I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Highly Overrated But Still Good

From my favorite movies..

Excellent adaptation.

It must be one of hollywoods travesties that Milly wasn't recognised for her fantastic performance in this movie . It proves that these Oscars were handed out to favourable characters rather than based on actual acting in the given movie Considering this was her first big acting role. Milly completely makes this film worthwhile and believable . To the fools in the academy that never recognised her superb performance back in 59' "Quack Quack"

Firstly, Director George Stevens ("Gunga Din", "Place in the Sun", "I Remember Mama") must be commended for his ability to create the dark, claustrophobic conditions experienced by eight Dutch Jews hiding for two entire years in the stifling attic of a small Amsterdam spice factory while he was forced by Fox executives to film their story in glorious CinemaScope. This was an impressive accomplishment by itself. As the head of a combat motion picture unit at the end of World War II in Europe, Stevens was deeply affected by the horrors that he had experienced, including the Normandy invasion and the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. Unlike films depicting the large-scale conditions of utter de-humanization that existed in the Nazi concentration camps, this movie enabled Stevens to present a view of Nazi victims while they were still able to salvage what little humanity remained within them. In spite of the very difficult circumstances of the Jews in hiding, the victims were still able to maintain at least some form of civility and respectability in their interactions with each other.Not to be overlooked is the separate but related story of the astoundingly brave Dutch citizens who risked their very lives in order to protect their Jewish neighbors. These courageous acts of righteousness occurred in European nations throughout the Nazi occupation, and are never to be underestimated or taken for granted. Imagine risking your own life and those of your loved ones by daring to resist the extreme brutality of the Nazi regime so that others might live. For me, the most powerful scene was of the Nazi transport vehicle screeching to a halt before the address of the hiding place while the dramatic music rises and the menacing, two note Euro siren blasts throughout the streets of Amsterdam. After two agonizing years of confinement, the worst nightmare had suddenly become a reality for the group in hiding. I don't think that Mr. Stevens could have presented this climactic scene more forcefully and perfectly.With minimal cinematic support, the small cast of actors, along with the extraordinary skills of Mr. Stevens, faced the daunting task of carrying the movie from start to finish, and they succeeded very, very well. For me, Shelley Winters and Lou Jacobi as the frustrated, bickering couple stood out from the rest. They could have been my aunt and uncle or the neighbors down the street. They were that real in spite of the fact that they were reading lines written for them by someone else, something that still amazes me when I watch exceptional acting. Ms. Winters was especially gracious to donate the Oscar that she won from her work here (the other was for "Patch of Blue") to the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam as she promised Anne's father, Otto Frank.I have read some criticism among reviewers here of Millie Perkins for her interpretation of Anne, but I don't agree with it. Mr. Frank approved of her casting as his beloved daughter, and that is good enough for me. I have a feeling that Anne would have approved of her too and that Millie would have taken a very prominent place in Anne's cherished film star book, had she only survived the war.The only criticism I have is that the film could have been shortened significantly, not for my sake but for that of all of those folks, including the many IMDb reviewers, who felt that it ran too long. As the film has a very significant, personal connection to me, I was completely engrossed by the dialogue and by the outstanding performances on the part of the entire cast. I am more concerned about the vast majority of viewers who do not have any personal linkage to the film's reenacted situation and who may lose their interest in a story that must be told so that the horrific crimes committed less than 75 short years ago will not be repeated. While an estimated 60 million people were killed during that global cataclysm, the systematic, highly organized. and meticulously planned campaign of genocide by the Nazis of Germany against the mostly defenseless, civilian Jews of Europe is unprecedented. This film illustrates the story not only of Anne but of seven other human beings who were doomed to destruction not because of any specific act that they committed but by the mere fact that they were Jews. Unless we truly learn from the past, we seriously risk repeating it.

A George Stevens Production. Copyright 1959 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Palace: 18 March 1959. U.S. release: March 1959. U.K. release: July 1959. Australian release: 1 October 1959. Running times: 170 minutes (USA and UK), 178 minutes (Aust).NOTES: First published in 1952, the book became an almost immediate best-seller and was translated into 21 languages. The play opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre on 5 October 1955 and won the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics Award and the Antoinette Perry Award. It was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden and directed by Garson Kanin; Susan Strasberg was Anne, Dennie Moore was Mrs. Van Daan and Jack Gilford was Mr. Dussell. In the film, Schildkraut, Huber and Jacobi are repeating their original Broadway roles... Stevens reportedly screened 10,244 applicants for the role of Anne before deciding on New Jersey-born model, Millie Perkins. The film won three Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress, Shelley Winters, Black-and-white Cinematography, William C. Mellor (only — the 2nd unit scenes photographed by Jack Cardiff were presumably thought to be inferior to Mellor's studio work), and Black-and-white Art Direction, defeating "Career", "The Last Angry Man", "Some Like It Hot", and "Suddenly Last Summer".On the year's "Ten Best" lists, number 2 on the Film Daily annual poll of American film critics, number 5 on New York Journal American, number 10 for Gerald Pratley, number 4 for the National Board of Review, number 1 for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, number 3 on The New York Daily Mirror, and tied with The Nun's Story for 2nd place on the Filmfacts composite listing. In alphabetical lists figured on Time, John Springer, New York Times, New York World Telegram, Milwaukee Journal.Although the play ran a highly successful 717 performances, returning its astute backers something like ten times their original investments, the film did far less well. Including the cost of the screen rights and being aware of Stevens' ultra-expensive working methods, you'd be looking at a negative cost of at least $3 million — probably a lot more. Perhaps the story was better left to the East German DEFA's 20-minute 1958 "A Diary for Anne Frank" which packs an enormous amount of actuality background material (stills, newsreels, documents) into its well-researched account.COMMENT: Slow-moving, but inspiring. Very much a filmed stage-play, rather blandly directed, yet somewhat heavily theatrical. Despite her stunning movie debut in the title role, Millie Perkins' subsequent career — "Wild in the Country" (1961), "Ensign Pulver" (1964), "Wild in the Streets" (1968) — didn't capitalize on her potential. Miss Perkins is a Jean Seberg in reverse.The other players try hard (perhaps too hard) to gain dominance over the central character. Shelley Winters come off best, and Diane Baker impresses in a small role, but Schildkraut, Wynn and Jacobi act as though they were treading the boards on Broadway instead of miming in front of a movie camera.OTHER VIEWS: A masterpiece. — Time. A surprisingly ordinary movie. — Films In Review. Profoundly moving... A film for which the industry can take a prideful bow. — Variety. Often magnificent. — Saturday Review. A masterpiece. — New York Herald Tribune. Shows Hollywood at its most honorable and least imaginative. — Monthly Film Bulletin. Easily the finest film 20th Century-Fox ever made. — Samuel Goldwyn.

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.