Annie (1982 film)

Annie

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Huston
Produced by Ray Stark
Screenplay by Carol Sobieski
Based on Annie 
by Charles Strouse
Martin Charnin
Thomas Meehan
Starring
Music by Charles Strouse
Ralph Burns
Cinematography Richard Moore
Edited by Michael A. Stevenson
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • May 21, 1982

[1]

Running time
 128 minutes[2]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $50 million
Box office $57 million[3]

Annie is a 1982 American musical comedy-drama film adapted from Broadway musical of the same name by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan, which in turn is based on Little Orphan Annie, the 1924 comic strip by Harold Gray. The film was directed by John Huston, scripted by Carol Sobieski, and stars Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, Geoffrey Holder, Edward Herrmann, and Aileen Quinn in her film debut. Set during the Great Depression, the film tells the story of Annie, an orphan from New York City who is taken in by America's richest billionaire Oliver Warbucks. Filming took place for six weeks at Monmouth University in New Jersey.

The film, released on June 18, 1982, received mixed reviews from critics and was nominated for Best Production Design and Best Song Score and its Adaptation at the 55th Academy Awards. Quinn won a Best Young Actress at the Young Artist Awards.

A television film sequel, named Annie: A Royal Adventure! was released in 1995. In their first film collaboration, Disney and Columbia Pictures produced a made for television remake in 1999. Columbia released a contemporary film adaptation on December 19, 2014.

Plot

In 1933, during The Great Depression, a young orphan named Annie is living in the Hudson Street Orphanage in New York City. One night, Annie comforts one of the youngest orphans by singing to her (“Maybe”). The orphanage's cruel and alcoholic supervisor Agatha Hannigan hears the singing, and punishes the orphans by making them clean up the orphanage ("It's the Hard Knock Life"). Later while trying to flee in a laundry truck, Annie rescues a dog being tormented by a group of boys. She names him Sandy after convincing a dogcatcher that he is hers (“Dumb Dog”), and the pair is escorted back to the orphanage. Soon after, Miss Hannigan discovers Sandy and threatens to send him to the sausage factory (“Sandy”). However, Grace Farrell, a secretary to billionaire Oliver Warbucks, arrives, saying that he wants an orphan to stay at his mansion for a week to help his image. Despite Hannigan's objections, Grace picks Annie and allows Sandy to accompany her.

Upon arrival, Annie, Sandy, and Grace meet Warbucks' bodyguards Punjab and The Asp, butlers, maids, and servants ("I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here"). Annie quickly endears herself to everyone there. However, Warbucks disapproves, as he had the absurd notion that only boys were orphans and not girls. Meanwhile, Hannigan drunkenly laments her status as the orphanage mistress (“Little Girls”), and is visited by her lowlife brother, Rooster, and his pickpocket girlfriend, Lily St. Regis; both are obvious con artists, who ask Hannigan to borrow money.

Back at the Warbucks Mansion, Annie and Sandy thwart a Bolshevik assassin attempt to bomb the mansion. Warbucks and Grace take Annie to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes and a movie ("Let's Go to the Movies").

The next day Grace asks Warbucks if they can adopt Annie ("We Got Annie"). At this point we see that Warbucks and Grace are romantically interested in each other. Warbucks agrees to adopt her and goes to the orphanage to get the adoption papers signed. Despite Hannigan's attempt to seduce him, Warbucks blackmails her into signing (“Sign”). He goes back to the mansion to tell Annie and is about to give her a Tiffany's locket, but the orphan says she wants to find her real parents. She shows Warbucks the broken locket she wears; she tells him her parents have the missing piece of the locket, and that they will use it to prove their identities when they return to the orphanage someday to retrieve her. Deciding to help, Warbucks makes an announcement on a radio show and offers a $50,000 reward to her parents (“You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile”).

A crowd of would-be 'parents' arrives at the Warbucks mansion. To get Annie away from the sensationalism, Warbucks and Punjab take her by auto-copter to the White House to visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Roosevelt tells Warbucks and Annie about his plans for a social welfare program to help the poor, and wants Annie to help as well. Annie performs for Roosevelt and First Lady ("Tomorrow"). Back at the mansion, Annie learns that the search for her parents has not yet been successful.

