freakboy on film: ANNIE (1982)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
This post is part of the IT'S IN THE NAME OF THE TITLE BLOGATHON, hosted by Gill from Realweegiemidget Reviews & Rebecca from Taking Up Room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
🎵Annie…Annie’s her name, if you please.  If you don’t believe me, ask any one of the fleas…🎵 Oh wait, this song is about Sandy the dog.  We’re here to talk about Annie. 

Yes, I own this!

What do you think when you hear the name Annie?  Curly ginger haired orphan?  Freaky pupil-less comic strip eyes?  Fashion icon?  Ovaltine?  Depression era feminist?  A secret decoder ring?  A somewhat bloated big-screen adaption of a Broadway hit?  All of the above? 

Little Orphan Social Climber!

Annie is a sweet, rough and tumble orphan living under the inebriated reign of Miss Hannigan.  All she dreams of is her parents returning with the other half of a locket she was left with.  After escaping the tyranny of Miss Hannigan, saving a dog from street urchins and then being returned to  the orphanage, Annie’s life is about to change.  Grace Farrell is there to temporarily bring an orphan to her employer’s mansion for the sake of his public image.  Annie jumps at the opportunity and is soon singing and dancing into the heart of business-minded Daddy Warbucks.  

Fire my hairstylist!

Adoption seems immanent, but Annie wants to find her parents, so Daddy Warbucks offers up big bucks to find them.  Meanwhile, back at the orphanage, Miss Hannigan, her brother Rooster and his girlfriend Lily are plotting to get Daddy’s big bucks.  Rooster and Lily are going to pretend to be Annie’s parents by using the other half of her locket that Miss Hannigan had the whole time.  What happen’s next?  You’re gonna have to watch to find out! 

Miss Hannigan knows how to make an entrance!

How in the name of John Waters and Andy Milligan can I love ANNIE?!?!  Is it the endearingly charming performance  of Aileen Quinn in the title role?  Is it Albert Finney as he transforms Daddy Warbucks from a hard-nosed businessman to a hard-nosed businessman with a heart?  Could it be Carol Burnett’s scene-stealing turn as the drunkenly hilarious Miss Hannigan?  What about the dynamic singing duo of Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters as Rooster and Lily?  Maybe it’s all of the above, and the other orphans, along with some seriously catchy tunes! 

Villain fashionistas!

I watched ANNIE a lot as a kid.  I think I enjoyed the idea of being swept away from the monotony of day to day life into a very different world.  I probably also enjoyed the adult humor sprinkled throughout.  My love of this film continues to baffle me, but perhaps i should be proud.  ANNIE stands as a testament to my eclectic cinematic taste.  Whether this taste is good or bad, I’ll leave it for you to decide. 

Daddy Warbucks is judging me!

SIDE NOTE: As a kid, I didn’t know who John Huston was, but I now appreciate his direction of ANNIE and I believe he would’ve made a great Daddy Warbucks. 

In conclusion…
What’s in the name Annie?  A little song…a little dance…a little drama…a little comedy…a little suspense…and a whole lot of heart!  If that didn’t make you throw up a little in your mouth, then grab a glass of Ovaltine and enjoy ANNIE! 

You know you want to!

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  In S1E5 of HATERS BACK OFF, Miranda is excited to play “Annie” in a disturbingly funny backyard production!  Don’t know about HATERS BACK OFF?  Click the pic ⬇️ to learn more about my favorite Netflix series…

~~~~~~~~~~~~
My books… viewAuthor.at/JohnLHarmon

booking freakboy: LANDIS (The Story of a Real Man On 42nd Street) by Preston Fassel

Thanks to my love of John Waters and my Andy Milligan obsession, I’ve been circling around the name of Bill Landis and his underground ‘zine Sleazoid Express for some time.  Like a back alley neon-infused sign blinking off as I turned to glance, I kept missing the opportunity to learn more about this mysterious figure peripherally haunting my cinematic reading.  Finally, in my obsession to learn more about Milligan, I caught the neon sign flickering on and lunged for a taste of the phantasmagorical shadows within the 42nd Street netherworld of yesteryear.  

I was quickly fascinated by Bill Landis and his love of obscure, underground cinema.  He not only seriously reviewed these rough gems in Sleazoid Express, he essentially lived his life like he was a character from a 42nd Street grindhouse flick.  Sex and drugs fused and fed his creative soul, especially when Landis fulfilled his dream of becoming a porn superstar!  There’s much more to the story of Bill Landis, but I will leave it to Preston Fassel to tell the rest with his engrossingly compact writing. 

However, I must say a little something about my obsession.  One of the reasons I purchased this book is for the Andy Milligan FANGORIA article reprinted at the end.  Bill Landis interviewed Milligan for the horror mag and it may not reveal anything new, but it seems to confirm everything ever written about the sex-gore filmic auteur.  One aspect of the interview I gleefully appreciated was how, even though the topic mainly focused on his gore films, Milligan managed to slip in  his masterpiece NIGHTBIRDS a couple of times.  

In conclusion…
If you love underground cinema and Andy Milligan, then you MUST drop whatever unimportant thing you’re doing and read LANDIS (The Story of a Real Man On 42nd Street) by Preston Fassel!  Fair warning though, just like the grindhouse films Landis loved and reviewed, don’t expect a happy ending.

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S. I will have to further research Bill Landis to find out if he ever delved into the films of Walt Davis...

~~~~~~~~~~~~
My queer little books are available from Barnes & Noble and an Amazon near you! 📚