This movie made a strong impression on me when I saw it on Tv as a lad and I have revisted it a few more times but it had been a decade since i saw it last and my daughter had a done a book report on Helen Keller recently and was very moved by her story and I mentioned the Miracle Worker, so we rented it and viewed it tonight and it still packs a wallop and the performances are first rate. Patty Duke won the best supporting oscar that year and deserved it (even though she beat out Mary Badham who played Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird -- what a year for young actresses!!!)and Anne Bancroft is amazing as the tough, determined Anne Sullivan. A wonderful film.
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shark-432 March 2004
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howard.schumann13 June 2005Powerfully directed by Arthur Penn and supported by two Oscar-winning performances, The Miracle Worker dramatizes the early years of Helen Keller, the blind and deaf mute who became a famous author and prominent Socialist. Anne Bancroft's first lead role is as Anne Sullivan, Helen's lifelong teacher and friend and her performance is compelling. Patty Duke is also outstanding as Helen, portraying the disturbed child as she works to overcome bad manners and temper tantrums, the result of being overly indulged by her well meaning but ineffective parents. Moving into a small cottage away from her parents, Anne, who was partially blind herself, assists Helen with some tough love and begins to teach her to spell with her fingers.
Until this point, Helen had no understanding of the meaning of words. This changed when Anne led her to the water pump and spelled out the word water as she pumped the water over Helen's hand. She is said to have learned thirty words the same day and eventually learned to read. In 1904 Helen graduated from Radcliffe College, becoming the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The film could have easily descended into melodrama, but Penn keeps his focus and the result is enormously moving without being maudlin. The Miracle Worker is a miracle. -
dove958 June 2003I don't think I've seen a movie with such amazing performances in a LONG time! The more work I see of Anne Bancroft, the more I'm impressed with her craft. I've never seen Patty Duke in anything before, so needless to say, I was blown away by her performance as well.
The most intense acting is done without any dialogue, especially where Anne Sullivan insists that Helen learn how to eat properly.
Such incredible performances (very Oscarly deserved!) and even more incredible story to boot! -
Although I am a long-time Patty Duke admirer, and thus far from objective, this film still stands the test of time. This is the kind of filmmaking that prompted me to fall in love with the movies. Brilliantly inspired writing by William Gibson, from his equally inspired play. Intelligent, austere direction by Arthur Penn (one of the true gentlemen and masters of the American cinema); Penn had the sense to retain the inate artistry and grit of the original stage play and simply allow the camera to capture the actors' intuitive - albeit, well rehearsed, performances, recreating their stage roles which generated an unheard-of 19 curtain calls when it first graced the stage in its Philadephia opening. The film, in stark, black and white, speaks total reality to the film audience of 1962 - and, of course, well beyond that year. Finally, one would be hard pressed to think of another film that so exquisitely defines the term "2-character" study. Bancroft and Duke deliver A-plus, no bones about it, top-drawer, performances. It is a film about the undaunted human spirit and our need to communicate. Although much has been written about 11-minute breakfast donneybrook, which is certainly wonderful cinema to behold, the entire film is breathtaking from opening credits to the final scenes. I dare anyone to even breathe during the climactic water pump scene when teacher Annie Sullivan finally "connects" and communicates with her "unreachable" charge, the deaf, blind, young Helen Keller. It's an absolutely astonishing, "can't take your eyes off it," moment of celluloid. Duke, Bancroft and Penn worked beatifully to create this incredibly touching masterpiece of dramatic filmmaking, which is not without its moments of "comedy," as all fine dramas are capable of conveying. It is a film which breathes life - and it is especially brought to life by two of the best actresses America has ever produced. The Miracle Worker is a story and film portraying real human courage, patience and individual, personal will. It continues to live in my memory as a work of art that has rarely been equalled before - or since - on screen.
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Snow Leopard21 December 2004With two terrific leading performances, an absorbing and thought-provoking story, and many well-conceived touches by Arthur Penn and his production team, this classic version of "The Miracle Worker" is an exceptional movie that appeals to the imagination and that has much to say about humanity. The story itself is so good that even the lesser remakes have been worth seeing, but there is really no reason at all to look any further than this nearly flawless filming of the story.
As Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller, Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke could not have been better. The battle of wills and wits between the two is engrossing, becoming quite involved and very interesting. The lengthy dining room struggle alone would make any movie worth watching - it is worthwhile even beyond the interesting action itself, as it brings out aspects of human nature and human learning that go beyond even Helen's own trials.
There is a great deal of substance to the movie that goes beyond the immediate issues and confrontations, and a significant reason for the greatness of the film is the way that Bancroft and Duke tap into the imagination of the viewer. The concept of seeing an unseen world (and the challenge of helping someone to see it) is brought out in ways that are profound yet accessible.
The two leads carry almost the whole picture, as the other characters are there primarily for Annie and Helen to play off of. Accordingly, the supporting cast keep their characters more simple, and their performances stylized and almost exaggerated, which allows Bancroft and Duke to have most of the moments of significance. The production also enhances the picture through simple but well-conceived settings, use of lighting, and other features that nicely complement the main action.
It's always rather unfortunate that movies like this one, which take a little effort to appreciate fully, are not given more attention. If you stop to consider what Helen Keller had to face in life, it is a situation far more terrifying than facing any of the cartoonish, artificial movie villains that gain so much notoriety. And if you consider the job that Annie Sullivan had to do, her accomplishment is far more impressive and worthwhile than almost any scientific discovery, feat of athletics, or military exploit.
That this movie is able to convey such themes makes it a memorable classic that is much more worthwhile than many movies that have received far more acclaim. -
ilikeimdb17 November 2004I haven't seen acting like this in a long time! Patty Duke's portrayal of young Helen Keller shocked me with its intensity, rightness, and sensitivity. Anne Bancroft also played a tough role and did so brilliantly.
The other supporting roles were, of course, a bit stilted in the traditional Southern way, but added to the drama nonetheless. I still gave this movie a "10" despite having issues with the way director Penn handled the flashback scenes...a bit cheesy and not quite in keeping with the underlying plot in all cases. That said, the dinner scene with Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft is 100%+ riveting in a way seldom seen and the movie deserves its accolades just for that scene alone. -
rockstar7422 May 2004An inspiring movie. I watch it now at the age of 48 and I remember why I idolized Anne Bancroft and tried to emulate her acting style when I was a theatre student. I still cry during the final scene at the water pump when she cries out - mother, father - she knows!!!! Thank God that Penn and Gibson made sure that she got this movie part. I still wish she would have gotten the the part of Gittel Mosca for the movie version of their broadway play "Two For The Seesaw" because I will never be able to see her performance. Patty Duke was magnificent. She was very convincing and there is never a moment when you don't think she is deaf, dumb and blind. There is no doubt that this pair deserved the Academy Award for their performances. Helen's story needed to be told and this film was a beautiful and poignant tribute to her life
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dbdumonteil29 July 2001Where 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,directing 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 autism(children of a lesser God,rain man)but no one has surpassed this black and white gem.
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kenjha28 September 2010Based on a true story, this is the film version of the stage play about the relationship between a deaf, blind, and mute girl and her teacher. The film is generally entertaining, but everything from acting to direction is overdone. It seems Penn thought he was still working on the stage. He has his cast overact and scream as if he wants to make sure that the deaf people in the back row of the theater can catch it all. Bancroft and Duke both won Oscars because these are the types of showy performances that win Oscars. The grainy and out of focus flashback scenes to Anne Sullivan's childhood are meant to be artistic but come across as cheesy.
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kinolieber23 December 2001Using the vehicle of the story of a blind and deaf girl's discovery of the meaning of words, this film poetically and emotionally celebrates that singular gift we humans possess: language. It also depicts with deep understanding and identification the glory of that early relationship we all have one way or another, that between child and teacher. There's a line that Annie Sullivan speaks about words being our vision "5000 years into the past" that could apply to this film and play: its words are our vision into the silent and sightless world of Helen Keller.
