Millie Perkins stars as Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager caught in the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam during World War II . Her father (Joseph Schildkraut), knowing the tragedies that await captured Jews, gathered his family and one other family and the seven went into hiding in the attic of a spice factory.
The film plays out from 1942 to 1944 and reconstructs the events that these people endured, while many of their friends were being rounded up and sent off to concentration camps and ultimately death.
These People Went In Hiding to Save their Lives
These people found a way to get along during the stressful years, and at one point added one more man to their little family. Together they had their ups and downs as they waited out the war and the horrors that were happening outside the window.
The sirens down below were a constant reminder that they could be found at any time and sent off to the camps. The bombings were also reminders of what was going on in the world. When the allies landed at Normandy on D-Day, they thought they would soon be free and could live their lives in the open, but that was not to be. In the end the Nazis discovered their location and everyone was sent away. The only survivor was Mr. Frank.
This captivating film is so worthwhile for all generations to see. The story is from the words by young Anne who wrote everything down in her diary. When the Nazis took them away they also took everything that they deemed valuable, except the diary. This diary turned out to be more valuable than anything the Nazis took. It is a personal account of the tragedies of World War II, and lives on today to educate the world about what happened during those tragic events of the twentieth century.
It is a story of tragedy, a story of humanity and a story of young love.
Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer, Diane Baker, Gusti Huber, Lou Jacobi, and Ed Wynn round out the cast of characters who were in hiding from the Nazis.
The Blu-ray 50th Anniversary Edition
The Blu-ray 50th Anniversary Edition has several wonderful bonus features. George Stevens, Jr. takes viewers back to the making of the film. His father directed the movie and George, Jr. was also there at the time and directed the location scenes.
There is a feature on creating the set. Everything was assembled on one soundstage to the specifications of the actual attic. Millie Perkins and Diane Baker relive their experiences making the film, and Shelley Winters talks about what it was like during the production and working with George Stevens. There is a feature with George Jr. reading letters between George Stevens and others during this production.
There is a feature about the music which played a part in the movie and one about the casting of Millie Perkins in the title role.
The cast met Mr. Frank and were able to get a first-hand account of the real people who were cooped up in the attic with very little contact with the outside world.
This is a remarkable edition with many bonus features, however the film itself is what makes this worth seeing.
- Rating: NR (Not Rated)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Run Time: 179 minutes
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