The Miracle Worker
(1962)
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The true story of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan, THE MIRACLE WORKER is a gripping and inspiring story of the battle to overcome impossible obstacles and the struggle to communicate. As a young girl, Helen Keller (a brilliant Patty Duke) is stricken with scarlet fever. The illness leaves her blind, mute, and deaf. Sealed off from the world, Helen cannot communicate with anyone, nor anyone with her. Often frustrated and desperate, Helen flies into uncontrollable rages and tantrums that terrify her hopeless family. The gifted teacher Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft) comes to help the little girl understand the world from which she is isolated, freeing Helen Keller from her internal prison forever. Under Arthur Penn's controlled direction, Bancroft and Duke deliver unforgettable, flawless performances. The screenplay for THE MIRACLE WORKER was written by William Gibson, who also wrote the book. |
Marvellously moving biopic about the youth of deaf, dumb and blind Helen Keller, and her remarkable teacher Annie Sullivan. There are outstanding Oscar-winning performances from Anne Bancroft as Sullivan and Patty Duke as Keller — both had played the roles on Broadway. Arthur Penn's direction is superb, remaining solidly unsentimental throughout. Unsettling and thought-provoking, this is a fine American humanitarian work, brilliantly photographed in harsh black and white by Ernesto Caparros. Incidentally, a grown-up Duke later played the Sullivan role in a 1979 TV movie remake.
Halliwell's Film Guide
A moving real-life story is given hysterical treatment and the good scenes have a hard task winning through; in any case a documentary might have been more persuasive.