Meanwhile, the Hannigans and Lily plot a scheme to collect the reward, drown Annie, and split the money three ways (“Easy Street”), and Miss Hannigan reveals that Annie's parents perished in a fire many years back. Hearing what has happened, the other orphans attempt to go to Warbucks's mansion but are locked up by the Hannigans and Lily. The orphans flee and find out that the Hannigans have captured Annie and the money. Warbucks puts out an APB on the felons, and he and Grace search for them while Punjab and another servant search from the auto-copter. Rooster and Lily are arrested.

Annie gets her wish of a good family at a party. President and Mrs. Roosevelt, her orphan friends, and the servants are enjoying themselves; Hannigan is reformed; and Grace and Warbucks further develop their relationship. ("Finale/I Don't Need Anything But You/We Got Annie/Tomorrow")

Cast

Several singer-actresses made their debuts in this film as Annie's fellow orphans and principal dancers:

According to Robert Osbourne of Turner Classic Movies, Drew Barrymore had auditioned for the role of Annie while Bette Midler was an early choice for Miss Hannigan, and Jack Nicholson had been considered for the role of Daddy Warbucks.

Production

Wilson Hall, at Monmouth University campus, New Jersey, was used as the exteriors of Oliver Warbuck's mansion.
The NX Bridge over the Passaic River in New Jersey where the ending was filmed.

Ray Stark wanted both John Huston and Joe Layton while working as the director and choreographer respectively, to also be executive producer on the film, because it was too large an enterprise for one person. Regarding Huston being given the job of directing the first (and what would be the only) musical in his 40-year directing career, screenwriter Carol Sobieski said: "Hiring John [Huston] is an outsider risk, and Ray's [Stark] a major gambler. He loves this kind of high risk situation."[4]

Writing

Carol Sobieski, who wrote the screenplay, introduced major differences between the stage musical and the film version. In the stage musical, it is Christmas when Miss Hannigan, Rooster, and Lily are caught at the Warbucks mansion by the United States Secret Service, foiling their plan to kidnap Annie. But in the film, due to summertime shooting, Annie is kidnapped on the Fourth of July leading to Warbucks organizing a citywide search and a climactic ending on the B&O Bridge. Punjab and The Asp, Warbucks' servants/bodyguards, from the original comic strip appear in the film in supporting roles.

The film also featured five new songs, "Dumb Dog", "Sandy", "Let's Go to the Movies", "Sign", and "We Got Annie", and cut "We'd like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover", "N.Y.C", "You Won't Be an Orphan for Long", "Something Was Missing", "Annie", and "New Deal for Christmas". In addition, the song "Maybe" has two reprises whereas "Little Girls" and "Easy Street" do not.

Martin Charnin, the lyricist of Annie, was not impressed with the cinematic interpretation. In a 1996 article, he dismissed the adaptation and its production. "The movie distorted what this musical was", says Charnin. "And we were culpable for the reason that we did not exercise any kind of creative control because we sold the rights for a considerable amount of money." Charnin says John Huston, who never directed a musical before, and producer Ray Stark made major changes in the film that destroyed the essence of Annie. Warbucks, played by Finney, "was an Englishman who screamed". Hannigan, played by Burnett, was "a man-crazy drunk". And Annie was "cute-ed up". Worse, the emotional relationship between Annie and Warbucks was distorted. They even downplayed the hit song Tomorrow because "Stark thought it was corny".[5]

Filming

Principal photography took place over the course of six weeks at Monmouth University in New Jersey, which has two mansions that were used in the film, one of which is the Shadow Lawn Mansion (now known as Woodrow Wilson Hall).[4] An abandoned railroad bridge over the Passaic River in Newark was used for location shooting of one of the climatic scenes.[6][7]

Originally, the intimate song "Easy Street" was going to be the biggest number in the film. For this purpose, a specially-created outdoor street set was built costing more than $1 million. It took one week to shoot the scene. However on reviewing the dailies, the scene was considered to be "overstuffed" and "sour." Therefore a re-shoot was undertaken nearly two months after principal filming had been completed. The scene was replaced with a more intimate number and was shot indoors in a style that mimicked the ambience portrayed in the original 1977 stage musical.[4]

Soundtrack

Annie
Soundtrack album from Annie by Various Artists
Released June 18, 1982
Genre Soundtrack
Label Columbia
Various Artists chronology

Annie
(1982)		 Annie
(1999)

Annie is a soundtrack album for the 1982 film of the same name.

