Many, many years ago I watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" in elementary school. The years have passed and I cannot remember what grade this took place. While I cannot recall which teacher was responsible for introducing me to this sorrowful tale of the atrocities of Nazi Germany during the second World War, I can recall thinking how horrible it must have been to live in seclusion and not be able to make a sound during the day and in constant fear of being taken away by ´evil´ men. The film is now fifty years old, which is a good number of years older than myself and I do know that it was already fairly old when I had first seen the film. Truth be told, I have not watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" since I had done so for educational purposes and the screening of this film a couple decades later was almost as if I had been watching the film for the first time.
Directed by George Stevens and adapted for the screen by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is based upon the writings of young Anne Frank that had been discovered upon her fathers return to the location where they had been kept in secret for a couple years before being arrested and taken into custody into the Nazi death camps. There has been some argument as to the legitimacy of Anne Frank´s diary, but much of the controversy has been from the very same people who will argue that the Holocaust did not happen. I have always been of the mind that Anne Frank´s writings do tell the story of what happened to the young girl and her family. The film did not win the Academy Awards for Best Director or Best Picture and its screenplay was not even nominated, but "The Diary of Anne Frank" is, in my opinion, more of a necessary education than entertainment.
The film begins with Otto Frank (Joseph Schildkraut) returning to the office building where he and his family had remained hidden for two years and given the diary pages by Miep Gies (Dodie Heath) that his daughter Anne (Millie Perkins) had kept during the time before being taken to concentration camps. Otto had owned the office building and was the sole surviving family member of the war. The man breaks into tears at gaining ownership of his daughter´s written words and the film quickly moves into telling the story of the diary when Otto, his wife Edith (Gusti Huber), daughters Margot (Diane Baker) and Anne lived in hiding. They are joined by friends Hans van Daan (Lou Jacobi) and his wife Petronella (Shelley Winters) and their sixteen year old son Peter (Richard Beymer). Later, a family friend and dentist Albert Dussell (Ed Wynn) joins them in the secret rooms of the office building.
Anne is the central character and a lot of time is spent showing her relationships with those that had inhabited the cramped upper floors of the office building. She had a very cold and distant relationship with her mother, but was quite close to her father. The dynamics of Anne´s relationship with her parents are touched upon as are those with the van Daan family (whose last name was changed for the film). Anne did not get along with Hans and Petronella, as they looked upon Anne as a nuisance and she did not appreciate some of the things done and said by her father´s friends. However, Anne did have a romantic relationship with Peter that began with the two teenagers barely on speaking terms in the beginning as the shy Peter stayed away from Anne´s advances, but their claustrophobic living conditions eventually brought them together. This romantic relationship is a central theme in the film and one of the strongest subplots.
Young actress Millie Perkins was not the first choice to portray Anne Frank. Susan Strasberg had portrayed Anne in the popular play that had inspired the film, but she declined to continue to role in front of the cameras. Twentieth Century Fox turned their attention to popular child star Natalie Wood, but Wood did not accept the offer either. Audrey Hepburn was the same age as Frank and had survived Nazi occupation in the Netherlands as well. She was the actress whom Otto Frank had wanted to portray his daughter, but she did not want to relive the events of her teenage years in occupied territory and turned down the role. Perkins did not have the star power of either Wood or Hepburn, but the young actress showed the spunk and character of Anne Frank and the teenage starlet carried the film nicely on her young shoulders.
As the story continues, the hardships of the family are revealed as they struggle to survive with only enough rations that can be obtained with three ration cards and to be completely silent during the day when workers and customers inhabit the floors below their hiding place. Much time is spent during the frames of "The Diary of Anne Frank" to show how they passed the time during the day or to give a sense of what panic would transpire if an errant noise was made. Admittedly, this does not make for the most exciting film experience, but this was an essential part of young Anne Frank´s story and needs to be shown on screen. I am far more content that the filmmakers didn´t overlook some of the things that made survival difficult by zeroing in on only the exciting elements of Anne´s diary.
