Movie-A-Day #2: Annie (1982).

On this date in 1983, the musical “Annie” finally ended its record breaking run on Broadway after six years and 2,377 performances. The story of a Depression-era girl taken in by a childless billionaire, based on the 1930s Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie,” obviously struck a chord with ’70s audiences sick of economic malaise. The movie version of “Annie,” released while the play was still running, is just as relentlessly optimistic as the stage version and stars Carol Burnett, Albert Finney, and newcomer Aileen Quinn as Annie herself. The 1930s have long faded into history, but now in the midst of another economic crisis, that curly headed moppet is ready for another comeback – a revival of the play is scheduled to open on Broadway next year.