STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH - The Miracle Worker

THE MIRACLE WORKER

(1962)
With Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine
Directed by Arthur Penn
Black and White
Reviewed by JB

Arthur Penn's straighforward adaptation of the famous Broadway play is one of the most moving and powerful films of the 1960s thanks to Anne Bancroft aas teacher Annie Sullivan and Patty Duke as the deaf and blind Helen Keller. The two actresses had been playing the roles on Broadway for two years, but remarkably, MGM did not want to use them in the film. Thankfully, Arthur Penn fought for them and got MGM to concede. The two women are both so equally riveting in their roles, it is hard to imagine anyone doing finer work. The film is not a tear-jerker, but I defy anybody to keep their eyes dry during the final five minutes, when Sullivan's endless hours of toil finally reaches the young Helen. - JB