewhat overrated film. The best of the camera tricks are the scenes in which Annie moralizes about superimposed ghosts and goblins that will "get ya if ya don't watch out!", as she tells the other children in the foster home. Very clever for 1918. It was hard to be drawn into the film though, most likely due to the disjointed nature of the print itself. Great to see it and appreciate the effort that went in to this restoration of an almost 100 year old movie.