Miss Annie Rooney
Encyclopedia
Miss Annie Rooney is a 1942
American drama film
directed by Edwin L. Marin. The screenplay by George Bruce was based on the silent film, Little Annie Rooney
starring Mary Pickford
. Miss Annie Rooney is about a teenager (Temple) from a humble background who falls in love with a rich classmate (Moore). She is snubbed by his social set, but, when her father (Gargan) invents a synthetic substitute for rubber, her prestige rises. The film was panned.
thought, ""Miss Annie Rooney" is a very little picture. In fact, it is a very grim little picture [...] Gingerly, very gingerly, producer Edward Small is breaking the news to the public—baby Shirley doesn't live here any more. Gone are the days of the toddling tot, the days of milk-teeth and tonsils. Instead, we now see a Miss Temple in the awkward age between the paper-doll and sweater-girl period, an adolescent phenomenon who talks like a dictionary of jive and combines this some how with quotations from Shakespeare and Shaw." Variety
remarked, "Shirley is still a conscientious worker in any film that comes her way, even though her appeal remains limited to less sophisticated tastes", and The New Yorker
thought the film, "not much, about not much" (Edwards 135).
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
American drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Edwin L. Marin. The screenplay by George Bruce was based on the silent film, Little Annie Rooney
Little Annie Rooney
Little Annie Rooney was a comic strip about a young orphaned girl who traveled about with her dog, Zero. King Features Syndicate launched the strip on January 10, 1927, not long after it was apparent that the Chicago Tribune Syndicate had scored a huge hit with Little Orphan Annie.Although the King...
starring Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. Miss Annie Rooney is about a teenager (Temple) from a humble background who falls in love with a rich classmate (Moore). She is snubbed by his social set, but, when her father (Gargan) invents a synthetic substitute for rubber, her prestige rises. The film was panned.
Plot
Annie Rooney, the 16-year-old teen daughter of a struggling inventor, falls in love with fellow high school student Marty White. While at first Marty's snobbish friends give Annie the cold shoulder, her jitterbug dancing skills impress, and soon she is a welcome addition to their circle. Marty's wealthy mother and father, who own a rubber-making business, are not as easily persuaded of Annie's worth. But when her father manages to invent a new form of synthetic rubber, her triumph is complete.Cast
- Shirley Temple as Annie Rooney, a teenager
- William Garagan as Tim Rooney, her inventor father
- Guy Kibbe as Grandpop, her grandfather
- Dickie Moore as Marty White, a rich teenager
- Gloria HoldenGloria Holden-Early life:Gloria Holden came to America as a child. She attended school in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.-Theater:...
as Mrs. White, Marty's mother - Jonathan HaleJonathan HaleJonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
as Mr. White, Marty's father - Peggy RyanPeggy RyanMargaret O'Rene "Peggy" Ryan was an American dancer, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures with Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean....
as Myrtle
Production
Temple was 14 when the film was made and received a much ballyhooed first on-screen kiss (from Moore, on the left cheek). The film was her second attempt at a comeback but its teen culture theme was dated and the film flopped. Temple retired again for another two years (Windeler 219). Later, she told Moore the film was a "terrible picture" (Edwards 136).Critical reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
thought, ""Miss Annie Rooney" is a very little picture. In fact, it is a very grim little picture [...] Gingerly, very gingerly, producer Edward Small is breaking the news to the public—baby Shirley doesn't live here any more. Gone are the days of the toddling tot, the days of milk-teeth and tonsils. Instead, we now see a Miss Temple in the awkward age between the paper-doll and sweater-girl period, an adolescent phenomenon who talks like a dictionary of jive and combines this some how with quotations from Shakespeare and Shaw." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
remarked, "Shirley is still a conscientious worker in any film that comes her way, even though her appeal remains limited to less sophisticated tastes", and The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
thought the film, "not much, about not much" (Edwards 135).