Hollywood Flashback: Nancy Hamilton Made Oscars History With ‘Helen Keller in Her Story’

Many of the documentaries in this year’s Oscar race were directed by women, among them Daughters, I Am: Celine Dion, Dahomey, Frida, Black Box Diaries, A New Kind of Wilderness, The Last of the Sea Women and Sugarcane. Such was not the case 70 years ago, when Nancy Hamilton made Helen Keller in Her Story (also known as The Unconquered) and became the first woman to win the best documentary feature Oscar.

Before taking on the life story of the famous disability rights advocate and humanitarian who was blind and deaf, Hamilton had made a name for herself in theater thanks to her acting, songwriting and playwriting talents. But Helen Keller in Her Story proved to be a different feat, one that Keller herself asked Hamilton to undertake after the two developed a close friendship. As director and producer, Hamilton treated the story with care, using archival and newer footage of Keller, who was 74 at the time, to chronicle her remarkable journey of becoming an author, speaker and activist despite losing her sight and hearing as a toddler.

Actress Katharine Cornell, who had introduced Hamilton to Keller, narrated the documentary, and Hamilton’s longtime music collaborator, Morgan Lewis — they co-wrote “How High the Moon” — composed the score. The film was the only one Hamilton made, but her famous jazz standard can be heard in dozens of movies and television shows to this day.

This story first appeared in a December stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.