The Miracle Worker (1962)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

William Gibson (screenplay)
William Gibson (stage play)

Release Date:

28 July 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

An emotional earthquake!

Plot:

The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate.

Plot Keywords:

Helen Keller | Struggle | Institution | Tutor | Teacher

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Anne Bancroft	...	Annie Sullivan
Victor Jory	...	Captain Arthur Keller
Inga Swenson	...	Kate Keller
Andrew Prine	...	James Keller
Kathleen Comegys	...	Aunt Ev
Patty Duke	...	Helen Keller

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | American Sign Language

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:All | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Finland:K-8

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Playfilm Productions

Trivia:

Several actors in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in this movie. These were (with their character names): Diane Bryan (Martha at Age 5), Donna Bryan (Martha at Age 7), Peggy Burke (II) (Helen at Age 7), Keith Moore (I) (Percy at Age 6), Mindy Sherwood (Helen at Age 5) and Walter Wright Jr. (Percy at Age 8)

Goofs:

Continuity: The way Annie holds the doll changes after Helen gets back in bed after learning 'milk.'

Quotes:

Aunt Ev: Why, that child has more sense than all the men Kellers. If there was just some way to reach that mind of hers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ray Charles (#3.5)" (1977)

Soundtrack:

Hush, Little Baby

Miracle director

Where do I begin? Shall I speak of Mrs Bancroft's performance,one of the finest you can watch on a screen?Shall I tell about Patty Duke's tour de force?Shall I praise the mind-boggling work of Arthur Penn,mastering the long fight around the table?This movie is a miracle in itself.Behind her dark spectacles,the teacher hides buried terrors,that's why she's bound to understand her unusual pupil.She knows that the solution to her problems lies in herself,that the family is a prison .The parents do not see(or do not want to see) that they erect a wall between their daughter and the world outside by poisoning her with protection.That's why Annie seems brutal,hard on Helen.She could not have broken the wall if she had been a "nice" teacher.Among all Penn's great movies ,"miracle worker" is the only one that has an optimistic end.Since,other directors have tackled the autism(children of a lesser God,rain man)but no one has surpassed this black and white gem.