Annie Laurie is a 1927 film directed by John S. Robertson.
It is set in 1690-91 and is loosely inspired by the Real Life Glencoe Massacre. The Macdonalds and the Campbells are rival Scottish clans who have long been at war. In the opening scene the Macdonalds, who are the more "wild" clan given to wrestling matches and fighting shirtless, attack the Campbell castle. Annie Laurie (Lillian Gish), a relation of the Campbells, narrowly escapes capture by the Macdonalds, but her cousin Enid is carried away. Some time later, the two clans arrange a truce, but when Enid is given a chance to return to the Campbell clan she refuses, because she has fallen in love with a Macdonaonald. Eventually, Annie goes to visit her cousin and best friend, and herself falls in love with buff, manly Ian Macdonald (Norman Kerry).
Meanwhile, with the Jacobite rebellions largely crushed, King William and Queen Mary are securing the loyalty of the Scottish clans. The king extends an offer of truce to the Jacobite Macdonalds that involves the return of their lost land and livestock—but the Campbell chieftain does not pass this offer along to the Macdonalds. Why? Because he wants a war, which will be his excuse to annihilate the entire Macdonald clan.
A young John Wayne was an extra.
Tropes:
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: A mild example, as the Macdonalds aren't bad per se, just more roughnecked and boisterous than the snobbish, sophisticated Campbells, given to wrestling and log-throwing rather than wearing frilly wigs and drinking wine. But when Enid reveals that she's staying with the Macdonalds, a tribesman grins and says that "wild men" have a way with women. He says the same thing later after Annie and Ian fall in love.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The crusty old Scot seeing Annie and Ian off at the end watches them go, then turns to the camera and grins.
- Call-Back: Annie and Ian fall in love when he has to give her a Piggyback Cute over a stream. At the end she insists that he carry her onto the boat that is about to sail away.
- Curse Cut Short: Donald is playing a lute. He sings a line, "You may go straight to the—", but does not get to "devil", because Annie cuts the strings of his lute with a knife.
- Death by Childbirth: Poor Enid dies after delivering her baby, shortly before the climactic battle.
- Everything's Louder with Bagpipes: A plot point. Annie has made a secret trip to the Macdonald castle to tell Ian the truth, that there is a peace offer on the table and the Macdonalds will be saved if they sign it and annihilated if they don't. But it takes a long time for Ian to hear this because, Ian being very angry at Annie for rejecting him, he brought in a lot of loud bagpipers which drown her out.
- Foreshadowing: The opening sequence shows that the castle at Glencoe is on a mountaintop and the beacon, which the Macdonalds must light to call for aid in an emergency, is on the other side of a rope bridge. This sets up the climax, where the Campbells cut the rope bridge before attacking, and Annie, who earlier passed the bridge going the other way, is the one who has to light the beacon.
- I Choose to Stay: Enid shocks all the Campbells when she refuses a chance to return, saying that she's fallen in love with a Macdonald warrior. Annie is understanding, but the Campbell chieftain curses her.
- I Kiss Your Hand: The rather effete Donald Campbell makes a big show of kissing Annie's hand. She is not impressed, saying "I do not like your soft London manners!" This is to show Donald as the Romantic False Lead and contrast him with buff, manly Ian.
- I Lied: The Macdonalds demand their cattle and land back as part of the peace settlement. The Campbell chief says forget it, that they get nothing and they sign or else, whereupon the Macdonalds refuse and march out. Afterwards, one of the Campbell men reminds his chief that actually, King William did offer the Macdonalds their land and cattle back. Campbell says that this is his chance to wipe out the Macdonald clan for good and he is going to take it.
- Mobile Shrubbery: The Macdonald warriors conceal themselves with bushes as the approach the Campbell castle. Maybe, being Scots, they were inspired by the trope maker.
- Off-into-the-Distance Ending: Annie and Ian, on a Scottish loch somewhere, sailing off for their honeymoon.
- Piggyback Cute: It weren't already obvious that Annie and Ian were the official couple (it is), it would be obvious after Ian throws her over his should er fireman style to carry her across a stream.
- Romantic False Lead: Donald, who would like to marry Annie. But he's sort of effete and he has a creepy pencil mustache and he plays the lute, as opposed to handsome virile Ian who wrestles and is muscular with a big bushy 'stache. Donald has no shot.
- Serenade Your Lover: Donald tries this, playing the lute and singing under Annie's balcony, but he has already lost the fight to Ian by that point.
- Shirtless Scene: A lot of this from the "wild men" Macdonalds who sometimes go into battle shirtless. There's a lot of camera focus on buff, muscle-bound Ian as he takes his shirt off for wrestling and the caber toss.
- Splash of Color: The ending scene, in which peace comes to the highlands and Ian and Annie sail away on their honeymoon, was shot in two-strip Technicolor.
