Editing George Stevens (section)

====''The Diary of Anne Frank''====
{{Main|The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film)}} 
In 1954, Stevens learned that [[20th Century Studios|Twentieth Century-Fox]] had held the film rights to ''[[The Diary of Anne Frank]]''.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=230}} By February 1957, it had been reported that Stevens signed a two-picture contract with the studio. [[Frances Goodrich]] and [[Albert Hackett]], who had written the [[The Diary of Anne Frank (play)|1955 play]], were hired to write the script adaptation.<ref name="StevensDGA" /> During pre-production, in September 1957, Stevens flew to [[Amsterdam]] for research and location scouting where he visited the attic inside the [[Anne Frank House|historical site]]. He also hired Tony van Renterghem as a technical advisor. Stevens reflected, "Whenever we hit a stumbling block in translating from the stage to the film, not only I did return to the original diary for help, but I also returned again to the concentration camp areas and roamed house in Amsterdam in the quarter where Anne lived where I talked with countless people who had survived the Nazi period there."{{sfn|Cronin|2004|p=22}} 

A worldwide casting search for the title role underwent, with Stevens auditioning more than 100,000 applicants.<ref name="TheNewPictures">{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/archive/6827477/cinema-new-picture-mar-30-1959/ |title=Cinema: The New Pictures |magazine=Time |date=March 30, 1959 |access-date=April 22, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919210433/https://time.com/archive/6827477/cinema-new-picture-mar-30-1959/ |archive-date=September 19, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Audrey Hepburn]] had been offered the part but she declined.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pryor |first=Thomas M. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/01/archives/audrey-hepburn-weighs-film-role-actress-is-uncommitted-on-offer-to.html |title=Audrey Hepburn Weighs Film Role |work=The New York Times |page=41 |date=May 1, 1957 |access-date=April 22, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250505184650/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/01/archives/audrey-hepburn-weighs-film-role-actress-is-uncommitted-on-offer-to.html |archive-date=May 5, 2025 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Millie Perkins]], a nineteen-year-old model from [[Fair Lawn, New Jersey]], was cast in her screen debut.<ref>{{cite news |last=Langer |first=Adam |url=https://forward.com/culture/536082/how-hollywood-found-anne-frank-millie-perkins-george-stevens/ |title=How Hollywood found its Anne Frank — and why it wasn't Audrey Hepburn |website=[[The Forward]] |date=February 14, 2023 |access-date=April 22, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130014044/https://forward.com/culture/536082/how-hollywood-found-anne-frank-millie-perkins-george-stevens/ |archive-date=January 30, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Joseph Schildkraut]], [[Gusti Huber]], and [[Lou Jacobi]] reprised their stage roles for the film. [[Shelley Winters]] campaigned for the role of [[Auguste van Pels|Petronella van Daan]]. An exact replica of the factory was built on the Twentieth Century-Fox studio backlot, where filming occurred from March to August 1958.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=251}} 

Released in March 1959, ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' received largely positive reviews from film critics.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=251}} A review in ''Time'' magazine called the film a "masterpiece" praising Stevens and the screenwriters for depicting "the courage and dignity that man can summon from within himself when the only logical course seems to be to lie down and die."<ref name="TheNewPictures" /> However, the film was a commercial disappointment, earning $2.3 million in estimated box office rentals from the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=1959: Probable Domestic Take |magazine=Variety |date=January 6, 1960 |page=34}}</ref> It won three [[32nd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]] in 1960, including [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for Shelley Winters.