Film Annie 1982 ✦ Direct

It was only a matter of time before the film studios came calling. The result was the 1982 film Annie —a lavish, troubled, and ultimately beloved production that almost collapsed before the first take.

And yet, audiences didn't care.

First, they needed an Annie. A nationwide search was launched, scouring over 8,000 hopefuls. The role went to a spunky, untrained 10-year-old from North Miami Beach named Aileen Quinn. She had the perfect mix of streetwise grit and vulnerable sweetness, not to mention a pair of lungs that could belt "Tomorrow" without breaking a sweat. Film Annie 1982

In the late 1970s, Hollywood was in a peculiar place. The cynical, director-driven New Hollywood of the early '70s was giving way to a hunger for blockbusters and family-friendly fare. Meanwhile, on Broadway, a plucky, red-headed orphan named Annie had already conquered the theater world. The stage musical Annie , based on Harold Gray’s long-running comic strip Little Orphan Annie , had debuted in 1977 and became a sensation. Its optimistic anthem, “Tomorrow,” was a pop-culture lifeline during an era of recession and malaise. It was only a matter of time before

The New York critics, many of whom still held a torch for the stage show, were sharpening their knives before the film was even edited. First, they needed an Annie