"little annie rooney" probably owes a debt to the "our gang" franchise for its comedic cast of multi-ethnic children (including irish, greek, jewish, italian, chinese, and african-american characters), but "little annie rooney" takes place in a far grittier urban setting. one of the advertisements for the film identifies annie as "the princess of the bowery," an area home to many immigrant populations at the time and known as the skid row of new york through the 1970s. an enormous set filled with realistic details was constructed in the pickford-fairbanks backlot to simulate the impoverished downtown neighborhood.