They remained committed to their original cast members and the studio acquiesced.ĭuring the filming of The Miracle Worker (1962), both Bancroft and Duke became so immersed in their roles, they put their health at risk. Reportedly, the studio made the following offer: ' We'll give you $5 million if you do it with Liz Taylor, $500,000 if you make it with Bancroft.' The choice to keep Bancroft in the leading role speaks to the way in which the creative team viewed Bancroft's performance. Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft, little known actresses at the time, played the leading roles of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan and received rave reviews for their performances.ĭespite those positive reviews, United Artists made it clear to Penn and Gibson that they preferred bigger names in the proposed film version of the story. The Broadway production was directed by Arthur Penn and written by William Gibson. Helen Keller penned her autobiography titled, The Story of My Life in 1902, but it wasn't until 1959 that it was adapted for the stage. Finally, Annie identifies herself by spelling out 'teacher.' Wildly excited, Helen races about spelling the name of everything she touches-pump, tree, porch, bell, mother, father.

As the water pours over her hands, the sudden realization that what she feels is w-a-t-e-r dawns on the child, and she grasps Annie's hand and spells out the word. Following an outburst at the dining room table, Annie drags the child to the pump on the front lawn and forces her to refill a pitcher from which she spilled the water. There, she attempts to revert to her former willful savagery, but Annie again opposes her. Annie asks for another week alone with Helen, but the parents, seeing the progress that has been made, insist on bringing the child back into the household. She is still unable, however, to comprehend that the words she spells are names for the objects she touches. At the end of the 2 weeks, however, Helen has learned to dress herself, eat with a fork, and understand the alphabet of touch. Though Annie succeeds in getting the family to allow her 2 weeks alone with Helen in a small garden house on the Keller property, the high-spirited and strong-willed child opposes her at every turn.

Blind herself as a child and hardened by both her early years in institutions and the death of her younger, crippled brother, Annie realizes that if Helen is to be helped she must be removed from the pampering influence of her mother and the shouting domination of her father. In 1887 Annie Sullivan arrives in Tuscumbia, Alabama, to undertake the seemingly impossible task of teaching deaf, blind, 7-year-old Helen Keller 'language' through the sense of touch.

The miracle worker watch online