Unlike many period films shot in the sixties, this one was true to its setting. It hasn't dated a bit. And unlike many films of plays, it never seems stagebound. The black and white camerawork and editing, by people who, strangely, had very limited careers, is superb. The dining room scene is one of the most brilliantly shot and edited sequences I have ever seen. The music is subtle when it needs to be and powerfully effective in the big scenes. The use of flashbacks for Annie's troubled past is done artfully, and in a way true to the emotional content of the memories. The acting by Bancroft and Duke is of course legendary, but the supporting roles are equally well played. But it's probably the director Arthur Penn who is most responsible for the film's success. He saw the play through its journey from live television drama to Broadway to film. -
loverealfilm11 March 2001Just to go a bit against the trend here...
Bancroft and Duke are good, there are some decent scenes, and some interesting ideas...
But no reviewer seems to notice the shrill overacting of the mother and father?
How about all of the preachy melodramatic moments? gee, I wonder what the key means??? duh, I don't know...how simple is the audience?
Sure, it's OK, but not brilliant. Not a Masterpiece. Maybe better than most modern hollywood flicks, but dripping with silly pretention and manipulation. -
tavm19 July 2016When Patty Duke died recently, I read several of her obits and also many comments online about her work which mainly praised her performance in The Miracle Worker. That's when I realized while I'd seen her in many TV shows and some movies, I'd never seen her in perhaps her most compelling and important role, that of the deaf-blind child Helen Keller she played both on Broadway and in this film version, for which she won the Oscar at age 16 which made her the youngest of such at the time during the early '60s. She's matched every way with Anne Bancroft who also got an Oscar not to mention a Tony previously as her sympathetic but very tough instructor Annie Sullivan who herself had been sightless when growing up. Director Arthur Penn and screenwriter William Gibson, adapting from his play, imbue their work with some fine cinematic touches as in close-ups and some location shots while Duke and Bancroft carry out their confrontations. While my mom had previously seen this, she admitted it was so long she had forgotten some of it. Both she and I really enjoyed this so on that note, The Miracle Worker is highly recommended. P.S. One of the nice surprises was seeing Inga Swenson-who I previously knew as Gretchen Kraus on the late '70s/early '80s sitcom "Benson"-as the mother of Helen.
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Anne Bancroft and young Patty Duke reprise their Broadway roles from William Gibson's play about teacher Annie Sullivan and deaf and blind student Helen Keller, both winning Oscars for their work, though this adaptation seems to be missing something vital. The black-and-white cinematography--shadowy, secretive and mysterious--is evocative and intense without being particularly moving or involving. Director Arthur Penn is careful not to make this a filmed stage-play (despite the surprising--and brave--infrequent use of close-ups), but the movie isn't personal. The filmmaker has created a dreamily downbeat mood, yet this eventually works against the characters and the picture comes off somewhat aloof. The staging and editing at the climax, too, is curiously flat, although the actresses cannot be faulted, they're both terrific. **1/2 from ****
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aafleming-1956931 March 2022I can only guess that the more gushing reviews of this movie are for the subject matter, not the actual movie. Yes, the story of Helen Keller and her teacher is a moving one. Also, I thought Patty Duke gave an admirable performance, not just "for a child" but for anybody. But as for this movie, I struggled to get through it and had to mute the sound much of the time. I found the characters, other than Patty Duke/Helen Keller, to be incredibly annoying. They were so irritating that at the beginning, when Helen is running around smashing things and hitting people, she was still the most likeable character on screen. The movie starts with her parents, the father played by the old and revolting Victor Jory (wearing a hideous goatee for good measure), and the mother, played by the young and beautiful Inga Swenson as his trophy wife, realizing that the child is deaf and blind. They then proceed to scream, sob, yell, and pound on things, as if perhaps they could frighten the baby out of her deafness. Throughout the rest of the movie they continue along these lines, with Swenson as Helen's mother crying and whining constantly, and Jory as Helen's father yelling all his lines and otherwise portraying his character as a bellowing moron. I started muting the sound every time these two appeared on the screen. I also found Anne Bancroft's fake Irish accent (the real Annie Sullivan was not Irish, as noted here), and smug attitude unsympathetic. And those long soliloquies accompanied by vague "arty" images of her flashbacks superimposed on each other made my head hurt. Again, I believe the movie basks in the reflected glory of its "virtuous" subject matter. But when viewing it simply as a movie, I found it very hard to sit through.
