The Miracle Worker Overview:

The Miracle Worker (1962) was a Biographical - Drama Film directed by Arthur Penn and produced by Fred Coe.

The film was based on the autobiography The Story of My Life written by Helen Keller at the & 1959 Play Playhouse Theatre, NY 1903 (play performed Oct 19, 1959 - Jul 1, 1961).

Academy Awards 1962 --- Ceremony Number 35 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActressAnne BancroftWon
Best Supporting ActressPatty DukeWon
Best Costume DesignRuth MorleyNominated
Best DirectorArthur PennNominated
Best WritingWilliam GibsonNominated
.

The Miracle Worker BlogHub Articles:

The Miracle Worker (1962)

By Beatrice on Jul 25, 2017 From Flickers in Time

The Miracle Worker Directed by Arthur Penn Written by William Gibson based on his play and the book by Helen Keller 1962/USA Playfilm Productions Repeat viewing/Netflix Spectacular acting meets a powerful, inspirational story. This is based on the true story of Helen Keller (Patty Duke), who, at ... Read full article


The Miracle Worker

By Amanda Garrett on May 14, 2016 From Old Hollywood Films

Today, I'm reviewing The Miracle Worker (1962), starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. This article is part of The Disability in Film Blogathon hosted by Pop Culture Reverie. Helen Keller lived most of her life with profound disabilities, but that did not stop her from becoming an internation... Read full article


Anne Bancroft, Winner for The Miracle Worker

By Virginie Pronovost on Feb 6, 2016 From The Wonderful World of Cinema

The 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon is finally back! This is one of my favourite blogathons, so I was very excited to participate again. As always, it is hosted by the fantastic Aurora from Once Upon a Screen, Kellee from Outspoken and Freckled and Paula from Paula’s Cinema Club. Today, we start th... Read full article


Silence in Sound: The Power of “Johnny Belinda” and “The Miracle Worker”

By Lara on Oct 21, 2011 From Backlots

When the silent era finally gave way to talkies in 1927, an art form was lost–the art of meaningful expression without words. When we look at the films of the great silent stars, for example those of Clara Bow, Norma Talmadge, or Lillian Gish, we see a wholly separate kind of film, one where a... Read full article


The Miracle Worker (1962)

By Raquel Stecher on Nov 30, -0001 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog

Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker (1962) It seemed like an impossible task. How does one teach a young girl who is blind, deaf, and mute how to communicate with the world? It would take a teacher of great strength who would persist against all odds. It would take a miracle worker.... Read full article


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Quotes from The Miracle Worker

Annie Sullivan: All's fair in love and war.
Captain Arthur Keller: This is not war.
Annie Sullivan: Well, it's not love!


Kate Keller: What are you saying to her?
Annie Sullivan: Oh, I was just making conversation. Telling her it was a sewing card.
Kate Keller: Does that mean that to her?
Annie Sullivan: Oh, no, she won't know what spelling is till she knows what a word is.
Kate Keller: The captain says it's like spelling to a fence post.
Annie Sullivan: Does he now? It's how I watch you talk to your baby.
Kate Keller: The baby?
Annie Sullivan: Any baby. It's gibberish. Grown-up gibberish. Baby-talk gibberish. Do they understand one word of it to start? Somehow they begin to if they hear it. I'm letting Helen hear it.
Kate Keller: Other children are not impaired.
Annie Sullivan: Oh, there's nothing impaired in her head. It works like a mousetrap.
Kate Keller: Then when will she learn?
Annie Sullivan: Maybe after a million words.


Annie Sullivan: Disinter... disinterested... disinterested... where's discipline? What a dictionary this is. You have to know how something is spelt before you can look it up to see how it's spelt. Discipline... Huh. "Diskipline."


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Facts about The Miracle Worker

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)
United Artists originally offered a $2-million budget if writer William Gibson and director Arthur Penn would cast either Elizabeth Taylor or Audrey Hepburn in the role of Annie Sullivan. When they insisted that the part be recreated by Tony Award winner Anne Bancroft, UA cut the budget by $1.5 million.
William Gibson took Helen Keller's story to Broadway in 1959, but it was performed for the first time not on Broadway but on live television in a 1957 episode of "Playhouse 90": The Miracle Worker. The two leads were Teresa Wright and 11-year-old Patty McCormack. On the Broadway stage and in the film they were Anne Bancroft and 16-year-old Patty Duke. Arthur Penn directed both the TV version and the 1962 film.
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