The Diary of Anne Frank (film)

• Release Date: 1959
• Director(s): George Stevens
• Writer(s): Frances Goodrich; Albert Hackett
• Principal Actors and Roles: Millie Perkins (Anne Frank); Joseph Schildkraut (Otto Frank); Shelley Winters (Petronella Van Daan); Richard Beymer (Peter van Daan); Gusti Huber (Edith Frank); Lou Jacobi (Hans van Daan)
• Book / Story Film Based On: The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich; Albert Hackett

The Diary of Anne Frank is a film based on a Pulitzer-prize winning Broadway play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. The play, in turn, is based on a book of the same name. The book is an actual diary written by a teenaged girl in Amsterdam during the Holocaust. It tells the story of a group of Jews hiding in the attic of a shop for several years, and ends with their eventual capture by the Nazis.

At its release, the film received good—but not stellar—reviews. Actors Joseph Schildkraut and Shelley Winters received high praise, as did the direction. Some felt, however, that the film was too long at nearly three hours. Others noted that Millie Perkins, in one of her first roles, was not up to the challenge of presenting Anne herself.

The film’s director, George Stevens, had extensive experience with directing highly acclaimed comedies including the first Spencer Tracey/Katherine Hepburn film, Woman of the Year. During World War II, Stevens volunteered for the U.S. Army Signal Corps where he was put in charge of filming major military events. His camera captured the Normandy Invasion, and he was also present at the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. Stevens’ experience at Dachau had a profound influence on his work; The Diary of Anne Frank allowed him to express, in film, some of the horror he had experienced in person.

Anne’s father, Otto Frank, published Anne Frank’s original diaries in 1947 as The Diary of Young Girl. The decision to publish the book was based, in part, on Anne’s expressed desire to see the book in print. Otto, the only member of the group from the attic to survive the concentration camps, became very involved in the wider publication of the book and the later development of the play and film. He chose to avoid seeing the play in production, but did spend a day on the set of the film. Otto also helped to establish the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam. In addition to making public the actual attic annex where Anne lived, the museum also teaches and advocates for human rights.

Plot

The Diary of Anne Frank is set almost entirely in a tiny attic annex above a shop in Amsterdam. It starts with the return of Otto Frank, who has recently been liberated from a concentration camp. Otto heads up to ruined annex that had once housed his entire family along with several other Jews. There, he is joined by Miep Gies and Mr. Kraler, friends who had helped to protect the Franks from the Nazis. In the annex, among the rubble, Otto discovers his daughter’s diary.

From this point forward, the story is told by Anne, who details the daily lives of the seven people in the attic. They include the Franks (Otto and Edith and their daughters Anne and Margot), Hans and Petronela Van Daan, and their son Peter. While the Jews in the attic cannot leave the house, they receive news, food, and support from Mr. Kraler and Miep.

On the first day in the attic, Anne receives a box which includes a blank journal. She begins to write.

Over the course of the months that follow, Anne describes the interactions among the residents as well as the experience of being taught by her father. The group often hears the sound of sirens and bombs outside. Mrs. Van Daan tells stories of her happy childhood and squabbles with her husband.

A radio is smuggled into the attic, and the residents learn about the war and the concentration camps. Another Jew, Albert Dussell, joins the group and tells them of the fate of their fellow Jews. The group watches through their windows as groups are marched down the street, presumably to their deaths.

In 1944, though war news is brighter, the situation is increasingly bleak in Amsterdam. Kraler is worried that one of his employees may have heard something strange going on in the attic. After Kraler is hospitalized, the group becomes increasingly desperate and hostile toward one another.

Finally, the Gestapo arrive at the house. Waiting for their impending doom, Anne and Peter kiss. The Nazis break down the bookcase which hides the entrance to the annex. Otto tells the group that they should live in hope as they are taken away to Dachau.

The film ends with Otto explaining to Miep and Kraler that his entire family has died. In response to their expressed hope that Anne has survived, Otto tells of an encounter with a woman who was able to confirm Anne’s death. He then reads from the diary, expressing Anne’s optimism and belief in the human spirit.

Significance

The Diary of Anne Frank was nominated for a total of six Academy Awards including best director, best picture, best music, best costume design, best supporting actress, and best supporting actor (Ed Wynn). It won for both art direction and cinematography, and Shelley Winters was awarded the Oscar for best supporting actress.

Later versions of the story were produced in various formats, including a 1962 Dutch television version of the play, a 1967 American version, a 1980 NBC-TV movie, a 1985 off-Broadway musical titled Yours, Anne, a 1997 Broadway version of the play adapted by Wendy Kesselman, directed by James Lapine, and starring Natalie Portman, and a 2010 BBC production.

Over the years, the story of Anne Frank has undergone dramatic changes. Early versions—including the 1947 book—were expurgated, with about one third of the original content removed. A later version, published in 1995, includes the expurgated material. The book and film have become standards in the American classroom, and are used to teach young people about the personal impacts of Nazism and the Holocaust.

Awards and nominations

Won

• Academy Award (1959) Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)
• Academy Award (1959) Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)
• Academy Award (1959) Best Supporting Actress: Shelley Winters

Nominated

• Academy Award (1959) Best Music
• Academy Award (1959) Best Picture
• Academy Award (1959) Best Director: George Stevens
• Academy Award (1959) Best Supporting Actor: Ed Wynn
• Academy Award (1959) Best Costume Design (Black-and-White): Charles Le Maire, Mary Wills
• Golden Globe (1959) Best Motion Picture (Drama)

Bibliography

Crowther, Bosley. "An Eloquent ‘Diary of Anne Frank’; Stevens Is Director of Film at Palace." New York Times. New York Times, 19 May 1959. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A03E2DC1038EF3BBC4152DFB5668382649EDE>.

"The Diary of Anne Frank." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 17 Dec. 2015 <http://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Diary-of-Anne-Frank-film-1959>.

"The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)." Turner Classic Movies. Nd. Web. December 17, 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73083/The-Diary-of-Anne-Frank/notes.html>.Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. 1952. New York: Bantam, 1993. Print.

Stuever, Hank. "BBC offers a more realistic adaptation of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank.’" The Washington Post. Washington Post, 11 April 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040900154.html>.