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Dondi

1961, Movie, NR, 80 mins

Dondi: Review

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Every era has its comic-strip orphan spouting Confucian aphorisms and exuding cuteness and naive good fellowship. The Little Annie Rooney/Little Orphan Annie of the post-WW II years was Dondi, the androgynous little refugee with eyes the size of barrage balloons, whose adventures were distributed by the Chicago Tribune-New York News comic-strip syndicate. The film opens with the homeless Italian 5-year-old being befriended by a group of American GI stereotypes on Christmas Eve. When the victorious GIs depart for home, Dondi (Kory) stows away aboard their troop ship, a salami his only luggage. Separated from his GI buddies upon arrival in America, Kory gets lost in New York and has a a host of adventures in Macy's department store. Ultimately reunited with his GI buddy Janssen and the latter's singing girl friend, Page, Kory gets a special dispensation with the help of Walter Winchell, is awarded American citizenship by act of Congress, and is adopted by Janssen and his new wife, Page. Despite adverse reaction by critics ("...syrupy sweet... bomb...insipid...trite and maudlin...saccharinely cute... fatuous..."), the film did well at the box office, largely as a result of intensive promotional efforts which involved licensed toys and a contest to determine the kid to play the title part. Bug-eyed Kory won on the basis of appearance. The cost of the hype was offset by the economics of the musical score, which comprised one harmonica played by composer Morgan. Director/co-producer/co-writer Zugsmith had made a series of sex-and-drug exploitation films prior to making this maudlin tearjerker by way of expiation. Songs sung by Patti Page include the Christmas carol "Jingle Bells," and "Meadow in the Sky," "Dondi" (Earl Shuman, Mort Garson). leave a comment
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