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SarahNM22 June 2000I bought this movie after having not seen it for a while, and watching it again was intensely powerful. I had never cried during the "water" scene, but I did this time. The scene in the dining room is magnificently filmed and exhausting to watch...to think Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft performed that scene every night on Broadway! Supposedly they wore multiple layers of padding. I don't know why they didn't create a new category for the Oscars that year, Best Double Performance in Leading Roles. They both richly deserved the Oscars they won, but I really couldn't choose between a leading role and a supporting role in that movie since Duke and Bancroft created such a beautiful and moving partnership. Having read a great deal about Helen Keller, including her own autobiography, I am still always amazed by her story and accomplishments. This movie is a brilliant testament to human strength.
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bkoganbing19 February 2008Helen Keller (1880-1968) in any age, in any time would be one of the most remarkable stories in human history. Condemned by meningitis or scarlet fever as an infant to lose both sight and hearing, her soul locked in a dark corner, she overcame and adapted to become one of the most admired people ever to walk the earth. She walked in darkness and silence, still she communicated to the world.
Her breakthrough in communication is the subject matter of the award winning play, The Miracle Worker. The play written by William Gibson, directed by Arthur Penn ran on Broadway during the 1959-1961 season for 719 performances and starred Anne Bancroft as Anne Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen. All four of these people repeated their contributions for the film version as Hollywood players filled the rest of the parts of the film.
The play with a bit of dramatic and casting license tells accurately the story of the difficulty in teaching and training young Helen to speak through sign, to make her first learn that those finger motions that Bancroft keeps using on Duke's hand have a meaning. 46 years after this film came out, it's still a defining moment when she does break through to her. It's taken with complete accuracy from Helen Keller's own autobiography. Later on much after the film action is concluded, Helen Keller did develop vocal skills as well.
For a girl from Tuscumbia, Alabama Helen Keller's views are pretty left wing. She was a member of the International Workers of the World, she was a confirmed pacifist, she campaigned for women's suffrage. What argument could the most chauvinistic male possibly make as to why she shouldn't have the right to vote? All stuff not calculated to go over in a place like Alabama. Then again, losing sight and sound at such an early age, Helen never developed the prejudices we normal people have. Her perspective on life was truly a unique one.
The Academy in its infinite wisdom decided that Anne Bancroft rated competing in the Best Actress category while Patty Duke was in the Supporting Actress field. There's no way Patty Duke was a Supporting Actress, most of the film and the most dramatic moments are with the two of them on the screen together. Still it did allow both to take home Oscars for The Miracle Worker.
Personally I think the two of them won it for the staggering sheer physicality for the roles. Bancroft trying to control the sightless and deaf Duke is enough to make anyone exhausted just from watching it. Remember also that Bancroft and Duke did it 719 times on Broadway and more in fact if they took the play on the road. Anyway you slice it they were deserved winners.
The Miracle Worker after 46 years is still a towering inspirational story as fresh today as it was on Broadway in its debut. It ought to be required viewing. -
jenluv9014 May 2002Since I had read the play before hand I knew this movie would be excellent but I didn't think it would be this excellent! Anne Bancroft did a phenomenal job as Annie Sullivan, and Patty Duke as Helen made me wonder if she really was blind and deaf! I would reccommend this movie to anyone and everyone who wants to see a good flick! ~*~Jenny~*~ [Note: This version of the Miracle Worker is much better than the 1979 version of it. Melissa Gilbert was just too tall for the role of Helen!
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Xstal30 August 2020... Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke whose performances defy belief and literally take your breath away, in such an overwhelming way, that it's hard to shake them from your conscious for some time after. Two of the finest theatrical performances you will ever encounter, and that's before you consider the real world lady the film is about!
