Little Annie Rooney

2194. LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY (1925-usa). WITH mary pickford, william hanes. THIS spirited and deftly blended comedy-melodrama proves a letter-perfect vehicle for “America’s Sweetheart.” She stars as the title character, a likable but tough young Irish lass who is coming of age in a Lower East Side-type slum. Her neighborhood is a true American melting pot. Its inhabiÂtants are Irish and Jewish, Italian and Greek, Chinese and Black. Annie still acts like a kid as she constantly and comically brawls with other youngsters. Nevertheless, she has the responsibility of looking after her brother and widowed policeman father and in her own shy way is attracted to a neighborhood dandy. He is Joe Kelly, a loafer who hangs with a crowd that is surely headed for trouble. Annie grows up fast when her beloved “Pops” is shot dead during a brawl at the Pansy Social Club and her vengeance seeking-sibling becomes convinced that Kelly is the killer. Pickford displays her acting versatility throughout, and in particular in one heartrending scene. Her father is murdered on the night of his 45th birthday. Annie has prepared a surprise birthday cake. Her exhilaÂration has turned to sorrow and mourning as a different man in uniform knocks on her door and informs her of her father’s fate. Also keep in mind that Pickford was 29 years old when she made this film yet she was still playing characters who were “little” and “childlike.” ThatÕs just the way her millions of fans wanted it. “Silent” film with music score. 96 minutes. ÒSilentÓ Drama