Guts, Gumption And Go-Ahead: Annie Mae Hunt Remembers

"I could iron a shirt collar so good, a fly couldn't stand on it; he'd slide off," says Annie Mae Hunt (played by Irma Hall), and we believe her. Aided by archival footage, stills, and down home music, Annie Mae Hunt remembers her life, which began in 1909 in Texas. Her grandmother Tildy (voice of Dorothy Hightower), a freed slave, once told Annie Mae she had "guts, gumption, and go-ahead." (Tildy, who later became a midwife and marveled that she "made $3 to catch a baby," clearly had those qualities herself and could recognize them in others.) Annie Mae Hunt worked as a cleaning woman for many years before the spirit of independence struck her and she tossed it in for a career: she became an Avon lady. She would eventually go through three husbands, and a life of good times and bad (one of her fondest remembrances is of her active political campaigning for candidates, topped off by a trip to the White House to see Jimmy Carter's presidential inauguration). Today, at age 83, Annie Mae Hunt is a happy woman, the mother of six, grandmother of 26, and great-grandmother of 22. Quite the sprawling brood. As an extra treat, the film opens with the real Annie Mae Hunt saying a few words. An excellent portrait of a gutsy woman. Highly recommended. (Available from: Media Projects Inc., 5215 Homer St., Dallas, TX 75206; (214) 826-3863.)