The Miracle Worker (1979 film)

The Miracle Worker
Genre	Drama
Based on	The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Screenplay by	William Gibson
Directed by	Paul Aaron
Starring	Melissa Gilbert Patty Duke Charles Siebert Stanley Wells Diana Muldaur
Music by	Billy Goldenberg
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Sandy Gallin Raymond Katz
Producers	Fred Coe Barbara Abeles Cowan (associate producer) Alan David (assistant producer)
Cinematography	Ted Voigtlander
Editor	Gerald Lee Taylor
Running time	98 minutes
Production company	Half-Pint Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	October 14, 1979 (1979-10-14)

The Miracle Worker is a 1979 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1959 play of the same title by William Gibson, which originated as a 1957 broadcast of the television anthology series Playhouse 90. Gibson's original source material was The Story of My Life, the 1902 autobiography of Helen Keller. The play was adapted for the screen before, in 1962.

The film is based on the life of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan's struggles to teach her. It starred Patty Duke (who played Helen Keller in the original 1962 film, for which she won the Oscar) as Annie Sullivan and Melissa Gilbert as Helen Keller. It produced a TV sequel, Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues in 1984.

Plot

Young Helen Keller (Melissa Gilbert), blind, deaf, and mute since infancy, is in danger of being sent to an institution. Her inability to communicate has left her frustrated and violent. In desperation, her parents seek help from the Perkins Institute, which sends them a "half-blind Yankee schoolgirl" named Annie Sullivan (Patty Duke) to tutor their daughter. Through persistence and love, and sheer stubbornness, Annie breaks through Helen's walls of silence and darkness and teaches her to communicate.

Cast

• Melissa Gilbert as Helen Keller
• Patty Duke as Annie Sullivan
• Charles Siebert as Captain Arthur H. Keller
• Diana Muldaur as Katherine Adams Keller
• Stanley Wells as James Keller
• Anne Seymour as Aunt Evelyn
• Hilda Haynes as Viney
• Byron Green as Percy
• Noniece Williams as Martha
• Titos Vandis as Anagnos
• Jonathan Gilbert as Jimmy

External links

• The Miracle Worker at IMDb