Helen Keller in Her Story

Last updated
Helen Keller in Her Story
The Unconquered
Directed by Nancy Hamilton
Written byNancy Hamilton
James L. Shute
Produced byNancy Hamilton
James L. Shute
Starring Helen Keller
Narrated by Katharine Cornell
Edited byJames L. Shute
Music by Morgan Lewis
Distributed byAlbert Margolies and Co.
Release date
  • June 15, 1954 (1954-06-15)
Running time
55 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Helen Keller in Her Story (also known as The Unconquered) is a 1954 American biographical documentary about Helen Keller.

Contents

In 2023, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

Plot

Helen Keller is a woman in her seventies who has been both deaf and blind since she was 19 months old, but that did not keep her from learning how to read, write, or talk (though she was never able to talk as clearly as she wished she was able to), or even from earning a college degree at the age of 24. The film provides an overview of her life up until the time it was made, and then shows what her daily life is like in 1954. With the assistance of her companion Polly Thompson (Anne Sullivan having died in 1936), Helen travels the world giving speeches and advocating for the disabled, responds to the large amounts of mail she receives, visits with notable figures, listens to the radio...

Production

It starred Helen Keller and used newsreel footage of her travels and visits with Dwight Eisenhower, Martha Graham, and others, as well as newly photographed material of her at home. The film was produced and directed by Nancy Hamilton and narrated by her partner, actress Katharine Cornell, and was shot mostly in Pittsburgh. The film was released under the title Helen Keller in Her Story. [1]

Reception and legacy

The premiere took place on 15 June 1954. [2]

The Academy Film Archive preserved Helen Keller in Her Story in 2006. [3] In 2023, the film was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [4] [5]

Accolades

It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1955. [6] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Keller</span> American author and activist (1880–1968)

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old. She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven, when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller language, including reading and writing. After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, Keller attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person in the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

<i>The Lost Weekend</i> 1945 film by Billy Wilder

The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American drama film noir directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's 1944 novel of the same name about an alcoholic writer. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also shared the Grand Prix at the first Cannes Film Festival, making it one of only three films—the other two being Marty (1955) and Parasite (2019)—to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at Cannes.

<i>Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans</i> 1927 film

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is a 1927 American synchronized sound romantic drama directed by German director F. W. Murnau and starring George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, and Margaret Livingston. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Movietone sound-on-film process. The story was adapted by Carl Mayer from the short story "The Excursion to Tilsit", from the 1917 collection with the same title by Hermann Sudermann.

Czechoslovakia 1968 is a 1969 short documentary film about the "Prague Spring", the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The film was produced by the United States Information Agency (USIA) under the direction of Robert M. Fresco and Denis Sanders and features the graphic design of Norman Gollin.

<i>Jam Session</i> (1942 film) 1942 short film

Jam Session is a 1942 short film, directed by Josef Berne, which shows Duke Ellington and his orchestra performing "C Jam Blues".

<i>The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter</i> 1980 film by Connie Field

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter is a 1980 documentary film and the first movie made by Connie Field about the American women who went to work during World War II to do "men's jobs." In 1996, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

<i>The Living Desert</i> 1953 documentary film by James Algar

The Living Desert is a 1953 American nature documentary film that shows the everyday lives of the animals of the desert of the Southwestern United States. The film was written by James Algar, Winston Hibler, Jack Moffitt (uncredited) and Ted Sears. It was directed by Algar, with Hibler as the narrator and was filmed in Tucson, Arizona. The film won the 1953 Oscar for Best Documentary.

<i>It</i> (1927 film) 1927 film

It is a 1927 American silent film directed by Clarence G. Badger and Josef von Sternberg, and starring Clara Bow. It is based on the serialised novella of the same name, republished in "It" and Other Stories (1927), by Elinor Glyn, who adapted the story and appears in the film as herself.

<i>Primary</i> (film) 1960 American film

Primary is a 1960 American direct cinema documentary film about the 1960 Democratic Party primary election in Wisconsin between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, part of their quest to be chosen as the United States Democratic Party's candidate for President of the United States in the general election.

<i>A League of Their Own</i> 1992 film directed by Penny Marshall

A League of Their Own is a 1992 American sports comedy drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O'Donnell, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall and Bill Pullman. It was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel from a story by Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson.

<i>Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman</i> 1974 film

Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman is a 1974 documentary about symphony conductor Antonia Brico, including her struggle against gender bias in her profession. The film was directed by Judy Collins and Jill Godmilow. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

<i>Lady Helens Escapade</i> 1909 American film

Lady Helen's Escapade is a short American comedy film produced in 1909, directed by D. W. Griffith. It is about the escapades of Lady Helen working as a domestic in a boarding house.

<i>Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport</i> 2000 documentary film by Mark Jonathan Harris

Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport is a 2000 documentary film about the British rescue operation known as the Kindertransport, which saved the lives of over 10,000 Jewish and other children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Danzig by transporting them via train, boat, and plane to Great Britain. These children, or Kinder in German, were taken into foster homes and hostels in Britain, expecting eventually to be reunited with their parents. The majority of them never saw their families again. Written and directed by Mark Jonathan Harris, produced by Deborah Oppenheimer, narrated by Judi Dench, and made with the cooperation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, it utilized rare and extensive footage, photographs, and artifacts, and is told in the words of the child survivors, rescuers, parents, and foster parents.

Castro Street (1966) is a visual nonstory documentary film directed by Bruce Baillie.

<i>Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers</i> 1980 American film

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers is a 1980 documentary film about garlic directed by Les Blank. Its official premiere was at the 1980 Berlin Film Festival.

<i>Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision</i> 1994 American film

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision is a 1994 American documentary film made by Freida Lee Mock.

<i>Applause</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Applause is a 1929 American pre-Code backstage musical talkie directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Helen Morgan, Jack Cameron, and Joan Peers. It was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, New York during the early years of sound films. The film is notable as one of the few films of its time to break free from the restrictions of bulky sound technology equipment in order to shoot on location around Manhattan. In 2006, Applause was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Film Registry</span> Selection of films for preservation in the US Library of Congress

The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB's inception in 1988.

<i>Our Day</i> 1938 American film

Our Day is a silent documentary short directed by Wallace Kelly in 1938, about a day in the life of the Kelly family in Lebanon, Kentucky. It starred his mother, wife, brother, pet cat and dog, and Wallace himself. It countered the contemporary stereotypes of impoverished Southerners eking out a living during the Depression by documenting a modern home with adults with sophisticated interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Hamilton</span> American dramatist

Nancy Hamilton was an American actress, playwright, lyricist, director and producer.

References

  1. Hamilton, Nancy (December 1957). "Helen Keller in Her Story". The American Journal of Nursing. 57 (12): 1616. doi:10.2307/3461484. ISSN   0002-936X. JSTOR   3461484.
  2. "Helen Keller in Her Story (1954) – Notes". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  3. "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  4. Tartaglione, Nancy (2023-12-13). "National Film Registry: 'Apollo 13', 'Home Alone', 'Terminator 2', '12 Years A Slave' Among 25 Titles Added This Year". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  5. 2023 National Film Registry Announcement - Library of Congress on YouTube
  6. Nash, Margo (2011). "NY Times: Helen Keller in Her Story". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  7. "The 28th Academy Awards (1956) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Retrieved May 31, 2019.