An original 8x10" vintage photo (NOT a modern reprint) from a large collection of hundreds of original pre code Hollywood movie photos acquired from a collector\'s estate.
Photo Overview
Original 1932 RKO Radio Pictures movie still from Little Orphan Annie, starring child star Mitzi Green as Annie, the red-headed heroine of Harold Gray\'s famous comic strip. In this orphanage washroom scene, Annie wags a finger at a small child, most likely Buster Phelps as her young friend Mickey, who is solemnly brushing his teeth while a row of orphan boys in undershirts brush theirs in the background.
Mitzi Green, in her trademark curly wig, holds a tube of Ipana toothpaste, with the brand name visible on the label. It is an early example of Hollywood product placement from the pre-Code era. The still is numbered OA-27 and carries the printed caption Little Orphan Annie - An RKO Radio Picture along the bottom margin. It is a scarce original still from the first sound film adaptation of the Little Orphan Annie strip and a fine piece of pre-Code Hollywood, comic strip, and child star history.
Historical Notes
Little Orphan Annie was released by RKO in November 1932, directed by John S. Robertson, with Edgar Kennedy as Daddy Warbucks and May Robson as Mrs. Stewart. Mitzi Green, born in 1920, had already become one of Paramount\'s biggest child stars in Tom Sawyer (1930), Skippy (1931), and Huckleberry Finn (1931). She was also famous for her impressions of Hollywood stars. Annie was one of her last major child roles. As she entered her teens, her screen career faded, and she moved to the stage. In 1937 she starred on Broadway in Rodgers and Hart\'s Babes in Arms, where she introduced the standard The Lady Is a Tramp. She later worked in nightclubs, early television, and the 1950s sitcom So This Is Hollywood. She died of cancer in 1969 at just 48. Buster Phelps continued to appear as a child actor through the 1930s. Paramount remade the story in 1938 with Ann Gillis as Annie, and the character later found new life in the 1977 Broadway musical Annie and its film adaptations.
Text Present
Front, bottom margin (printed): "LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE" An RKO Radio Picture MADE IN U.S.A.
Front, lower right of image: OA-27
Front, within image on toothpaste tube: IPANA
Front, left margin (pencil, sideways): P17
Back (blue ink, handwritten): Mitzi Green
Print analysis
This appears to be an original Type 1 gelatin silver studio still, printed by RKO in 1932 for publicity and exhibitor use. The printed studio caption, the OA scene number, and the MADE IN U.S.A. notation in the bottom border all match RKO\'s standard format for its early 1930s stills. The paper tone, the toning and handling marks on the reverse, and the crisp continuous-tone image with no halftone dot pattern are all consistent with a period photographic print. The blue ink name on the back is a later collector\'s identification notation and is not an autograph.
Condition
In fair to good vintage condition. Some of the photos in this collection have hole punches, creases, or tears from age.
Please see scans of the image we have provided for the most accurate and complete state of the photo.
Related Items:
Little/Radio Orphan Annie Secret Society/Code/Sign/Signals 1937 Pamphlet/Booklet
$9.00
The History of Little Orphan Annie 1st Edition 1982 Soft Cover
$36.00
Harold Grays Little Orphan Annie 1927-29 Complete Collection IDW Publishing Book
$16.99
