One of the characteristic phenomena for American cinema is the so-called “family musical”, that is, a musical that can be seen in the company of parents and grandparents. Among the main characters there is certainly a charming child, whose adventures, as a rule, are devoted to the film. Since the happy ending is the default, at first the life of the hero / heroine will be very unsweetened - the more striking the contrast, the happier the viewer.
John Huston, being a diverse director, did not pass by the trend and filmed his adaptation of the comic book “Little Orphan Annie” by Harold Gray in 1924, which had already been staged once on Broadway (the first and only musical of Houston in a forty-year career – well, isn’t it remarkable?). At the same time, for the role of red-haired restless Annie, he took debutante Eileen Quinn, who, unfortunately, repeated the fate of many children who got into the movies - ingloriously departed from her acting career (perhaps this was facilitated by the won Golden Raspberry). How not to remember that the role could get Drew Barrymore!
For "Annie" is characterized by all the pros and cons of the declared genre: on the one hand - excellent choreography, good music, orientation at any age, attractive to the target audience story; on the other - the template of the plot, undeveloped negative characters, primitive lyrics with a huge number of recent. Speaking of actors, there are no claims to Albert Finney, and Carol Burnett coped well, but still Bette Midler would squeeze much more out of the role of Miss Hannigan. About the discrepancy of the characters to the original and the rearrangement of accents, fans of the Broadway production said a lot, but, not having the opportunity to compare, I will not focus on this.
With mixed reviews of critics, ordinary viewers liked the picture, paying off at the box office with a small profit, and spawning several sequels: Bollywood “King in Love”, television “Annie 2: Royal Adventure” and “Annie” in 1999, created with the participation of Walt Disney. Recently there were rumors that Will Smith is going to produce a remake with his daughter Willow in the title role, and Jay-Z is already writing new songs, but time goes by, and Willow will soon be able to claim the role of Miss Hannigan, but not Annie.
As an unusual experiment for Houston, the film is quite interesting, but with an acute dislike for musicals, it risks disappointing. You can recommend it to those who know what to expect.