10/10
"Diary of A Lifetime"
6 January 2005
No words are adequate enough to express the emotion that I feel each time I see this harrowing account of Jewish people hiding from Nazi terror in Holland.

I read that Director George Stevens assembled his cast to live in those quarters for a certain amount of time so as to get the idea of what confinement might actually mean.

Joseph Schildkraut gave a memorable performance. Where was his Oscar nomination? Were Academy voters afraid that if he had been nominated, he might have defeated Charlton Heston in "Ben-Hur?"

Ed Wynn brought comic relief with a gem of a dramatic performance as the condemned dentist. His losing the Oscar for best supporting actor was a slap in the face, especially for his many years in show business. Similarly, Lou Jacobi gave a tremendous performance as Shelley Winters' long suffering husband.(Who remembers Hugh Griffith in "Ben-Hur?") Few remember that he was the best supporting actor that year for the latter film.

What a great musical score reaching its height as the "fugitives" are about to be rounded up. That farewell kiss between Richard Beymer and Millie Perkins was wonderful.
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