Little Orphant Annie (1918 film)

Excerpt from Little Orphant Annie

Little Orphant Annie’s come to our house to stay, An’ wash the cups an’ saucers up, an’ brush the crumbs away, An’ shoo the chickens of the porch, an’ dust the hearth, an’ sweep, An’ make the fire, an’ bake the bread, an’ earn her board-an’-keep; An’ all us other children, when the supper things is done, We set around the kitchen fire an’ has the moistest fun A-list’nin to the witch-tales ‘at Annie tells about, An, the Gobble-uns ‘at gits you

Plot

Annie, left orphaned after the death of her mother, goes to live in an orphanage where she tells her fellow orphans stories of ghosts and goblins. The matron of the orphanage finds Annie's closest relative, the abusive Uncle Thomp. Her uncle who puts her to hard work doing hard labor on his farm, belittling her all the while. Big Dave, a neighbor and tough cow-poke sees this and comes to her aid. Dave becomes her protector. Eventually Annie goes to live with Squire Goode and his large family. There, she entertains the children of the household with her stories, but sees her abusive aunt and uncle as her chief tormentors. She tells stories of how the goblins will take away the children if they are not good. Each story she tells is illustrated. War breaks out and Dave, who Annie adores, enlists. Uncle Thomp, hearing that Dave has been killed in action, takes pleasure in telling Annie the news. Broken-hearted, Annie falls ill and dies in bed, surrounded by family.

Cast

Colleen Moore - Annie

Tom Santschi - Dave Johnson

Harry Lonsdale - Annie's Uncle

Eugenie Besserer - Mrs. Goode

Doris Baker - Orphan

Baby Lillian Wade - Orphan (as Lillian Wade)

Ben Alexander - Orphan

Billy Jacobs - Orphan

George Hupp - Orphan

James Whitcomb Riley - Himself (archive footage)

Mae Gaston - Annie's Mother

Lillian Hayward - Aunt Elizabeth

Lafe McKee - The Good Squire

Jean Stone - Little Annie as a Child

Availability

A 16mm print of Little Orphant Annie survives and was released to home media; it was initially released on VHS by Facets, and on DVD by Grapevine Video. The film remains one of the few early performances of Colleen Moore that survives and is available to the public.