Director John Frankenheimer always thought he’d die young. He identified with his literary heroes F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe-stars who burned brightly in their youth, then suffered early deaths. At 24, when Frankenheimer soared to success as the boy-genius of television’s golden age, he expected to meet a similar fate. He didn’t.
The 64-year-old director celebrates his 40th year of directing on March 26 with the HBO premiere of his latest movie, “Against the Wall.” The gritty recounting of the Attica prison uprising in 1971 stars Kyle MacLachlan, Samuel L. Jackson and Clarence Williams III. This year also marks the launching of his most meaningful project in two decades: a film covering the last 100 days of his close friend Robert Kennedy.
Frankenheimer’s films now number 26. Over the years, they’ve garnered 23 Oscar nominations and multiple Emmys. A series of tributes to Frankenheimer are scheduled throughout 1994 to remind audiences of the full value of his work. On Thursday, the Museum of Television and Radio will honor Frankenheimer, Robert Mulligan and Arthur Penn in a program devoted to pivotal “Directors of Live TV.” On March 22, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles will sponsor an evening celebrating Frankenheimer’s work.
The Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Television and Radio plan a joint tribute in New York City in the fall to recognize his contributions to movies and television. Audiences will view Frankenheimer’s feature films at MOMA, then walk across the street to watch the live anthology dramas he directed for TV. It’s the first time the two museums have joined forces for such a salute.
In one year alone, 1962, Frankenheimer gave audiences the eloquent “Birdman of Alcatraz,” starring Burt Lancaster in what is arguably his best performance; “The Manchurian Candidate,” a harrowing political thriller with Laurence Harvey as a brainwashed Korean War hero; and “All Fall Down,” a dark drama starring Warren Beatty as a narcissist and Eva Marie Saint as the older woman who makes the mistake of falling in love with him. He directed all three films before turning 32.
Younger audiences may know these classics thanks to television, video and film festivals, and they’ve had the opportunity to watch his later films-“52 Pickup,” “French Connection II”-in theaters. But most are not familiar with the major contribution he made to TV in the ’50s. Those halcyon days of directing live television molded the director’s craft and gave him some of his most daring accomplishments while he was still in his 20s.
In one six-year period, Frankenheimer led 152 live dramas for the prestigious “Playhouse 90,” “Climax” and other anthology series. That’s one approximately every two weeks. They included “The Comedian,” starring Mickey Rooney and written by Rod Serling; “Days of Wine and Roses,” with Charles Bickford and Piper Laurie; William Faulkner’s “Old Man,” adapted by Horton Foote; and Fitzgerald’s “The Last Tycoon,” starring Jack Palance.
Frankenheimer believes “the good old days are now.” He doesn’t like to see his old films; he doesn’t believe in dwelling on the past. But retrospectives invite reflection. So he agreed to an interview in the Beverly Hills home he shares with his wife of 30 years, former actress Evans Evans.
Lean, tan and intense, the 6-foot-3-inch director still cuts a striking figure, bearing a strong resemblance to an aging Gary Cooper.
Mulling over his chosen profession, Frankenheimer speaks fondly of fellow director William Friedkin’s observation that a filmmaker’s life is spent hanging over a cliff supported by a piece of string in his teeth. “Directing is not for the fainthearted,” Frankenheimer says with a shake of his head. “You’re not on the edge, you’re over the edge. Most of the time.”
When the red light flashed-signaling “live on the air”-there literally was no tomorrow.
“Someone once described it as summer stock in an iron lung,” Frankenheimer remembers with a smile. “The stress was unbelievable. The highs were huge. When you went on the air live, it was like opening night on Broadway, only there was no second night. If you made a mistake, that was it. There’s never been anything like it before or since.”
By all reports, Frankenheimer thrived on the chaos. A locked door preventing an actor’s entrance; an inebriated actor giving a speech from the last scene in the first, a collapsing piece of scenery-all of these only served to inspire Frankenheimer.
Martin Manulis, the producer of “Playhouse 90” for its first two years, mentored the director in those early days. Manulis confirms that when trouble arrived, Frankenheimer stood ready to greet it.
The director’s technical mastery bloomed despite the haphazard climate. “He was technically extraordinary, almost magical. It came out of his soul,” Manulis marvels.
Ron Simon, television curator of the Museum of Radio and Television, agrees. “He combines technical ingenuity with psychological insight. That’s how you know a Frankenheimer film when you see it. He gave an electricity to the screen. You wonder at some of the shots. They’re very complex for live TV.”
Propelled by his notion of an early appointment with death, Frankenheimer pushed every edge of every envelope. “I don’t want to go into a lot of details, but I lived my life to the limit. In every area,” Frankenheimer says with a gleam in his eye. Newspaper articles from the time report his arrest for driving 120 m.p.h.; details of a divorce; romantic entanglements; and all-night work sessions in his kitchen with colleagues.
If forced to describe Frankenheimer in a single word-then or now-it would surely be passionate. Manulis contends, “One of the things that glues you to him right away is his passion. He just has a wonderful way about him. He was enormously popular with crews. One of his strongest gifts is evoking a desire to do the best in those around him. He himself makes every effort to do the best he can. Nothing is too much, nothing is too tiring, nothing is too anything.”
“Against the Wall” is Clarence Williams III’s third movie with Frankenheimer, and the actor recognizes the power in that passion and admits it’s potentially intimidating. “He’s a very powerful man. You have to be able to stand up to that wave of power coming at you. It drives you to do the best work that you’re capable of.”
Frankenheimer will tell you that he loves stories of “the individual in crisis.” Axiomatic to that crisis is the need to preserve the dignity of the human spirit in life’s most trying circumstances. That theme is the common thread in films as different as the frenetic “Against the Wall” and the quietly elegant “Birdman of Alcatraz.”
In a relaxed moment, Frankenheimer opens up about the profound effect of Robert Kennedy’s death on his life. The director served as media adviser for Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign. They were fast friends and planned to spend the evening of June 6, 1968, at Frankenheimer’s Malibu home watching the election returns of the California primary. After a last-minute change in agenda, he drove Kennedy to the Ambassador Hotel, where he was shot.
Frankenheimer is very much a man of his generation. Though passionate about his work, his most intimate feelings hide behind a subtle reserve. But a visible change comes over him when Kennedy becomes the topic of conversation. He grimaces with pain when he discusses editing sequences of the HBO Attica film that show images from the ’60s, including Kennedy’s assassination. “It was totally devastating. I was very, very close to him. I really believed in him. That he made a difference. I say this to you now because I’ve had time to reflect on it. I’ve never said it before. For years and years and years after that, it was difficult for me to commit to anything or anyone. `Against the Wall’ is probably the first thing I’ve been fully committed to since his death.”
As the Kennedy project looms on the horizon, the best of John Frankenheimer’s work may be yet to come. The film covering the Massachusetts senator’s final days places at the director’s door an opportunity ripe with possibility. A chance to put the full force of his energy behind a story he believes in deeply.
“I feel better than I’ve felt in years. My head is in a very good place. I’m very fortunate to still be actively doing what I love doing. Life has been good. Being in this business, I’ve been able to do things that other people can only dream of.”
