| The Diary of Anne Frank | |
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film poster by Tom Chantrell |
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| Directed by | George Stevens |
| Written by | Anne Frank Frances Goodrich Albert Hackett |
| Starring | Millie Perkins Joseph Schildkraut Shelley Winters Diane Baker Ed Wynn |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | William C. Mellor |
| Editing by | David Bretherton William Mace Robert Swink |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | March 18, 1959 |
| Running time | 170 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English German |
| Budget | $3 million |
The Diary of Anne Frank is a 1959 film based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name, which was based on the diary of Anne Frank. It was directed by George Stevens, with a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It won three Oscars. The film got some mixed reviews, mainly because a few non-Jews were involved with the film, including Millie Perkins, Richard Beymer, and Diane Baker. Compared to the acting on stage by Susan Stradsberg in the title role, Perkins lacked the Jewish spiritual character in the film. The length of the film, in cramped quarters, also added to the critical mood of the film.
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The movie was based on the personal diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who lived in a hiding place with her family during World War II. All her writings to her diary were addressed as 'Dear Kitty'. The diary was published after the end of the war by her father Otto Frank (played by Joseph Schildkraut, also a Jew). By this time all his other family members were killed by the Nazis.
The film won three Academy Awards:[1]
It was nominated for a further five:
The film was entered into the 1959 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
On February 3, 2004, The Diary of Anne Frank was released on DVD. The special features included some of the following; "The Diary of Anne Frank: Echoes From the Past" featurette, a press conference with director George Stevens, MovieTone news announcing public appearances by Millie Perkins, a screen test, and an audio commentary by Millie Perkins and George Stevens Jr, the director's son.
A fiftieth-anniversary edition of the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 16, 2009, three months after the film's original release date, in commemoration of what would have been Anne Frank's 80th birthday.[3] It included seven major new featurettes: three cast interviews, a behind-the scenes look at the score, two short documentaries about George Stevens' memories from the war and the history of the diary, and a perspective piece on the film's legacy by Thomas Rothman.[4]
The Blu-ray release was only a month before Tony van Renterghem died on July 19.[5] Renterghem, a Dutch cinematographer and technical, historical and script adviser who worked with Stevens for many years, consulted on both the play and the film.[5] While his work was almost entirely behind the scenes, his knowledge no doubt helped in putting together the historical featurettes.
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