When Patty Duke died recently, I read several of her obits and also many comments online about her work which mainly praised her performance in The Miracle Worker. That's when I realized while I'd seen her in many TV shows and some movies, I'd never seen her in perhaps her most compelling and important role, that of the deaf-blind child Helen Keller she played both on Broadway and in this film version, for which she won the Oscar at age 16 which made her the youngest of such at the time during the early '60s. She's matched every way with Anne Bancroft who also got an Oscar not to mention a Tony previously as her sympathetic but very tough instructor Annie Sullivan who herself had been sightless when growing up. Director Arthur Penn and screenwriter William Gibson, adapting from his play, imbue their work with some fine cinematic touches as in close-ups and some location shots while Duke and Bancroft carry out their confrontations. While my mom had previously seen this, she admitted it was so long she had forgotten some of it. Both she and I really enjoyed this so on that note, The Miracle Worker is highly recommended. P.S. One of the nice surprises was seeing Inga Swenson-who I previously knew as Gretchen Kraus on the late '70s/early '80s sitcom "Benson"-as the mother of Helen.

For years, I've avoided watching "The Miracle Worker" and, for the oddest reason. I have two disabled daughters and I've tired of people telling me I MUST watch films like this one and "Mr. Holland's Opus" because they featured deaf characters. Well, the oppositional part of me was, in hindsight, pretty dumb, as it turned out that I really enjoyed the film...mostly because of the terrific acting.

The film is NOT a full biography of Annie Sullivan or Helen Keller. Instead, it's a snippet...a look at that period when Miss Sullivan came to work with Helen with an attempt to get her to come out of her violent shell. Now this 'shell' wasn't surprising, as she was deaf, blind AND had one of the worst handicaps...parents that coddled her and enabled her to be a little monster because they felt sorry for her. The film is about Sullivan trying desperately to get through to Helen...otherwise, her desperate parents were considering institutionalizing her.

There was a lot to like about the film. I mentioned the acting and both Anne Bancroft (Sullivan) and Patty Duke (Keller) were amazing and you can see why they both took home Oscars for their performances. Additionally, the supporting cast was quite nice as well. But what really impressed me most is that Bancroft and Duke REALLY used real sign language when communicating. It's not that hard to learn the ASL alphabet, but too many movies and shows just fake it...signing gibberish. But the pair, probably because they had done the play version so many times, were proficient and I appreciated that. Overall, a really good film...one of the better films of the 1960s.

The Miracle Worker, what a movie! A true miracle if there ever was one! Basically a truly moving biopic of blind, deaf and dumb Helen Keller, without being too sentimental. Making this work are superb direction from Arthur Penn, a beautifully written screenplay and gorgeous black and white cinematography. Not to mention the impeccable performances. Patty Duke is remarkably good as Helen, but Anne Bancroft is absolutely outstanding as her remarkable teacher Annie Sullivan. It can be unsettling at times, as are several masterpieces I've seen, but it is very moving and even thought-provoking. Overall, it is a miracle. 10/10 Bethany Cox