The Miracle Worker (1962) | |
| Director(s) | Arthur Penn |
| Producer(s) | Fred Coe |
| Top Genres | Biographical, Drama, Film Adaptation |
| Top Topics | Based on Play, Book-Based, Teachers |
Featured Cast:
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)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Actress | Anne Bancroft | Won |
| Best Supporting Actress | Patty Duke | Won |
| Best Costume Design | Ruth Morley | Nominated |
| Best Director | Arthur Penn | Nominated |
| Best Writing | William Gibson | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
The Miracle Worker (1962)
By Beatrice on Jul 25, 2017 From Flickers in TimeThe 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 FilmsToday, 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 CinemaThe 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 BacklotsWhen 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 BlogAnne 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
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: It's less trouble to feel sorry for her than it is to teach her anything better.
Captain Arthur Keller: From the minute she stepped off the train she's been nothing but a burden! Incompetent, impertinent, ineffectual, inmodest, and...
Kate Keller: She folded her napkin, Captain.
Captain Arthur Keller: She what?
Kate Keller: Not ineffectual. Helen did fold her napkin.
Captain Arthur Keller: What in heaven's name is so extraordinary about folding a napkin?
Kate Keller: Well, it's more than you did, Captain.
Captain Arthur Keller: Katie, the point is she's ruined any chance she ever had of getting along with the child. If you can see any point or purpose of her staying on here longer, it's more than I can.
Kate Keller: What do you wish me to do?
Captain Arthur Keller: I want you to give her notice!
Kate Keller: I can't.
Captain Arthur Keller: Then if you won't, I must!
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Facts about
The play was originally produced as "Playhouse 90; The Miracle Worker (1957)", broadcast on February 7, 1957 and starred Teresa Wright as Annie Sullivan, Patty McCormack as Helen Keller, Burl Ives as Captain Keller and Katharine Bard as Katie Keller.
Although Patty Duke had been playing Helen Keller in the play for more than year, she almost didn't get the part in the film adaptation. The studio felt that being a teenager, she looked too old to play a seven-year-old. However, they decided to use Duke after deciding to use Anne Bancroft, who played Duke's original Annie Sullivan in the play.
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