| Director | John Huston |
|---|---|
| Genre | children's film, comedy drama, musical film |
| Runtime | 127 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $35 million |
| Box office | $57.1 million |
In 1933 during the Great Depression, a young orphan named Annie is living in the Hudson Street Orphanage in New York City. It is run by Agatha Hannigan, a cruel alcoholic who forces the orphans to clean the building daily. With half of a locket as her only possession, Annie remains optimistic that her parents, who left her on the doorstep as a baby, will return for her. One evening, Annie sneaks out with help from laundry man, Mr. Bundles, adopting a stray dog which she names Sandy. However, she is escorted back to the orphanage by Weasel, a policeman.
Grace Farrell, secretary to billionaire Oliver Warbucks, arrives to invite an orphan to live with Warbucks for a week, to improve his public image. Annie is chosen and she and Sandy travel to Warbucks' mansion, meeting his many servants and two bodyguards, Punjab and the Asp. Warbucks, at first dismissive of Annie due to her being female, is charmed into letting her stay. He takes Annie and Grace to Radio City Music Hall to watch a movie, Camille, and Warbucks begins to develop affection for Annie. Grace urges him to adopt Annie and he meets with Miss Hannigan, convincing her to sign the adoption papers.
Warbucks reveals his plans to Annie, even offering her a new locket, but she declines. She explains the purpose of her broken locket and her hope that her parents will return with the other half. Warbucks appears on Bert Healy's radio show and offers $50,000 to find Annie's parents. This causes mass hysteria with many would-be parents appearing to claim the money. To escape the madness, Warbucks flies Annie to the White House in Washington, D.C., introducing her to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. Roosevelt informs them of his plan to introduce a social welfare program to help America's impoverished and asks Warbucks to head it; Annie encourages him to help. Upon returning home, Annie is disheartened when Grace reveals none of the potential parents knew about the locket.
Hannigan is visited by her con artist brother Rooster and his girlfriend, Lily St. Regis; they plot to pose as Annie's parents to gain the reward. The trio searches the orphans' belongings and Hannigan reveals that Annie's real parents were killed in a fire when Annie was a baby. Hannigan herself possesses the other half of the locket. Annie's friends overhear the conversation and try sneaking out, but are discovered and locked away. Rooster and Lily succeed with the ruse, and Annie's departure from Warbucks is somber. She is kidnapped minutes after they leave the mansion, but her friends, having managed to escape, ultimately reach Warbucks and tell him the truth; shocked and stunned, he informs the police, beginning a city-wide search.
Annie convinces the felons to pull over only to escape and destroy Warbucks' check. Outraged, Rooster chases Annie up a raised drawbridge planning to kill her. Horrified by her brother's intentions, Hannigan desperately tries to stop him but he knocks her unconscious. Punjab arrives in a helicopter and rescues Annie. Rooster and Lily are arrested and Annie is adopted by Grace and Warbucks.
At a party that the orphans, a redeemed Hannigan, and the Roosevelts attend, Warbucks gives Annie the new locket as they embrace.