The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind, deaf and mute child Helen Keller how to understand and communicate.The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind, deaf and mute child Helen Keller how to understand and communicate.The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind, deaf and mute child Helen Keller how to understand and communicate.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 12 wins & 13 nominations total
- Undetermined Role
- (uncredited)
- Martha at Age 10
- (uncredited)
- Admissions Officer
- (uncredited)
- Doctor
- (uncredited)
- Percy at Age 10
- (uncredited)
- Annie at Age 10
- (uncredited)
- 2nd Crone
- (uncredited)
- Jimmie at Age 8
- (uncredited)
- 1st Crone
- (uncredited)
- 3rd Crone
- (uncredited)
- Viney - Keller Maid
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMark Twain was the first person to refer to Anne Sullivan as "the miracle worker". Twain was a friend of Helen Keller.
- GoofsAnnie Sullivan has to look up the word discipline in a dictionary later in the film even though she's used it in a letter near the beginning; however, she remarks that she must know how to spell it before teaching it to Helen, and may have simply used her best guess in the letter since nothing was at stake.
- Quotes
Annie Sullivan: I have to live with her somewhere else.
Kate Keller: For how long?
Annie Sullivan: Until she learns to listen to and depend on me.
Captain Arthur Keller: Miss Sullivan...
Annie Sullivan: Captain Keller, it meets both of your conditions. It's the one way I can get back in touch with Helen, and I don't see how I can be rude to you again if you're not around to interfere with me.
Captain Arthur Keller: And what's your plan if I say no? Pack the other half for home and abandon your charge to... to...
Annie Sullivan: The asylum? I grew up in such an asylum, the State Alms House. Rats? Why, my brother Jimmy and I used to play with the rats because we didn't have any toys. Maybe you'd like to know what Helen will find there, not on visiting days. One ward was full of the old women. Crippled, blind, most of them dying, but even if what they had was catching, there was nowhere else to move them. That's where they put us. Then there were younger ones across the hall, prostitutes mostly, with TB and epileptic fits. And some of the kind that keep after other girls, especially the young ones. And some were just insane. Some had the DTs. Then there were girls in another ward to have babies they didn't want. They started at thirteen, fourteen. They left afterwards, but the babies stayed. We played with them, too. There were a lot of them, with sores all over from diseases you're not supposed to talk about.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Le contrôle de l'univers (1999)
- SoundtracksHush, Little Baby
(uncredited)
Traditional Southern lullaby
Music adapted by Don Costa
Lyrics by Arthur Siegel
Sung by Anne Bancroft
Also played in the score
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.
- Snow Leopard
- Dec 20, 2004
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $500,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $4,139
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1