Daily Dialogue — July 28, 2014

Anne Sullivan: [making hand signs which Helen feels with her hands] C… A… K… E…

Helen makes the letter signs for “cake”.

Anne Sullivan: You do as my fingers do, never mind what it means.

She gives Helen a piece of cake. Helen stuffs it into her mouth.

Anne Sullivan: Now…

She brushes a doll against Helen’s face. Helen feels Anne making hand signs.

Anne Sullivan: D… O… L… L.

Helen resists doing the right hand signs. Anne takes her hand to make the L sign.

Anne Sullivan: L.

Helen does the correct hand sign. Anne gives Helen her doll.

Anne Sullivan: You may take now. Understand later. End of the first lesson.

Helen hauls off and whacks Anne across the face.

— The Miracle Worker (1962), screenplay by William Gibson, based on his stage play

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Teaching.

Trivia: The original Broadway production of “The Miracle Worker” opened at the Playhouse Theater on October 19, 1959, ran for 719 performances, and won the 1960 Tony Award for Best Play. Anne Bancroft (winner of the 1960 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play) and Patty Duke recreated their stage roles in the movie. Also in the opening night cast were Kathleen Comegys as Aunt Ev and Beah Richards as Viney, both originating their movie roles. William Gibson wrote the teleplay, the stage play and the screenplay.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This is one of those movies that had a profound effect on me as a youth when I first saw it, a number of scenes seared into my memory… like this one. 

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