The supporting cast is nicely cast and while only Schildkraut and Huber made the transition from stage to screen, all comfortably fit into their character´s skins. Veteran actress Shelley Winters took home one of the film´s three Academy Awards for her performance and Ed Wynn was nominated for Best Support Actor. The film is a drama that relies on emotion to succeed and each actor and actress convey the stress and fear that each of the captives had to live with in their daily lives. "The Diary of Anne Frank" does move through the events rather quickly, but at three hours in length, the film could not have afforded to be any longer and the actors used in the picture all do their best with the amount of screen time they are given as the sparse and cramped sets also do not provide them any distractions from their performances. In a film where performances are essentially all there is; the actors perform wonderfully.
George Stevens was nominated for Best Director and "The Diary of Anne Frank" earned a nomination for Best Picture. "Ben-Hur" would take home both Oscars in these categories, but the black and white "The Diary of Anne Frank" is a solidly made film that tells an important and emotional message through limited sets, a small cast and a modest budget. Some stock footage is used to help tell the events of World War II that transpired during this time and a few occurrences could be seen in the streets outside of where the Franks were kept hidden, but most of this film takes place in the confined spaces of the office building. The sets are cramped and minimal and the vast majority of the film takes place in either silence of limited dialogue as the family had to keep silent and could pass the time only with conversation. There wasn´t a lot to work with and the filmmakers did an admirable job in keeping this three hour film interesting.
"The Diary of Anne Frank" is a powerful story that may not be a technical masterpiece, but the story that is told is important for others to learn. There is a reason this is almost standard curriculum in education. I can´t remember what year I watched the film, but I tend to think it was either sixth grade or during middle school. Regardless, I remember sitting around the old VCR and television and watching this film and remembering how this was my first lesson on the Holocaust and I was shocked that people had to live like this. For this reason alone, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is required viewing material. The film took some liberties in bringing the story to the big screen, but it tells Anne Frank´s story wonderfully through the film´s actors and Steven´s vision. This film isn´t perfect, but this film is something that should be watched at least once in everyone´s life.
Many, many years ago I watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" in elementary school. The years have passed and I cannot remember what grade this took place. While I cannot recall which teacher was responsible for introducing me to this sorrowful tale of the atrocities of Nazi Germany during the second World War, I can recall thinking how horrible it must have been to live in seclusion and not be able to make a sound during the day and in constant fear of being taken away by ´evil´ men. The film is now fifty years old, which is a good number of years older than myself and I do know that it was already fairly old when I had first seen the film. Truth be told, I have not watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" since I had done so for educational purposes and the screening of this film a couple decades later was almost as if I had been watching the film for the first time.
Directed by George Stevens and adapted for the screen by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is based upon the writings of young Anne Frank that had been discovered upon her fathers return to the location where they had been kept in secret for a couple years before being arrested and taken into custody into the Nazi death camps. There has been some argument as to the legitimacy of Anne Frank´s diary, but much of the controversy has been from the very same people who will argue that the Holocaust did not happen. I have always been of the mind that Anne Frank´s writings do tell the story of what happened to the young girl and her family. The film did not win the Academy Awards for Best Director or Best Picture and its screenplay was not even nominated, but "The Diary of Anne Frank" is, in my opinion, more of a necessary education than entertainment.
The film begins with Otto Frank (Joseph Schildkraut) returning to the office building where he and his family had remained hidden for two years and given the diary pages by Miep Gies (Dodie Heath) that his daughter Anne (Millie Perkins) had kept during the time before being taken to concentration camps. Otto had owned the office building and was the sole surviving family member of the war. The man breaks into tears at gaining ownership of his daughter´s written words and the film quickly moves into telling the story of the diary when Otto, his wife Edith (Gusti Huber), daughters Margot (Diane Baker) and Anne lived in hiding. They are joined by friends Hans van Daan (Lou Jacobi) and his wife Petronella (Shelley Winters) and their sixteen year old son Peter (Richard Beymer). Later, a family friend and dentist Albert Dussell (Ed Wynn) joins them in the secret rooms of the office building.
