In the late 1920s, show business was absolutely booming. Nothing could seem to go wrong for musical director Cosmo Brown, his superstar best friend Don Lockwood, and the not-so-lovely leading lady, Lina Lamont. Though he never really received the much deserved spotlight, Cosmo didn't complain. He couldn't. It wasn't every celebrity who took their friends with them to the top, let alone have a part in the production of the time's most popular films.
It was premier night for Don and Lina's newest film, The Royal Rascal, and the "lovely" couple made their way down the red carpet. Cosmo stood by the entrance, waiting for Don's arrival. As he and other celebrities made their way inside, Cosmo decided to stand outside, at least until everyone was in, so he could avoid the madness for a few moments longer. He was just about to go inside when he heard a protest, sounding like that of a fusing child. He turned to see that it was—however, this fusing child was being forcibly shoved into a police car.
"Now young lady, quit being so darn difficult!"
"I don't want to go! I don't need to!" she retaliated.
"Hey now, what's going on?" a curious Cosmo asked, stepping into the picture.
"This child came all the way from Italy. Parents sent her with no family, no money, nothing. I'm making sure she returns to the home she was placed in."
Cosmo took a look at the poor girl. She had on a frilled red dress, covered with a fuzzy white over-coat. She had on matching white pantyhose and black buckle shoes, and would have been a precious little thing, had it not been for her tear-stained cheeks and her puffy red eyes, almost hiding the beauty of her natural darkened blue eyes, complimented by her dark hair and pale skin. Definitely of Italian descent. Cosmo's heart began to ache for the poor girl, and he was aware of the poor treatment orphaned children received, especially immigrant children.
"Well, it's no wonder she doesn't wanna go with ya, she don't know ya! She's lookin' for me." Cosmo lied, using whatever acting skills he possessed. The girl cocked her head, utterly confused, and the cop replied, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, this here is my little niece, coming to the States. Parents wanted a better opportunity for ya, right kid?"
"They died during the Great War," she replied solemnly. Cosmo looked to the cop. "Exactly. They obviously can't provide for her in that state," he said quietly, as to not further upset her. "So she's living here, with her uncle Cosmo. I was greeting the guests and she got lost in the crowd, isn't that right, kid? Awe, come 'ere."
She began to see what he was doing and moved toward him, allowing Cosmo to lift her. "There ya go, all safe. Anything else I can do for ya, officer?"
The cop looked at him suspiciously, but heard voices coming from his vehicle about a robbery or whatnot, calling for all units.
"Fine, but if I catch her out alone again, I'm sending her back," he said threateningly, jumped in his car, and took off.
"Maybe someone should send him back to his mama's to learn how to treat a little lady, huh?" Cosmo said to the still shocked child, though he managed to make her smile. "So what's your name, kid?"
"Annabelle. But he's right, they're looking for me at the orphanage. I don't want to go back 'cause they all tease me."
Cosmo looked at her, still holding her, surprised that such a young natural-born Italian could speak English so well. With his usual comic demeanor set aside, he asked, "Now why would they tease such a pretty little thing like you?"
"I'm not from here." she said simply, looking as though she were talking to the ground instead of Cosmo.
"So? I'm not from here either—I'm from the house a couple blocks away."
She slightly giggled, and tightened her grip on Cosmo's neck when he tried to set her down. He realized she didn't want to leave (as if she had anywhere else to go) and said, "Okay, Annie, I'll make ya a deal. You let me put you down, and you can come stay with uncle Cosmo."
She looked to him curiously and said, "You aren't my uncle.. Are you?" It was Cosmo's turn to laugh and he replied, "Well, I got the cop thinking so. From here on out I'll see to it that you don't go back to that orphanage, ya hear?" The girl, stunned as any child would be, nodded her head, and allowed Cosmo to put her down. He offered her his hand, and she took it with no hesitation and followed him into the party.
Shortly after they entered, Cosmo had found Don on stage, making a speech about the production. Clearly, the movie had ended.
"I'm sorry," said Annie.
Cosmo was taken aback. "For what, kid?"
"I made you miss the film..."
Cosmo knelled to her height and said, "If I wanna see that movie, I'll just tell Don to run around and move his lips without making any sounds."
Annie giggled again, and her expression was much brighter compared to about ten minutes ago. Cosmo had only known this girl for those ten minutes, but nonetheless he was glad she was no longer crying her heart out.
"Hey there, Cos," Don said casually, seeming to pop up from nowhere. Cosmo jumped slightly, and Annie tightened her grip on his hand. "Who's your little pal, there?" She buried her face in Cosmo's suit, as if that made her invisible, and he replied, "It's a long story. Meet me at my place after the gig and I'll tell ya all about it." With that, he took Annie hastily from the theater and took her to his place.
"Well, here we are, Brown Manor," he said comically. "Where you're from?" Annie smiled, reliving the joke he had made earlier. He laughed and took her in to run a bath.
