Originally telecast November 12, 2000, on ABC, The Miracle Worker was the third film version of the classic biographical play by William Gibson. Following in the footsteps of
Patty Duke and
Melissa Gilbert as the young Helen Keller is Hallie Kate Eisenberg, who skyrocketed to TV fame in 2000 as star of a series of well-circulated cola commercials. Alison Elliot co-stars as Annie Sullivan, the dedicated, no-nonsense teacher who ultimately draws the blind, deaf, and mute Helen out of her lonely shell (literally kicking and screaming at times) and into the "normal" world. Filmed in Mississauga, Ontario, The Miracle Worker was shown as a two-hour episode of ABC's
The Wonderful World of Disney anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide