The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

This movie was the first film ever made that dealt with the Holocaust, and is one of the best films in its genre along with Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" (1993), and Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" (2009). The film is also the only Hollywood film to deal with the two years where Anne Frank her family, and two other families are hiding in an attic from the Nazis. At the time the film was being made George Stevens who directed and produced the movie took a big gamble with casting an unknown actress in the title role, that actress was Millie Perkins. Despite being 21 years old when she was making the movie Perkins shines in her film debut as Anne Frank a young teenage girl who writes a diary of the events that happen during her time hiding from the Nazis. During the film we get to know each of the characters thanks to a well-written script, and William Mellor's excellent cinematography. One thing that I've noticed while watching the movie was this movie was a more family oriented movie than any other Holocaust movie I've ever seen, and it was still effective. George Stevens was one of the most ambitious filmmakers of his generation along with other legendary directors like John Ford and Howard Hawks and Stevens' direction for this movie is no exception to his greatness as a filmmaker. Also I was also on the edge of my seat because of Alfred Newman's haunting and Oscar nominated score which I felt my hairs raising. Though movies set in different countries during World War II that were made during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood is that none of the actors use accents which made me feel like I was watching American Jews hiding from the Nazi army in Holland, thanks to mostly lackluster performances which is very disappointing for A George Stevens movie. Diane Baker is very good here as Anne's sister Margot, as well as an excellent supporting cast including Joseph Schildkraut (who won an Oscar for his performance in "The Life of Emile Zola") as Anne's father Otto, Shelley Winters won an undeserved Oscar for her performance as Mrs. Van Daan, Gusti Huber as Anne's mother, Lou Jacobi as Mr. Van Daan, Ed Wynn's Oscar nominated performance as Mr. Dussell I found to be annoying and mean spirited. Also Richard Beymer is also very good as the only child of the Van Daan family Peter who happens to be Anne's love interest. Though this is one of the finest films of 1959 it isn't a great film because I feel it would have been a much stronger and much more effective film if the actors had put more dedication and effort into their performances. But it was still emotionally effective as a movie.

The famous story of the Jewish girl hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam receives an impressive screen treatment. Pretty much the entire film takes place inside the cramped attic, and it's a credit to Stevens that a three-hour film in a confined setting manages to remain engaging. Perkins has been unjustly criticized for her performance. She is perhaps a bit too perky in her film debut, but she mostly does well with her expressive face and charming manner. Schildkraut is fine as the father, as are Winters and Beymer as members of another family sharing the attic. In fact, all the acting is good with the exception of Jacobi and Wynn, who come off as rather cartoonish.

George Stevens was a great director, one of the best and who could argue with his body of work: I Remember Mama, Shane, The More The Merrier, Giant, and working with great stars such as Jean Arthur, Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Monty Clift, Katharine Hepburn, James Dean, Barbara Stanwyck, et al, the point I am making is that George Stevens cast his movies accurately, very well. The cast here is good and especially liked Richard Beymer, but the problem with Diary of Anne Frank is the star role: Millie Perkins who got the big push at 20th in the 50's is given the title role of Anne Frank. Try as Ms. Perkins does, there is not a connection with the character. Who could have played Anne? Audrey Hepburn was the logical choice but Audrey Hepburn may have felt the role too close for comfort having lived thru the Nazi terror herself in Holland. This film shot on a stage at 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles is admirable and loving attention to detail but the central character is miscast (just as Max Von Sydow a fine actor could not portray Jesus Christ in Mr. Stevens Greatest Story Ever Told)By the way while Giant, and Shane would prove otherwise, Kate Hepburn always felt that George Stevens was best at Comedy and lost his edge his later dramatic films Anne Frank, and Greatest Story Ever Told may have proved Katharine Hepburn correct. George Stevens swan song The Only Game In Town set in Vegas but shot in Paris to accommodate Elizabeth Taylor's tax concerns was a poor finale to a great Director's career

A handful of minutes ago I finished watching for the first time "The Diary of Anne Frank", which is the second movie adaptation of this tear-jerking true story that I have seen. A handful of minutes ago, I also discovered that Miep Gies, the last survivor of the story of Anne Frank, passed away very recently (January 11, 2010). So from the combination of the emotional power I felt from the movie and the emotional strike I've just been dealt, I more than enthusiastically commit myself, though tired and wanting to sleep, to writing this review for a superb, very powerful film by the great George Stevens.For those not familiar with the story, Anne Frank was a Jewish girl whose family went into hiding with another family and a single man during the times of World War Two. For two years, they lived in the attic over the workshop of friends before they were discovered by Nazis and deported into concentration camps, from which only Anne Frank's father survived. Anne, however, kept a diary detailing her time in hiding. It was published, subsequently adapted into a play, and from that came this marvelous, emotionally powerful movie.George Stevens movie takes a daring move by telling us the outcome of the movie at the beginning. We are told what to look for and what to wait for, and most of the remaining three hour-running time is then dominated by a flashback. In it, we get a real sense of the mixed emotions the real Anne Frank and her companions would have felt. Optimism and pessimism jump about with changing circumstances and at times we are so hopeful that the characters will survive even though we know that they will be caught and all save Otto Frank, Anne's father, will die.Apart from the movie's success at pulling at our heart strings and changing tones from optimistic to pessimistic in an instant, it also scores high due to a remarkable ability to generate suspense. We know right from the start that they will be caught…the suspense is waiting for it to happen. George Stevens' fabulous directing and use of silence and stress of sound really generates effective tension, allowing minute after minute to go by and our eyes refuse to leave the screen. The only regrets I have about Stevens' directing style is his trademark use of the camera being able to pass through walls and ceilings, which I have never found in any movie to be convincing. But in terms of the emotional scenes and just making an artistic movie, he succeeds with brilliance.Anne Frank is portrayed competently by Millie Perkins as a charismatic if somewhat eccentric young woman who dreams of a future she will never have the chance to strive for. Unfortunately, the only real weakness in the movie apart from its stretched running time is not Perkins' performance, but her character. The way Anne Frank is written, she actually comes off as a little dull. What we do get from her comes from Perkins' performance. However, this is made up by the supporting cast. Shelley Winters, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, is especially good in the picture as is Richard Beymer (whom you will remember as Tony from "West Side Story"), Ed Wynn, and Joseph Schildkraut who I think gives the best performance as Anne's father. These characters are all well-played and are well-rounded to get us to believe in them as human beings. If only the writers had stressed the presence of Anne with more than just dialogue, then we would have had a near-perfect film."The Diary of Anne Frank" is a superb, tautly-directed movie. There are some slow parts especially in the middle of the movie, but it is overall a very overwhelming film experience. The movie is more than fifty years old now and it has more power than a great many so-called tearjerkers that I've seen come out in recent years. The story of Anne Frank is an immortal tale and part of the reason why this movie tugs at our heart strings so powerfully is because we know it's true. This is one of those movies that keeps that in mind and uses it to an advantage rather than simply relying on that fact to save the day. It's a most commendable motion picture.