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''Annie-for-Spite'' is a 1917
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As described in film magazines, Annie Johnson (Minter) is a homely orphan girl, who works in a department store and helps a widow take care of her six children in exchange for a place to stay. Despite her poverty, she dreams that she will one day be adopted by a rich old lady who will provide her with whatever she might want.
Meanwhile Mrs. Nottingham (Le Brandt), a wealthy widow, is looking for an heir. Her only son has died, and she does not wish to leave her fortune to her daughter-in-law, whom she dislikes, and to her grandson whom she has never met. To spite her daughter-in-law, she instructs her lawyer to find the plainest little girl in the city to adopt and become her heir. The lawyer finds Annie, freshly dismissed from the department store, and she is promptly presented to Mrs. Nottingham and adopted.
In the comforts of a rich home, and dressed in expensive clothes, Annie quickly transforms into a beauty. She also transforms the home and the attitude of Mrs. Nottingham with her positive outlook, and the old woman grows genuinely fond of her before she passes away, leaving her home and her entire fortune to Annie.
Emily, Mrs. Nottingham's daughter-in-law, is furious when she discovers this and seeks to break the will. Her son Willard (Fisher) is installed as Annie's secretary under a false name. He falls in love with Annie, and although the court case over the will is settled in Emily's favour, Willard and Annie are nonetheless happily married.
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly; April 25, 1902Louisiana Birth Certificate, Caddo Parish, No. 119, Book A, Page 97, Birth Date: April 25, 1902, Name: Mary M. Reilly ic – Original Caddo birth record was recorded as "J.H. Riley's Child" ...
. The film is based upon the 1916 short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
''Annie for Spite'' by Frederick J. Jackson
Frederick J. Jackson, also known professionally as Fred Jackson and Frederick Jackson and under the pseudonym Victor Thorne, (September 21, 1886 – May 22, 1953) was an American author, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and producer for ...
. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress.
Conditions
During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...
.The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''Annie-For-Spite''/ref>
Plot
As described in film magazines, Annie Johnson (Minter) is a homely orphan girl, who works in a department store and helps a widow take care of her six children in exchange for a place to stay. Despite her poverty, she dreams that she will one day be adopted by a rich old lady who will provide her with whatever she might want.
Meanwhile Mrs. Nottingham (Le Brandt), a wealthy widow, is looking for an heir. Her only son has died, and she does not wish to leave her fortune to her daughter-in-law, whom she dislikes, and to her grandson whom she has never met. To spite her daughter-in-law, she instructs her lawyer to find the plainest little girl in the city to adopt and become her heir. The lawyer finds Annie, freshly dismissed from the department store, and she is promptly presented to Mrs. Nottingham and adopted.
In the comforts of a rich home, and dressed in expensive clothes, Annie quickly transforms into a beauty. She also transforms the home and the attitude of Mrs. Nottingham with her positive outlook, and the old woman grows genuinely fond of her before she passes away, leaving her home and her entire fortune to Annie.
Emily, Mrs. Nottingham's daughter-in-law, is furious when she discovers this and seeks to break the will. Her son Willard (Fisher) is installed as Annie's secretary under a false name. He falls in love with Annie, and although the court case over the will is settled in Emily's favour, Willard and Annie are nonetheless happily married.
Cast
*Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly; April 25, 1902Louisiana Birth Certificate, Caddo Parish, No. 119, Book A, Page 97, Birth Date: April 25, 1902, Name: Mary M. Reilly ic – Original Caddo birth record was recorded as "J.H. Riley's Child" ...
- Annie Johnson
* George Fisher - Willard Kaine Nottingham
* Eugenie Forde
Eugenie Forde (June 22, 1879 – September 5, 1940) was an American silent film actress.
She starred in 73 films between 1912 and 1927 in films such as ''The Diamond from the Sky'' (1915) and '' Wives and Other Wives'' with actors such ...
- Mrs. Emily Nottingham
* Gertrude Le Brandt
Gertrude Le Brandt (July 1, 1863 in Illinois – August 28, 1955 in Hollywood) was an American silent film actress.
She entered film in 1916 in ''Youth's Endearing Charm'' with actors such as Mary Miles Minter and Harry von Meter.
Filmograp ...
- Mrs. J.G. Nottingham
* George Periolat
George Periolat (February 5, 1874 – February 20, 1940) was an American actor.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, George Periolat began his career as a Broadway actor. Making his film debut with the Essanay Studios in Chicago, he moved to ...
- Andrew Walters
References
External links
* 1917 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1917 drama films Silent American drama films Films directed by James Kirkwood Sr. 1910s American films Adaptations of works by Frederick J. Jackson {{1910s-drama-film-stub