The same year Playhouse 90 broadcasted the original "The Miracle Worker", Columbia Pictures produced the feature film The Story of Esther Costello, a fiction about a blind and deaf girl who receives dedicated help from an older woman. There aren't too many similarities between the two stories, but there are enough to make you feel sorry for Joan Crawford and Heather Sears, who didn't get the glory of Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. (Not to mention feeling sorry for Teresa Wright and Patty McCormack from Playhouse 90.)
The two main differences in the Helen Keller and Esther Costello accounts are the impetus behind their afflictions and the motivations of their teachers. While Keller was ill as an infant and lost her senses, Costello lost her senses in reaction to an emotional trauma during her childhood. Anne Sullivan was a teacher by profession, but Joan Crawford's character was merely a wealthy woman who was touched by the poor girl's story and wanted to adopt her. She does take Costello to a special school and ends up teaching her sign language and other methods, but the story takes an odd turn when Joan's husband comes into the picture. He suggests taking Costello on a world tour giving speeches and holding fundraisers, to create a fund for other deaf and blind children.
If you like The Miracle Worker, you're going to want to watch this version. It's based on a novel rather than a true story, but it's worth seeing "what if" about a similar Helen Keller character. Joan Crawford isn't very convincing as being the loving adoptive mother figure, but Heather excels in her sign language and disorientation as a blind girl. In many scenes, she places her hands on Joan's face to assist her in lip reading, and Joan looks like she can't stand it! Rossano Brazzi is Joan's slimy husband, and while it's horrifying that Joan can't see through his terrible behavior, it's even more horrifying that his character does what he does. If you particularly like him, you should skip this movie.
The two main differences in the Helen Keller and Esther Costello accounts are the impetus behind their afflictions and the motivations of their teachers. While Keller was ill as an infant and lost her senses, Costello lost her senses in reaction to an emotional trauma during her childhood. Anne Sullivan was a teacher by profession, but Joan Crawford's character was merely a wealthy woman who was touched by the poor girl's story and wanted to adopt her. She does take Costello to a special school and ends up teaching her sign language and other methods, but the story takes an odd turn when Joan's husband comes into the picture. He suggests taking Costello on a world tour giving speeches and holding fundraisers, to create a fund for other deaf and blind children.
If you like The Miracle Worker, you're going to want to watch this version. It's based on a novel rather than a true story, but it's worth seeing "what if" about a similar Helen Keller character. Joan Crawford isn't very convincing as being the loving adoptive mother figure, but Heather excels in her sign language and disorientation as a blind girl. In many scenes, she places her hands on Joan's face to assist her in lip reading, and Joan looks like she can't stand it! Rossano Brazzi is Joan's slimy husband, and while it's horrifying that Joan can't see through his terrible behavior, it's even more horrifying that his character does what he does. If you particularly like him, you should skip this movie.