Hoodoo Ann
Encyclopedia
Hoodoo Ann is a 1916 Lloyd Ingraham-directed American
comedy-drama silent film
, written by D.W. Griffith and released by Triangle Film Corporation
.
) is a young girl who has been living in an orphanage since infancy. She is disliked and spurned by the other children, and treated coldly by the orphanage administrators—the reason for this, however, is unclear. She is told by the orphanage cook Black Cindy (Madame Sul-Te-Wan
) during a palm-reading that she will be cursed until she is married. Ann's stay at the orphanage is an endless series of unhappy circumstances; she steals a doll belonging to a popular girl named Goldie (Mildred Harris
), then accidentally breaks the doll, thereby adding to her loneliness and misery. One day, while the children are napping, a fire breaks out in the orphanage and Ann heroically saves Goldie from the flames.
Impressed with Ann's selflessness, a kindly couple, Samuel and Elinor Knapp (Wilbur Higby
and Loyola O'Connor
) take her in and later adopt Ann. Ann immediately becomes smitten with a neighbor boy named Jimmie Vance (Robert Harron
) and the two youths begin courting. Believing that her "curse" is coming to an end, Ann attends a motion picture with Jimmie. Enthralled by the action-filled western film she had witnessed, the following day Ann is inspired to imitate the film's main character Pansy Thorne while playing with a gun. Unbeknownst to Ann, the gun is loaded and a round goes off and the stray bullet enters a neighbor's house. Ann tentatively peers through the window and is shocked to see her neighbor, Bill Higgins (Charles Lee) lying on the floor. Believing she killed Mr. Higgins, Ann is despondent, sure that the curse is still upon her and fearful that Jimmie will never marry her now that she has committed murder.
After tearfully confessing to her "crime" and a subsequent investigation into the peculiar disappearance of the body of Mr. Higgins, the town is shocked when Mr. Higgins returns home several days later and reveals that he had simply left town to avoid his wife's incessant nagging. Overjoyed, Jimmie and Ann marry and the "hoodoo" is lifted. But the wedding ceremony is not entirely a happy affair; Ann appears distracted and pensive throughout, leaving the viewer to wonder if she perhaps believes that the curse is still upon her.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy-drama silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
, written by D.W. Griffith and released by Triangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in the summer of 1915 in Culver City, California, and envisioned as a prestige studio based on the producing abilities of filmmakers D. W. Griffith, Thomas Ince and Mack Sennett...
.
Plot summary
Ann (Mae MarshMae Marsh
Mae Marsh was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.-Early life:...
) is a young girl who has been living in an orphanage since infancy. She is disliked and spurned by the other children, and treated coldly by the orphanage administrators—the reason for this, however, is unclear. She is told by the orphanage cook Black Cindy (Madame Sul-Te-Wan
Madame Sul-Te-Wan
Madame Sul-Te-Wan was an American actress. The daughter of freed slaves, she began her career in entertainment touring the east coast with various theatrical companies and moved to California to become a member of the fledgling film community...
) during a palm-reading that she will be cursed until she is married. Ann's stay at the orphanage is an endless series of unhappy circumstances; she steals a doll belonging to a popular girl named Goldie (Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris was an American film actress. Harris began her career in the film industry as a popular child actress at age eleven. At the age of fifteen, she was cast as a harem girl in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance . She appeared as a leading lady through the 1920s but her career slowed with...
), then accidentally breaks the doll, thereby adding to her loneliness and misery. One day, while the children are napping, a fire breaks out in the orphanage and Ann heroically saves Goldie from the flames.
Impressed with Ann's selflessness, a kindly couple, Samuel and Elinor Knapp (Wilbur Higby
Wilbur Higby
Wilbur Higby was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 72 films between 1914 and 1934. He died in Hollywood, California in 1934, aged 67, from pneumonia....
and Loyola O'Connor
Loyola O'Connor
Loyola O'Connor , was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in 48 films between 1913 and 1922.She was born in St...
) take her in and later adopt Ann. Ann immediately becomes smitten with a neighbor boy named Jimmie Vance (Robert Harron
Robert Harron
Robert "Bobby" Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in scores of films, he is possibly best remembered for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films Intolerance and The Birth of a Nation...
) and the two youths begin courting. Believing that her "curse" is coming to an end, Ann attends a motion picture with Jimmie. Enthralled by the action-filled western film she had witnessed, the following day Ann is inspired to imitate the film's main character Pansy Thorne while playing with a gun. Unbeknownst to Ann, the gun is loaded and a round goes off and the stray bullet enters a neighbor's house. Ann tentatively peers through the window and is shocked to see her neighbor, Bill Higgins (Charles Lee) lying on the floor. Believing she killed Mr. Higgins, Ann is despondent, sure that the curse is still upon her and fearful that Jimmie will never marry her now that she has committed murder.
After tearfully confessing to her "crime" and a subsequent investigation into the peculiar disappearance of the body of Mr. Higgins, the town is shocked when Mr. Higgins returns home several days later and reveals that he had simply left town to avoid his wife's incessant nagging. Overjoyed, Jimmie and Ann marry and the "hoodoo" is lifted. But the wedding ceremony is not entirely a happy affair; Ann appears distracted and pensive throughout, leaving the viewer to wonder if she perhaps believes that the curse is still upon her.
Cast
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Hoodoo Ann | Mae Marsh Mae Marsh Mae Marsh was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.-Early life:... |
| Jimmie Vance | Robert Harron Robert Harron Robert "Bobby" Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in scores of films, he is possibly best remembered for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films Intolerance and The Birth of a Nation... |
| Wilson Vance | William H. Brown William H. Brown William H. Brown was a United States Navy sailor during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor.-Biography:... |
| Samuel Knapp | Wilbur Higby Wilbur Higby Wilbur Higby was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 72 films between 1914 and 1934. He died in Hollywood, California in 1934, aged 67, from pneumonia.... |
| Elinor Knapp | Loyola O'Connor Loyola O'Connor Loyola O'Connor , was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in 48 films between 1913 and 1922.She was born in St... |
| Goldie | Mildred Harris Mildred Harris Mildred Harris was an American film actress. Harris began her career in the film industry as a popular child actress at age eleven. At the age of fifteen, she was cast as a harem girl in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance . She appeared as a leading lady through the 1920s but her career slowed with... |
| Miss Prudence Scraggs | Pearl Elmore |
| Sarah Higgins | Anna Dodge Anna Dodge Anna Dodge was an American silent film actress.Anna Dodge married another silent film actor George Hernandez and was frequently credited as Anna Hernandez.-1930s:... |
| Bill Higgins | Charles Lee |
| Officer Lambert | Elmo Lincoln Elmo Lincoln Elmo Lincoln was an American film actor.Born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt, the barrel-chested actor is best known in his silent movie role as the first Tarzan in 1918's Tarzan of the Apes as an adult --... |
| Constable Drake | Carl Stockdale Carl Stockdale Carl Stockdale also known as Carlton Stockdale was one of the longest-working Hollywood veteran actors, with a career dating from the early 1910s. He also made the difficult transition from silent films, to talkies.... |
| Black Cindy | Madame Sul-Te-Wan Madame Sul-Te-Wan Madame Sul-Te-Wan was an American actress. The daughter of freed slaves, she began her career in entertainment touring the east coast with various theatrical companies and moved to California to become a member of the fledgling film community... |