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 There's nothing that reminds us more of how fast time passes than the 50th anniversary of a movie. Originally released in 1959, The Diary of Anne Frank is now out in a 50th anniversary DVD edition from Fox Home Entertainment. Watching the story once again of the courageous Frank family who were hidden - along with a few other Jews - by their friends for two years is as touching and heartfelt as the first time I saw it. The cast includes Joseph Schildkraut, Millie Perkins, Shelly Winters, Lou Jacobi, Richard Beymer, Ed Wynn, Diane Baker, Gusti Huber, Douglas Spencer and Dodie Heath.
Producer and director George Stevens did an amazing job of bringing the story of the Frank family to life. When the group was discovered they were all transported to the death camps. Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where sister Margot also died only days before her sister. Otto Frank was the only survivor from the group. After the war he returned to the hiding place and there found Anne's diary which was given to her on her 13th birthday and was actually an autograph book. The book The Diary of a Young Girl was published in 1952.
Fox has done a wonderful job with the Anniversary edition. It begins with Otto (Joseph Schildkraut) returning to the hideaway after the war and discovering the diary. As he reads a few pages it transitions into the story. For young teenager Anne (Millie Perkins) going into hiding is almost a fun experience. It doesn't bother her that she'll have only a small space of her own, or that her family will share every moment of their lives with Mrs. (Shelly Winters) and Mr. Van Daan (Lou Jacobi) and their son Peter (Richard Beymer), as well as later, the dentist Mr. Albert Dussell (Ed Wynn).
Anne immediately is infatuated with Peter, who sees her as an annoying child. He's making eyes at her sister Margot (Diane Baker). Life in the fishbowl begins normally. Anne notes snippets of their lives in her book reading out loud with a little voice that is actually recording history. At times throughout the story her voice changes in tone from the optimistic child who seeks adventure to one of despair when her mother (Gusti Huber) frowns on Anne's closed door visits with Peter - which are strictly only conversation.
Joseph Schildkraut
Otto's job soon becomes peacemaker as every one reacts to their lack of privacy and constant threat of discovery when someone below might hear them. During the day they must stay motionless and silent. Anne reads the entire book of The Tale of Two Cities the first day. "Well at least I don't have to practice the piano she says. They can move about during the night. Their sponsors, Harry (Douglas Spencer) and Miep (Dodie Heath) Kraler, who own the spice company below them, bring them food and news when they can.
Shelly Winters
The Van Daan's are a handful as rations become smaller, and tempers about decisions soar. Mrs. Van Daan has a fur coat her father gave her she refuses to let the Kraler's sell. When her husband becomes a verbal annoyance to everyone and complains about starving, she begins to cut portions unevenly until she's caught. It's at that point that the meek and gentile Mrs. Frank has an outburst and wants the Van Daan's to leave the hideout immediately. But that can't happen as they would all be in danger of being discovered.
William C. Mellor's (A Place in the Sun, 1951) excellent cinematography is significant in the DVD film. The black and white images tell the story with an emotional punch. The old boards of the hideout in the first scene not only echo their age but appear anxious to reveal all the secrets they hold. Scenes of the occupants occasionally standing in front of the open window in the upper loft under a bright sky or a cold snow fall offers beautiful moments that inspire hope in the situation. How the lighting and shadows became playmates to heighten emotion, like when Anne and Peter lay frozen on the floor as the Gestapo's flashlight look at the books on a shelf that is really the secret door to the hideout, is amazing.
The cast couldn't be more perfect. Perkins (Ride in the Whirlwind, 1965) was remarkable in her film debut. She showed numerous sides of a personality from dramatic to insightful that fueled this story.
Schildkraut (The Life of Emile Zola, 1937), who was a matinée idol for silent films, filled Otto's shoes of protector, family head, and negotiator incredibly well.
Winters (The Poseidon Adventure, 1972) broke every soft and safe moment with her caustic and frenzied role as Mrs. Van Daan and earned an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the film.
Ed Wynn (Mary Poppins, 1964) also won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the film. He appeared in a lot of TV roles, and was as great at comedy as he was as the cantankerous fifth wheel in The Diary of Anne Frank. Huber, Beymer and Baker were equally significant in this film.
Other Academy Awards for the film include: an Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (Lyle R. Wheeler, George W. Davis, Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss). Academy Award  nominations for the film include: Best Picture - George Stevens; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture - Alfred Newman; and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Charles Le Maire, Mary Wills).
The Diary of Anne Frank is an incredible film of romance, hope, and heroism to revisit, see for the first time or introduce a young person to actual history of the Holocaust. The scene with the cat when the German's are just outside the doors ranks as one of the most suspenseful in all movies. The DVD has some great bonus features.
Special Features
€¢ Introduction: George Stevens Jr. and World War II - talks about his father's announcement during WWII to leave filmmaking and join the Army to head up the combat photography for the invasions of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of Dachau. His films sent to his son, were amazing photos of history.
€¢ The Making of The Diary of Anne Frank : A Son's Memories - George Stevens Jr. talks about becoming his father's assistant on the film and their journey making the movie. That includes talking with Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the authors of the play. It also includes a trip to the Dachau concentration camp where George was part of the liberation troops. George Jr. remembers taking his father's picture in the shower of the camp and how it affected his dad. He also talks about the casting of the movie, the costumes and set design and the argument of doing the movie in cinemascope. George Jr. also talks about the second unit shooting of the area.
€¢ The Diary of Anne Frank: Memories from Millie Perkins and Diane Baker - Stevens Jr., Perkins and Baker talk about their experiences.
€¢Shelley Winters and The Diary of Anne Frank - this featurette is from a 1983 interview with: George Stevens Jr. for his documentary A Filmmaker's Journey. Winters talks about George Stevens and what she learned from him that she used in the classes she taught - like don't worry about the lighting but what's in your eyes. And what goes on behind the camera in your relationships with the actors and director will always show in front of the camera that you are not a disembodied person that just turns it on. The mode on the set, she says, "was absolutely silence. You knew you were involved in something remarkable that would live forever and nobody wanted to miss anything." About her Oscar win she said, "Otto Frank told me when he came on the set, €˜You will win the Oscar, you are very much like Mrs.Van Daan.'"
€¢The Score of The Diary of Anne Frank - George Stevens Jr. talks about the sound and music that his father used to create the world at the moment. He also talks about Alfred Newman's incredible music score for the film and about Newman's work at Fox. Son David Newman also talks about his father.
€¢The Diary of Anne Frank: Correspondence - George Stevens Jr. reads letters that relate to the movie from Otto Frank, and from his father to Otto, and the letters from his father to George Jr. while he was in Europe filming the second unit shots for the film.
€¢Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman - who talks about the powerful mirror that The Diary of Anne Frank made to real life events.
€¢Interactive Pressbook Gallery
€¢Behind the scenes Gallery
Director: George Stevens
Writers: Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett (screenplay), Anne Frank (book)
Cast: Joseph Schildkraut, Millie Perkins, Shelly Winters, Lou Jacobi, Richard Beymer, Ed Wynn, Diane Baker, Gusti Huber, Douglas Spencer, Dodie Heath
Run Time: 179 minutes
Rating: not rated - okay for 12 and older
Classic Movie Guide Rating: 5 our of 5 stars
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
Format: Black & White
Photo credits: 20th Century Fox Pictures
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