All lyrics written by Martin Charnin, all music composed by Charles Strouse.

No. TitlePerformed by Length
1. "Tomorrow"  Aileen Quinn & the Orphans 1:37
2. "Maybe"  Aileen Quinn 2:00
3. "It's the Hard Knock Life"  Aileen Quinn, Toni Ann Gisondi & Chorus 3:42
4. "Dumb Dog"  Aileen Quinn 0:54
5. "Sandy"  Aileen Quinn & the Orphans 2:02
6. "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here"  Aileen Quinn & Ann Reinking 3:34
7. "Little Girls"  Carol Burnett 3:36
8. "Let's Go to the Movies"  Aileen Quinn, Ann Reinking, Albert Finney & Chorus 4:41
9. "We Got Annie"  Ann Reinking, Lu Leonard, Geoffrey Holder & Roger Minami 2:22
10. "Sign"  Carol Burnett & Albert Finney 2:51
11. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"  Peter Marshall, Chorus and Orphans 3:01
12. "Tomorrow" (White House version)Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Lois deBanzie & Edward Herrmann 2:24
13. "Easy Street"  Carol Burnett, Tim Curry & Bernadette Peters 3:18
14. "Maybe (Reprise)"  Aileen Quinn & Albert Finney 1:37
15. "Finale/I Don't Need Anything But You/We Got Annie/Tomorrow"  Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Chorus and the Orphans 4:37
Total length:
 41:32

Reception

Annie received mixed reviews from critics; it currently holds a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews and a 39/100 on Metacritic.[8] The film grossed $57 million in the United States,[9] making it the 10th highest grossing film of 1982.[10]

Awards and nominations

Annie received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score. Additionally, Carol Burnett and Aileen Quinn each received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical and New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Female (Quinn). Quinn won the Young Artist Award, Best Young Motion Picture Actress. The movie was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture.[11]

Nominated

Home media

The film was released on VHS,Beta and CED Videodisc on Nov,5,1982 by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. It was re-issued in 1983,1984,1985,1994, and 1997 (in a "Broadway Tribute Edition" to coincide with the original play's Broadway 20th anniversary revival that year). There were two widescreen Laserdiscs released, one in 1989 and another in 1994. The film was released in a widescreen DVD edition on December 12, 2000.

A "Special Anniversary Edition" DVD was released on January 13, 2004 (four days before producer Stark's death). Despite the fact that the first DVD was widescreen, the DVD was in pan and scan (but with DTS sound). Reviewing the disc for DVD Talk, Glenn Erickson, while praising the film overall, called the pan and scan transfer an "abomination that's grainy and lacking in color." He also noted that the short retrospective featurette with Ms. Quinn contained clips from the film in the correct aspect ratio. Erickson also called the music video of "It's the Hard-Knock Life" by Play "pretty dreary" and attacked the other, child-oriented extras by saying "Musicals and kids' films aren't just for tots ... and this disc is little more than a headache." [15] However, several countries in Region 2 received widescreen versions of this edition including the United Kingdom. The film is set for a "sing-along edition" release on Blu-ray on October 2, 2012 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the film and the 35th anniversary of the Broadway version set a revival in November 2012.

Adaptations

Comic book adaptation

Marvel Comics published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer Tom DeFalco and artists Win Mortimer and Vince Colletta in Marvel Super Special #23 (Summer 1982).[16] The adaptation was also available as an Annie Treasury Edition[17] and as a limited series.[18]

Bollywood

The 1993 Hindi film, King Uncle, starring Jackie Shroff, Shahrukh Khan, Anu Agarwal, and Naghma, is loosely based on this film.

Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995)

A sequel, Annie: A Royal Adventure! was made for television and aired on ABC on November 18, 1995. It starred Ashley Johnson, Joan Collins, George Hearn, and Ian McDiarmid. Aside from a reprise of "Tomorrow," there are no songs in it. No cast members from the 1982 film appeared in this sequel.

In the film, Warbucks (Hearn), Annie (Johnson), an eccentric scientist (McDiarmid), and one of the orphans travel to England, where Warbucks is to be knighted by the King. However, the kids get mixed up in the scheme of an evil noblewoman (Collins) to blow up Buckingham Palace while all the heirs to the throne are present for Warbucks' knighting, thus making her queen.

Annie (1999)
Main article: Annie (1999 film)

A made-for-TV movie version was broadcast on ABC on November 7, 1999, starring Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks, Alan Cumming as Rooster, Audra McDonald as Grace, Kristin Chenoweth as Lily, and newcomer Alicia Morton as Annie. Produced by The Walt Disney Company in association with Columbia TriStar Television, it received generally positive reviews and high ratings. It also earned two Emmy Awards and a 1999 George Foster Peabody Award. Although truer to the original stage musical than the 1982 version, it condensed much of the full story in an attempt to make it more viewable for children. The film also featured a special appearance by Andrea McArdle, star of the original Broadway production.

The film has aired on cable on Hallmark Channel, ABC Family, and Starz after its premiere on ABC.

The 1999 version is more comical than the 1982 version's slightly darker tone.

Annie (2014 film)
Main article: Annie (2014 film)

On January 20, 2011 it was announced that Will Smith was planning to produce Annie, a remake of The 1982 film. On May 25, 2012 it was announced that Jay-Z is writing new songs for the film.[19] In January 2013, Sony Pictures selected Will Gluck to direct the film.[20][21] Oscar nominee, Quvenzhané Wallis was cast as the title character.[22] The film was released on December 19, 2014.

Parodies

References

  1. ↑ "Annie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ "ANNIE (U)". British Board of Film Classification. May 6, 1982. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Box Office Information for Annie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Turan, Kenneth. "Annie", The New York Times, p. SM 40, May 2, 1982.
  5. ↑ Rizzo, Frank (September 29, 1996). ""Another Tomorrow For 'Annie,' Goodspeed's Guardian Angel"". Hartford Courant.
  6. ↑ "Jon Merrill's "Annie" movie trivia". Hingepepper.com. 2002-12-31. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  7. ↑ Vianna, Joao (2010-08-20). "City of Newark announces 2010 Passaic Riverfront boat Tours". News.jornal.us. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  8. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/movie/annie Retrieved 19 January, 2015
  9. ↑ "Box Office Information for Annie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Annie Yesterday, Today and ‘Tomorrow’: All About Broadway's Favorite Little Orphan". broadway.com. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  11. ↑ "1982 5th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "4th Annual Awards". Young Artist Awards. Young Artist Foundation. Retrieved 2008-03-26. Toni Ann Gisondi, Annie
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "1982 RAZZIE Nominees & "Winners"". Golden Raspberry Award Foundation and John Wilson. 1983-04-11. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  14. ↑ "Annie (1981)". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Annie (1982) : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  16. ↑ Marvel Super Special #23 at the Grand Comics Database
  17. ↑ Annie Treasury Edition at the Grand Comics Database
  18. ↑ Annie at the Grand Comics Database
  19. ↑ Jay-Z To Take On Annie Soundtrack, Screen Rant, May 25, 2012
  20. ↑ Will Gluck Helming ‘Annie’ Remake For Sony, Will Smith And Jay Z Retrieved January 30, 2013
  21. ↑ Will Gluck to Helm ANNIE Remake; Willow Smith No Longer Attached Retrieved January 30, 2013
  22. ↑ "Quvenzhane Wallis to Star in Will Gluck's ANNIE". Upcoming-Movies.com. 2013-02-24. Retrieved 2014-04-17.

External links