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Hitchcoc9 December 2016This, of course, is the Academy Award winning film of the Helen Keller story. Helen was born fully functioning until a brain fever takes her vision and her hearing. The Keller family takes on the responsibility of raising her with all the pitfalls involved. They have tried everything they can but to no avail. Helen is like having a tornado in the house. She throws tantrums, eats food off other's plates, slaps, kicks, and is generally destructive. One day a school in Baltimore is contacted and a teacher is sent to work with Helen. She is Annie Sullivanand the rest is history. Annie has two obstacles. The obvious one is breaking through to Helen. The other is trying to work after years of the family giving in to what Annie calls a "tyrant." The family is a southern patriarchal one and she butts heads with the father time after time. But hidden deep in the recesses of that active brain is something that needs to be reached. By the way, watch the wonderful scene where Annie works to get Helen to eat her food in a civilized. Patty Duke and Ann Bancroft are amazing in this film. The black and white atmospheric setting and subtle music and Arthur Penn's restrained direction are hallmarks.
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grantss18 February 2015A moving story, covering the childhood years of blind-deaf Helen Keller and how her tutor Annie Sullivan helped her.
Does require a fair bit of perseverance, however. The first half is quite painful to watch, as Keller does random, almost malicious things, without any sign that her behaviour will change. This also involves a few "fight" scenes between her and Sullivan, scenes that seem to go on far too long and are far too frequent.
Add in an incredibly irritating, overacted performance by Victor Jory as the stupid-yet-very opinionated father - his idea of acting seems to be shouting very loudly, all the time - and the movie is set to be a massive test of patience.
Gets better, however, and the ending is quite emotional. -
middleburg17 October 2004The Miracle Worker is one of the great American films--a film containing two
justifiably legendary performances. Anne Bancroft's Annie and Patty Duke's
Helen become such living, breathing, feeling characters. We are of course
caught up in the story and the suspense of how all the scenes will unfold, but we are also captivated. These two stunning actresses make us embrace their
characters--much as they embrace at the beautiful conclusion of this heartfelt film. They are artists of the highest order--and the entire film feels like a great, piece of music. It has a wonderful shape, moments of intense feelings,
moments of peaceful repose, and is filled with rich details to savour--Helen
tossing about in the hanging laundry, Annie's rich Scottish accent, the riveting fight scene, the moment of Helen's revelation which is one of the most
emotionally satisfying moments of any film, anywhere. The photography,
exceptional music score, and once again--that amazing acting--makes this a
film to treasure. -
splitp-5071423 December 2016Previous experience with this film: I knew the basic premise of the story, and vaguely remember seeing part of the movie on television when I was about ten years old. At that time, a black and white movie about "some girl" did not hold my interest.
General Notes: The Miracle Worker, like many movies based on an encouraging true story, goes straight for the heartstrings. It has all of the elements of a movie that appears routinely on the Lifetime network. Character with disability. Check. People that do not understand said character with disability. Check. One person willing to defy normal conventions to help person with disability. Check. Overly dramatic score filled with sweeping strings. Check. However, this movie is saved by two things; the fine acting of Anne Bancroft, and this film's focus on the teaching methods used on Helen Keller.
Positives: Anne Bancroft's performance is nothing short of brilliant. She definitely earned her Oscar portraying the stubborn, strong-willed Annie Sullivan. Patty Duke as Helen Keller was good as well, although I am not sure is was Oscar-worthy. The two worked very well together on screen, particularly in the famous tantrum scene. Helen pinches, bites, pulls hair, slaps and throws silverware in defiance of her teacher. Anne Sullivan is trying overcome several years of a family letting a child tyrant do whatever she wants. Watching this scene is like watching the proverbial irresistible force meeting the immovable object. The movie focuses on Helen Keller's inability to understand that objects have names. Annie Sullivan shows Helen sign language, but for most of the movie, it doesn't mean anything. She is just repeating the finger patterns without comprehension. Throughout the film, you see Annie Sullivan's many struggles to reach her student. When Helen finally understands, it is quite rewarding.
