John Frankenheimer

Director

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his six-hour Archive interview, John Frankenheimer (1930-2002) gives a vivid description of his early television work as an assistant director on You Are There, Danger and Edward R. Murrow's Person to Person. He speaks about his first directorial assignments on You Are There and Danger and recalls making a name for himself directing live anthology dramas ("The Comedian" and "Days of Wine and Roses") on Climax! and Playhouse 90. He discusses his feature film work and his return to television to direct the acclaimed programs Andersonville for TNT and George Wallace for HBO. Michael Rosen conducted the two-part interview on March 21 and April 13, 2000 in Century City, CA.

"I knew that I wanted to have something to do with the camera. I didn't know whether I wanted to be a cameraman, or whether I wanted to direct. Directing, in a sense, was some crazed thing you never thought about. I mean, yeah, it would be great, but it was like trying to be President of the United States."

Highlights

John Frankenheimer on knowing he was good with a camera

01:39

John Frankenheimer on directing Playhouse 90

27:48

John Frankenheimer on his signature shot

00:30

John Frankenheimer on advice for aspiring directors

03:13

Full Interview

Chapter 1

On his childhood and early influences; on playing tennis and racing cars; on radio shows and movies he enjoyed; on the 1939 World's Fair; on attending Williams College

On entering the Air Force (Korean War) after college; on getting into acting and the Air Force motion picture squadron; on getting transferred to Burbank; on writing for Harvey Howard Ranch Roundup for Channel 13 Los Angeles

On making documentaries for the Air Force; on filming Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier; on getting a job with John Ford and getting into television

Chapter 2

On visiting the set of The Dennis Day Show; on moving back to New York an applying for associate director jobs

On his start as an associate director at CBS; on working on Lamp Unto My Feet; on getting promoted to assistant director; on observing The Garry Moore Show and working on Douglas Edwards and the News

On becoming associate director and the format of You Are There

Chapter 3

On working as associate director on You Are There and on Danger; on working on Person to Person and elections with Edward R. Murrow

On getting into directing while working on Danger

Chapter 4

On Hubbell Robinson asking him to direct at CBS; on the Hollywood Blacklist; on going to the theater

On staging, directing and casting You Are There

On directing Danger; on CBS' first color television broadcast

Chapter 5

On directing Danger

On moving to California to direct Cllimax!; on sponsor interference on Climax! and the directing style he developled; on his setup in the studio

Chapter 6

On directing Climax! and how he staged scenes; on a typical production day and week at Climax!; on the challenges of the color episodes of Climax!; on the stress of directing live television

On identifying other directors' styles and competing with each other to get better; on specific episodes of Climax!

Chapter 7

On directing the "First and Last" episode of Climax!

On directing the "Deal a Blow" episode of Climax!; on the accomplishment he felt from directing

Chapter 8

On directing the very first episode of Playhouse 90

On the production schedule for Playhouse 90; on directing tips from mentor David O. Selznick

Chapter 9

On techniques he used for directing Playhouse 90; on staging and blocking Playhouse 90

On run-throughs and notes from producers on Playhouse 90; on specific episodes of Playhouse 90

Chapter 10

On Mickey Rooney in "The Comedian" episode of Playhouse 90; on casting; on directing "The Last Tycoon," and "Clash by Night" episodes of Playhouse 90

On the introduction of videotape; On directing "The Days of Wine and Roses" on Playhouse 90

Chapter 11

On directing Playhouse 90's "The Days of Wine and Roses"; on producers Fred Coe and Martin Manulis; on episodes "The Old Man" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls"

On leaving Playhouse 90; on directing The Dupont Show and the final episode of Playhouse 90

On signing on to direct Breakfast at Tiffany's; on directing films

Chapter 12

On meeting Ingrid Bergman; On directing The Manchurian Candidate

On meeting and filming Bobby Kennedy; on returning to television for HBO's The Rainmaker

On how directing Against the Wall for HBO turned his life around; on directing Andersonville and George Wallace

Chapter 13

On advice for aspiring directors; on how technology and director's commentary can add value to films; on how television has changed over the years

On how important it is for him to keep working; on his favorite projects

Shows

Against the Wall

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John Frankenheimer on directing HBO's Against the Wall

05:53

Andersonville

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John Frankenheimer on directing Andersonville

02:07

Best of Broadway

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John Frankenheimer on turning down producer Martin Manulis to do camera work on an episode of Best of Broadway

02:16

Climax!

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John Frankenheimer on directing Climax!