The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Frances Goodrich (screenplay), Albert Hackett (screenplay)

Stars:

Millie Perkins, Shelley Winters, Joseph Schildkraut

Won 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Millie Perkins	...	Anne Frank
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Otto Frank
Shelley Winters	...	Mrs. Petronella Van Daan
Richard Beymer	...	Peter Van Daan
Gusti Huber	...	Mrs. Edith Frank
Lou Jacobi	...	Mr. Hans Van Daan
Diane Baker	...	Margot Frank
Douglas Spencer	...	Kraler
Dodie Heath	...	Miep (as Dody Heath)
Ed Wynn	...	Mr. Albert Dussell

Storyline

In Nazi-occupied Holland in World War II, shopkeeper Kraler hides two Jewish families in his attic. Young Anne Frank keeps a diary of everyday life for the Franks and the Van Daans, chronicling the Nazi threat as well as family dynamics. A romance with Peter Van Daan causes jealousy between Anne and her sister, Margot. Otto Frank returns to the attic many years after the eventual capture of both families and finds his late daughter's diary.

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Plot Keywords:

attic | jewish | dentist | diary | fear | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Family | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

17 April 1959 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Anne Franks dagbok

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, George Stevens Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 171 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Miep Gies, played by Dodie Heath, died on January 11, 2010 at the age of 100. Gies was the last friend of the Frank family who helped hide them, provided them with food and news, and who found Anne Frank's diary.

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Goofs

Many incidents from the diary are depicted out of order, and some specific speeches and actions are attributed to the wrong persons.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kraler: Mr. Frank. - Mr Frank?
Otto Frank: Kraler. - Mr. Kraler. Miep. My good friends.

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Crazy Credits

At the end, neither a "The End" credit nor a cast list appears, only the title of the film once more ("The Diary of Anne Frank").

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Connections

Referenced in George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin (1994)

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Soundtracks

Hanukkah
(uncredited)
Traditional
Lyrics by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

User Reviews

The secret annex

On July 6th, 1942 Jewish Otto Frank, his wife Edith and their daughters Anne and Margot had to hide from the Nazies.They went to a hidden room in Otto's office in the middle of Amsterdam.On July 13th they were joined by the van Pels family, Hermann, Auguste and Peter van Pels.On November 16th they got another member to the secret annex, the dentist Fritz Pfeffer.A total of eight members had to hide from the evil, that was outside waiting.The evil won, as it too often does.On August 4th in 1944 it came in and took them all.Only one came back alive, Otto Frank, who had to live with the memories and the pain for the rest of his life.All the time his daughter Anne was hiding, she was writing to her diary about everything that was going on there.About her quarrels, about her growing, about her falling in love with Peter van Pels...George Stevens' The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) is the first movie made of this wise young girl.It's a very good portrayal of those events.I could mention that in the diary and in this movie some of the names aren't the original names.Millie Perkins, a model who had no acting experience, is really good as Anne Frank.They originally thought of the great actress Audrey Hepburn for the part, but she had too painful memories of it all, since she had lived in Holland.There were also some other similarities with Anne Frank, for instance they both were born the same year, in 1929.Joseph Schildkraut is great as Otto and so is Gusti Huber as Edith.Diane Baker is amazing as Margot Frank.The always great Shelley Winters was the perfect choice to play the part of Petronella van Daan (Auguste van Pels).Lou Jacobi is terrific as Hans van Daan (Hermann van Pels).Richard Beymer does the role of Peter van Daan (Peter van Pels) and he does it excellently.Today this boy would turn 80, if things would have gone differently.Ed Wynn is magnificent as Mr. Alber Dussel (Mr. Pfeffer).Their wonderful helper Miep Gies is played by Dodie Heath.Douglas Spencer plays another helper, Kraler (Kugler).This is a touching story, a true story about innocent people who did nothing wrong.Their only crime was to be born as Jews, a crime that isn't a crime.This movie focuses pretty much on the relationship between Anne and Peter.The first kissing scene is beautiful.They kiss in the shadows of the secret annex.The movie is in black and white, and the shadows have a big part here.It reminds how the shadows are always lurking there somewhere, trying to take over in our lives.The shadows won back then, in 1944, but none of them died.They all live in the pages of the books, in movies that are made.They all will keep on living in the secret annex. Only hoping the war will be over some day.Hoping to walk out and to be free.