Negatives: The lighting and camera-work. I am not sure why this was filmed in black and white. At times, the character's faces were framed in perfect silhouettes. At other times, the shadows were too large and distracting, as if the lights were placed in the wrong position. Also, the sweaty close-ups were a bit jarring as well. Not too much of a negative, but it was evident that was originally a play. Much of the dialogue seemed out of place for a film, but would work on the stage. Helen Keller's parents. Victor Jory seems to yell almost all of his lines. In fact, my notes state "Father – a bit yelly". Inga Swenson was a bit too melodramatic. In the opening scene of the movie, there is lots of screaming at the discovery of Helen's affliction. I didn't quite know what to make of it and was worried that the entire move was going to go down that path. I am glad it didn't.
Mixed: The use of superimposed images. At times it worked, but I think it was a bit overdone. The best one was a dream sequence early in the film. Anne was in the foreground and her dream was very fuzzy in the background. It was well done, but it seemed like a technique that would be at home in a movie made in the 1930s, not in 1962.
Overall: A solid feel-good movie that showcases two very fine actresses with great on screen chemistry. I would recommend this movie and give it a solid rating of 7. -
AlsExGal14 September 2018I was sort of letting out a little sigh as this one was starting, like do I really want to commit to this? But it sucked me in. While I had started it many times in the past, I think this was the first time I had ever watched it all the way through. I had seen the climactic scene with the water pump before and was very familiar with the first 30 minutes, but there were large chunks in the middle I'm pretty sure I'd never seen before. Anne Bancroft's monologue about her childhood in the asylum was powerful stuff. She relates it not to evoke pity but to let us know it made her strong. The superimposition of flashbacks from Bancroft's childhood I found hokey, but the rest of the movie is powerful. Patty Duke was about 15 or 16 when she made this movie, though they manage to bundle her up and make her look like she's about 11. I guess we're supposed to believe she still remembers saying "wa-wa" when she was six months old when she tries to verbalize the word near the end of the movie. That seemed a bit of a stretch. Did Keller go on to being able to talk? I would like a movie to be made about her adult life. Arthur Penn seemed poised at one time to be as well-known a director of his era as anyone, but looking at his imdb resume, boy his career really petered out after about Little Big Man. What happened? The long, dialogue-free kitchen table fight scene, wow! Hope the actresses didn't hurt each other too much. And I spent the whole film knowing I knew Victor Jory from somewhere, but it wasn't until it was over and I went to my laptop that I remembered he was Wilkerson, the plantation overseer turned tax collector in Gone with the Wind. And he really didn't look very much different 23 years later!
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Niro20 March 2007Despite the fact that this is really an Arthur Penn indie film (released by UA yes, but made by Playfilm Productions)... it looks an awful lot like a 1962 TV-movie would, if they'd made them back then. Or maybe a Playhouse 90 drama.
Ernest Caparros's cin is pretty much just average, with all of the sets appearing way too sharp and angular.
Of course the performances are terrific but the cinematography and production design are seriously lacking. Difficult to watch in the 21st century without being distracted by those flaws (and I saw it when it originally was released). -
jldmp117 September 2006To be blunt, this isn't a great movie -- the idea is to simply take the staged performance and get it out to a wider audience. The transfer to celluloid adds very little, I'm sorry to say.
What's interesting is how uncinematic this is, and yet it's mined again and again for film. It resonates in some way that makes people forgive its two-dimensionality. Think about it: the misfit faces failure/expulsion, so a stern teacher (with inner demons) is brought in to save the day...much verbal or physical wrestling ensues, but in the end, with the proper application of force, the misfit succeeds, the threat is removed, the teacher is beloved by all, and the teacher's demons are vanquished. "Lean on Me" and "Wildcats" of yesteryear, today's "Gridiron Gang"...all are essentially this story and told on film in exactly the same manner as this is told on film. Interesting also that to make this palatable for contemporary US audiences, the retellings of this story rely on a performance in sports.
If you want actual *cinematic* presentation to go with the emotional release, stick with "Children of a Lesser God".