The Diary of Anne Frank

I saw this on television when I was in the 7th grade and at the time knew absolutely NOTHING about the Holocaust. Yes, Melissa Gilbert's Anne is real perky, the whole movie is, well, a little perky, which only STUNNED the 12 year-old me when I found out these people were MURDERED. This shock got me very interested in this period of time. I believe this is an excellent introduction to a terrible and interesting and sad chapter in human history.

I liked this movie even though I found Melissa Gilbert to be quite irritating, and all the Van Danns to be miscasted. But I thought everyone else did a good acting job, especially Herr Schell and Miss Plowright. It's a good children's version of the story. It shows a terrible situation without the terror, and the hope that Anne Frank had about mankind.

I would like to correct Erik-32's belief that this is a bad adaptation of literature. In fact, it is almost identical, line-for-line, to not only the 1959 movie with Millie Perkins, but to the dramatic play script.

I grew up with this movie, and it once made me cry as I realized some my ancestors (I am of Jewish descent) may well have suffered the same situation. I would recommend this version for young children, because it's easy to understand the dramatizations. The 1959 movie would be more appropriate for older children and young adults.

The Diary of Anne Frank (1980) was an interesting made-for-t.v.-movie that I saw when our class was studying the Diary of Anne Frank in middle school. The production values were good and the acting was pretty solid for a t.v. movie. I was impressed by the acting of Melissa Gilbert. It was a lot better than I expected. I was used to her whiny performance on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE and other made-for-t.v.-films. Maximillian Schell was perfect as her father. The only thing that I didn't like was how short the film was. I wished it could have been longer. We barely got to know the characters. Their performances seemed rushed. Other than that nitpick, it was great all around.

Highly recommended.

This version of The Diary Of Anne Frank is absolutely brilliant and of course *very* sad too, especially as I am Jewish, myself. Melissa Gilbert is great as Anne Frank as are rest of the cast, including Maximilian Schell, who played Otto Frank and Scott Jacoby, who played Pete Van. The Diary Of Anne Frank is highly recommended to anyone of any age, as is the book, which I'm sure most people have read by now.

~ Anne Frank 1929-1945 ~

"We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same." - Anne Frank.