La petite Annie

Annie Rooney lives with her officer father and brother Tim in the slums of New York, where she is constantly getting involved in many fights with the other neighborhood kids. Annie secretly has a crush on Joe Kelly (whose little brother Mickey is head of the gang that Annie constantly battles), who is in a gang that is headed for trouble, says Officer Rooney. Kelly sponsors a dance, where Tony plans to shoot Kelly in order to get even with him for making him look like a fool in front of his girl, but Officer Kelly gets fatally wounded instead. Tim (part of Kelly's gang) is told by Tony, and friend Spider, that Kelly shot his father, so he goes after him in vengeance. Annie learns of this and goes to stop her brother, if she is in time. Very good mix of humor and heart in this film, even though the plot doesn't start until the 40 minute mark of the film. Pickford is enjoyable (even though she was 33 playing a girl no more than 12-13) and really gets into her character. Haines doesn't play Kelly as tough as he should, but is able make the audience feel for him on an emotional level. The scenes where the officer tells Annie of her father's death and the ending really put a lump in your throat. The mix of all sorts of kids throughout the film are fun to watch. Rating, 8.

While there is not much to "Little Annie Rooney" aside from the way that it showcases Mary Pickford's many talents, that's not a bad focus for a movie to have. The story does seem to be planned almost entirely with that goal in mind, as most of the other characters are not developed very much, and most of the plot likewise comes back to the ways that events affect Annie. Of course, Pickford is more than up to carrying the load, and while this picture has to rank a little lower than a good number of her other movies that have more depth to them, it's still worthwhile.

Through the course of the story, Annie finds herself in numerous kinds of situations, and several sides of her character come out. She has a tomboyish, boisterous side, yet she can plead with her father on behalf of a misunderstood friend. The scene where she prepares her father's birthday party could very easily have become unbearably cloying or melodramatic, yet she handles it very well, making use of the best possibilities available rather than resorting to cheap sentiment. (In that particular scene, a couple of creative camera shots also help it to work.)

There are very few actresses, especially in the present, who could make so many different things work believably and without undue emoting. While much of the movie is simple and sometimes even a bit contrived, It's still worth seeing as one of many chances to see such a fine actress at work.

Although the concept of a 32 year old woman portraying a 12 year old girl might be a stretch for today's

sophisticated audiences,in the 1920's this was what the fans of Mary Pickford desired and expected from their favorite star. The opening scene displays Annie's tomboyish character as the apparent leader of a multi-ethnic street gang in comic "battle" with a rival group. The sight of a young girl being socked in the jaw and kicked may be a bit crude, but the scene is played in such an "Our Gang" fashion that it would be hard to take any of this seriously. Anyway, Annie can dish it out as well as take it. Once Annie returns to her tenement home and replaces her street duds with more girlish attire, it becomes more difficult (especially in close-ups) to imagine this beautiful young woman as a street urchin. However, for those who can muster the required suspension of disbelief, the rest of the movie has it's rewards. Vacillating between comedy (Annie's gang puts on a show) to sentiment (Annie plans a birthday surprise for her Irish policeman father) to tragedy (her father is killed on his birthday), the film gives Mary ample opportunity to display a range of emotions that would please her fans of any era.

Of course the requisite "happy ending" is eventually achieved; the evildoers are apprehended with the help of Annie's friends and rivals and she is last seen in the company of her pals riding down a busy thoroughfare on a sunny day. Which is a good a way as any for a Mary Pickford movie to end.

LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY is one of the best known and most frequently seen of Mary Pickford's movies. This is because for years the title has been in the public domain and there are numerous poor quality editions that have been issued over the years. Now thanks to The Mary Pickford Foundation and Flicker Alley, we finally have a high quality version that looks remarkable with its crisp images, subtle tints, and proper speed. It even comes with a newly commissioned score by Andy Gladbach which, while not always appropriate, is miles ahead of any other musical accompaniment which up until now has consisted of public domain classical music that has nothing to do with what's going on in the film.

Pickford made LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY in 1925 when she was 33 years old. Her previous 2 films, ROSITA (1923) and DOROTHY VERNON OF HADDON HALL (1924) in which she had played adult roles, did not perform well at the box office. When she polled her audience as to what they wanted her to do next, they all wanted her to return to "little girl" roles like POLLYANNA and THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL. She gave them what they wanted. Annie Rooney is a young teenager growing up in a NYC tenement populated by a variety of what would today be considered ethnic stereotypes. She enjoys scrapping with the street kids but still manages to take care of her older brother and widower father who is an Irish policeman. When tragedy strikes she must summon up the courage and the smarts to save the man she loves who is falsely accused of murder.

Her fans kept their promise and LAR was a huge hit but it also meant that Pickford would never play another fully adult role in the silent era. Although she won an Oscar in 1929 for playing one in COQUETTE, she made only two more sound films before retiring in 1933 at the age of 41. She never appeared on screen again and turned down two iconic roles, Glinda the Good Witch in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) which is clearly patterned after her, and Norma Desmond in SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950). She died in 1979 at the age of 87.

While LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY is not Pickford at her best, it shows her remarkable ability to capture the essence of youthful characters even when she was over 30. She was at the height of her powers as a producer at this time and LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY reflects this in the remarkable set design and the quality lighting and camerawork. The director, William Beaudine, had a long career in B movies and wound up directing episodes of TV's LASSIE in the 1950s. If you want to get a copy of LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY, make sure it is this one. Flicker Alley never disappoints. You not only get this best looking and sounding copy available, it comes as a Blu-Ray/DVD combination along with an informative 25 page booklet...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

Rambunctious Little Annie Rooney (Mary Pickford) lives in a poor tenement and leads her gang of fellow pre-teens in fighting against another group of kids. Her father is a respected incorruptible neighborhood policeman. Her brother Tim is hanging around the wrong crowd.

Thirty three year old Pickford returns to playing a child as she had done earlier in her career. It may seem unnatural for this work but there is a modern equivalent TV show right now. Pen15 has two young women around thirty playing 13 year olds around other actual 13 year olds. The comedy works because the surreal element allows more comedy to be injected. Once that happens, it can slip in some real heartfelt drama. That's what's happening here in this movie. It's great that the movie starts with that tenement fight between the two groups of kids. It's fun and the hilarity opens up the heart. Pickford was once a great Hollywood star and this shows why.