Anne is the central character and a lot of time is spent showing her relationships with those that had inhabited the cramped upper floors of the office building. She had a very cold and distant relationship with her mother, but was quite close to her father. The dynamics of Anne´s relationship with her parents are touched upon as are those with the van Daan family (whose last name was changed for the film). Anne did not get along with Hans and Petronella, as they looked upon Anne as a nuisance and she did not appreciate some of the things done and said by her father´s friends. However, Anne did have a romantic relationship with Peter that began with the two teenagers barely on speaking terms in the beginning as the shy Peter stayed away from Anne´s advances, but their claustrophobic living conditions eventually brought them together. This romantic relationship is a central theme in the film and one of the strongest subplots.
Young actress Millie Perkins was not the first choice to portray Anne Frank. Susan Strasberg had portrayed Anne in the popular play that had inspired the film, but she declined to continue to role in front of the cameras. Twentieth Century Fox turned their attention to popular child star Natalie Wood, but Wood did not accept the offer either. Audrey Hepburn was the same age as Frank and had survived Nazi occupation in the Netherlands as well. She was the actress whom Otto Frank had wanted to portray his daughter, but she did not want to relive the events of her teenage years in occupied territory and turned down the role. Perkins did not have the star power of either Wood or Hepburn, but the young actress showed the spunk and character of Anne Frank and the teenage starlet carried the film nicely on her young shoulders.
As the story continues, the hardships of the family are revealed as they struggle to survive with only enough rations that can be obtained with three ration cards and to be completely silent during the day when workers and customers inhabit the floors below their hiding place. Much time is spent during the frames of "The Diary of Anne Frank" to show how they passed the time during the day or to give a sense of what panic would transpire if an errant noise was made. Admittedly, this does not make for the most exciting film experience, but this was an essential part of young Anne Frank´s story and needs to be shown on screen. I am far more content that the filmmakers didn´t overlook some of the things that made survival difficult by zeroing in on only the exciting elements of Anne´s diary.
The supporting cast is nicely cast and while only Schildkraut and Huber made the transition from stage to screen, all comfortably fit into their character´s skins. Veteran actress Shelley Winters took home one of the film´s three Academy Awards for her performance and Ed Wynn was nominated for Best Support Actor. The film is a drama that relies on emotion to succeed and each actor and actress convey the stress and fear that each of the captives had to live with in their daily lives. "The Diary of Anne Frank" does move through the events rather quickly, but at three hours in length, the film could not have afforded to be any longer and the actors used in the picture all do their best with the amount of screen time they are given as the sparse and cramped sets also do not provide them any distractions from their performances. In a film where performances are essentially all there is; the actors perform wonderfully.
George Stevens was nominated for Best Director and "The Diary of Anne Frank" earned a nomination for Best Picture. "Ben-Hur" would take home both Oscars in these categories, but the black and white "The Diary of Anne Frank" is a solidly made film that tells an important and emotional message through limited sets, a small cast and a modest budget. Some stock footage is used to help tell the events of World War II that transpired during this time and a few occurrences could be seen in the streets outside of where the Franks were kept hidden, but most of this film takes place in the confined spaces of the office building. The sets are cramped and minimal and the vast majority of the film takes place in either silence of limited dialogue as the family had to keep silent and could pass the time only with conversation. There wasn´t a lot to work with and the filmmakers did an admirable job in keeping this three hour film interesting.
"The Diary of Anne Frank" is a powerful story that may not be a technical masterpiece, but the story that is told is important for others to learn. There is a reason this is almost standard curriculum in education. I can´t remember what year I watched the film, but I tend to think it was either sixth grade or during middle school. Regardless, I remember sitting around the old VCR and television and watching this film and remembering how this was my first lesson on the Holocaust and I was shocked that people had to live like this. For this reason alone, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is required viewing material. The film took some liberties in bringing the story to the big screen, but it tells Anne Frank´s story wonderfully through the film´s actors and Steven´s vision. This film isn´t perfect, but this film is something that should be watched at least once in everyone´s life.
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