That pre-dated the 1959 Broadway version, which starred Duke and Anne Bancroft. Original playwright William Gibson not only wrote this 1979 adaptation, but also the very first one, broadcast on 'Playhouse 90' in 1957, starring Patty McCormack, Theresa Wright, Patricia Neal and Burl Ives. Both Gilbert & Duke were nominated for Emmys for their roles, but only Duke won the day.

Also, Melissa's very long hair gets in the way of her wild tantrums - it either should have been cut, or she should have worn a short wig. Melissa Gilbert was 15 when she filmed this, but is about the same weight as and an inch taller than Patty Duke, which makes Melissa look too old for the role. The big trivia here is that Patty Duke now plays Annie Sullivan, whereas she was Helen Keller in the 1962 movie (and won an Oscar for it). The story of Anne Sullivans struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate. With Anne Bancroft, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine. With compassion, humor and dramatic tension, The Miracle Worker explores the volatile relationship between a lonely teacher and her headstrong. The Miracle Worker: Directed by Arthur Penn. Inspired by the true story of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan, this play recounts their meeting and the very frustrating lessons they both learn.

The older movie version is much darker and moodier, which not only fits the subject matter, but which is more accurate, due to the fact they only had lamplight most of the time. Immortalized on screen by Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, this Tony Award-winning play is the story of Annie Sullivan and her student, Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing at the age of 19 months.

This NBC Hallmark Hall of Fame version was filmed in Southern California, which is obvious from the very sunny scenes both inside and out.

Annie sullivan the miracle worker