"No." She said simply when he started running the water.
"Come on, kid. Don't be that way. It's just water," he said.
"Never!" yelled the stubborn child, and she took off in whatever way she could to avoid a bath.
"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be? I let you in and you stink up the place?" Cosmo yelled after her, turning off the water to get her. She was already well hidden before he got the chance to catch up.
"Oh where, oh where has Annabelle gone?" he sung dramatically to the tune of "Oh where oh where Has my Little Dog Gone", paying close attention for any signs of the child. "Oh where, oh where can she be? She's hiding somewhere in my house right now, and in trouble she will be ifshedoesn'ttakeabathrightnow!" he sang, cramming the last verse. He heard a stifled laugh come from his room. "Aahh," he said in satisfaction, walking casually into his room. He knew right away she was under his bed. What made it fun was that she didn't know he knew.
"Well, I'm awful tired, I'll try looking for her tomorrow." Cosmo said, and jumped on his bed. The smart girl, before he landed, fled out from under the bed and into the kitchen. "Hey! Come back here, you little troublemaker!" It was the first time he heard her genuinely laugh, and he was now running toward the kitchen. She made sure the table had separated them.
Cosmo flashed a mischievous smirk. "You think that table's gonna stop me?" She shrugged, and nodded. "Ya don't talk much, do ya, kid?" he asked. She shook her head. "I can't make ya talk, but I'll bet anything I can make ya laugh!" With that, Cosmo ran around the table, causing Annie to run around to avoid him. Unexpectedly, Cosmo jumped over the table, landing right in front of the child. Quickly, she dove under the table to try to get to the other side, but she wasn't quick enough, and Cosmo grabbed her around the waist.
"Ha! I gotcha!" he jeered, listening to her helplessly giggling. He tightened his grip on the young girl's waist and spun, causing her to hold on tightly and laugh even harder. He only stopped when he saw his movie star friend Don, standing there with a big grin on his face.
"Hey there, Cos. Are you gonna introduce me to this little lady or what?" Don asked lightheartedly.
"Well Don, this here is Annabelle, my Italian niece."
"I didn't know you had a niece."
"Well I didn't, til today."
"What?"
Cosmo paused and set the child down. "Listen, Annie. You be a good girl for uncle Cosmo and take a bath while I talk to my friend Don, okay?"
"Okay," Annie said reluctantly, and Cosmo watched as she went into the bathroom and closed the door.
"Alright Don, have a seat." The two sat, and Cosmo proceeded to tell Don all about the officer and the orphaned girl.
"She just looked so upset, Don, I couldn't let 'em take her. It's hard enough losing your parents, but being forced to come to a foreign country only to be treated bad in a run-down orphanage? I just couldn't let it happen." Cosmo concluded. Don had been listening intently, and smiled admiringly at his friend.
"Cos, I think you did good today."
"Oh gee, do you really?"
"I really do. And that Annabelle couldn't have been luckier to have you as a guardian."
"Ya mean it?"
"You bet, pal. Go ahead and bring her with ya on set tomorrow. Maybe we can get her outta that shell, ya know? Tell us more about herself."
"Yeah, maybe, maybe. She's real shy, but real easy to make laugh." Cosmo smiled.
"It's easy to make the sourest man on earth laugh for you, Cos. I'll leave ya to it tonight, and I'll see you and Annie bright and early."
"You sure will, Don." Cosmo replied as Don left. As if on cue, a little cry for Uncle Cosmo came from the bathroom. He opened the door to find her wrapped up in a towel, looking absolutely adorable. He took the girl to his room, where he found an old shirt that no longer fit him, and gave it to her. As she put it on, he went to the bathroom to put his own night clothes on, and came back to find a wet towel on the floor and no girl to be seen.
"Okay, Annie, it's late, time to turn in for the night." No response. "Jeez, you like to hide, don't ya?" He said, and opened his closet door, finding her easily. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that to hide from ol' Cosmo!" he said excitedly, picking her up and tossing her on the bed. "Since I don't have a place for you to sleep yet, you'll sleep here and I'll take the couch." He got up to leave, but he felt a tug on his shirt, and looked to see the girl, obviously not wanting him to leave.
"Alright, alright, I give! Just don't make that face, ya look like you're gonna cry."
Her face instantly lit up as he said, "Well, ya want me to sleep in here, don't ya? You need to scoot over!" Annie had already come to know Cosmo's playful nature, so she didn't budge.
"Is that how it's gonna be?" he asked, and with her nod, he slid his hands under her small body and moved her aside, giving him space to crawl into bed.
"Now we gotta get some rest for tomorrow morning, ya hear? Uncle Cosmo's taking ya to work with him."
"Okay!" she beamed, and lay down to go to sleep. "Finally!" Cosmo said dramatically, and with that he settled and soon fell asleep himself.