Annie Laurie
About Annie Laurie
The Macdonalds and the Campbells are at war. In a raid on a Campbell castle, Annie Laurie, a Campbell kinswoman, gets away, and her cousin Enid is taken. Enid later will not come home, because she loves a Macdonald. Annie visits her and falls in love with Ian Macdonald. After the Jacobite risings, the king offers the Macdonalds terms that would return land and stock. The Campbell chief does not pass the offer on. He wants a war he can use to wipe the Macdonalds out.
Cast & crew
More about Annie Laurie
John S. Robertson directed Josephine Lovett's screenplay. Marian Ainslee and Ruth Cummings wrote the titles. Oliver T. Marsh photographed it. William Axt and David Mendoza wrote the music. MGM released it on 11 May 1927. It was Lillian Gish's third MGM film. She later said her mother fell ill during the shoot and that she only showed up for work.
Themes
Background
A 1927 MGM silent about the Macdonald-Campbell feud, set in 1690–91 and loosely drawn from Glencoe.
Making
Gish said the production coincided with her mother's illness and that she did not put her usual effort into the part.
Look
Oliver T. Marsh shot the clan fights and the castle raid.
Music
William Axt and David Mendoza wrote the score for the silent film.
Preservation
The film survives and is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Lillian Gish plays Annie Laurie. Norman Kerry plays Ian Macdonald. Creighton Hale plays Donald Campbell.
- Hobart Bosworth plays the Macdonald chieftain. Brandon Hurst plays the Campbell chieftain. Patricia Avery plays Enid Campbell. David Torrence plays Sir Robert Laurie.
- John Wayne has an early bit in the film.
- The story is set in 1690–91 and is loosely tied to the Glencoe massacre.
- A circulating copy runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and 25 seconds. English Wikipedia calls the box-office return poor and ties it to a drop in Gish's standing.
Scenes
- Annie escapes the raid. Enid is carried off.
- The Campbell chief withholds the king's offer to the Macdonalds.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Annie Laurie (1927) by John S. Robertson.webm)
