The Miracle Worker (1962 film): Difference between revisions

| based onbased_on = {{based on|''[[The Miracle Worker (play)|The Miracle Worker]]''|[[William Gibson<br> by (playwright)|William Gibson]]}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Anne Bancroft]]<br>
* [[Patty Duke]]

'''''The Miracle Worker''''' is a 1962 American [[biographical film]] about [[Anne Sullivan]], blind tutor to [[Helen Keller]], directed by [[Arthur Penn]]. The [[screenplay]] by [[William Gibson (playwright)|William Gibson]] is based on his [[The Miracle Worker (play)|1959 play of the same title]], which originated as a 1957 broadcast of the [[television]] [[anthology series]] ''[[Playhouse 90]]''. Gibson's originalsecondary source material was ''[[The Story of My Life (biography)|The Story of My Life]]'', the 19021903 [[autobiography]] of [[Helen Keller]].

The film went on to be an instant critical success and a moderate commercial success. The film was nominated for five [[Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for [[Arthur Penn]], and won two awards, [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] for [[Anne Bancroft]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for [[Patty Duke]]., ''the latter of whom, at age 16, became the youngest competitive Oscar winner at the time.{{efn|The Miraclerecord was surpassed by [[Tatum Worker'O'Neal]] alsoin holds1974, awho perfectwon 100%the score[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] fromat the movieage criticsof site10 for ''[[RottenPaper Moon (film)|Paper TomatoesMoon]]''.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1013973-miracle_worker/</ref>}}

==Plot synopsis==

Young [[Helen Keller]] ([[Patty Duke]]), [[blindness|blind]] and [[Hearing impairment|deaf]] since infancy due to a severe case of [[scarlet fever]]illness, is frustrated and angry by her inability to communicate and subject to frequent violent and uncontrollable outbursts as a result. Unable to deal with her, her terrified and helpless parents contact the [[Perkins School for the Blind]] for assistance. In response, they send [[Anne Sullivan]] ([[Anne Bancroft]]), a former student, to the Keller home toas a tutor her. What ensues is aA battle of wills ensues as Anne breaks down Helen's walls of silence and darkness through persistence, love, and sheer stubbornness, starting by teaching Helen to make a connection between her hand signs and the objects in Helen's world for which they stand.

Despite the fact [[Anne Bancroft]]'s hadaward-winning wonperformance theas [[TonyAnne Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play]] for her performanceSullivan in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production, [[United Artists]] executives wanted a[[Elizabeth biggerTaylor]] nameto be cast asin Annethis Sullivanrole in the film adaptation. TheyHowever offeredArthur toPenn budget(who thehad filmalso atdirected $5the millionstage ifproduction) [[Elizabethinsisted Taylor]]on wasusing castBancroft. butAs onlya $500result,000 ifthe directorstudio Arthurviewed Pennthe insistedfilm onas usinga Bancroft.risky prospect and granted Penn, whoonly hada directedtight thebudget stageof production$1,300,000 remained(of loyalwhich $200,000 was spent in purchasing the rights to histhe starplay).<ref>{{cite book The|editor-last=Chaiken move|editor-first=Michael paid|date=2008 off,|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kb3a9Mkjc38C&pg=PA32 and|title=Arthur BancroftPenn: wonInterviews an|publisher=University OscarPress forof herMississippi role|page=32 in the film.|isbn=9781604731057}}</ref>

AlsoIn addition, despite the fact that [[Patty Duke]] had played Helen Keller in the play, she almost did not get the part. The reason was that Duke,at 15 yearsshe oldwas at the time, wasconsidered too old to portray a seven-year-old girl, but after Bancroft washad been cast as Anne, Duke was chosen to play Helen in the film.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lu |first=Yuyan |last2=Nguyen |first2=Hanh |date=2022-07-30 |title=15 facts you didn't know about the Helen Keller movie, "The Miracle Worker" |url=https://www.salon.com/2022/07/30/15-facts-you-didnt-know-about-the-helen-keller-movie-the-miracle-worker/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Salon |language=en}}</ref>

For the dining room battle scene, in which Anne tries to teach Helen proper table manners, both Bancroft and [[Patty Duke]] wore padding beneath their costumes to prevent serious bruising during the intense physical skirmish. The nine-minute sequence required three cameras and took five days to film.<ref>[{{Cite web |title=The Miracle Worker |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=/19300&category/the-miracle-worker |access-date=Articles ''The Miracle Worker'' at |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |language=en}}</ref>

* [[List of American films of 1962]]

* {{IMDb title|0056241|The Miracle Worker}}

[[Category:TheAmerican Miraclebiographical Worker|1962drama films]]

[[Category:FilmsAmerican aboutfilms blindbased peopleon plays]]

[[Category:Films baseddirected onby actualArthur eventsPenn]]

[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award -winning performance]]