The Essentials: The 5 Best John Frankenheimer Films

Few filmmakers these days name John Frankenheimer as an influence. He was never particularly trendy, never embraced by the auteurists or overtly paid homage by those who came after. In part, it’s because of some of his later projects; the commercial failure of thriller “Black Sunday” in 1977 drove him to alcoholism that lasted for several years (it was only when he was reduced to drinking on the set of martial arts actioner “The Challenge” in 1981 that he checked himself into rehab), and some of his later projects, including his final film, “Reindeer Games,” and the famous disaster “The Island Of Doctor Moreau” (on which the helmer replaced Richard Stanley several weeks into production) meant his critical reputation took a hit.

But Frankenheimer was also a master of the American thriller, with an extraordinary run in the 1960s, and many underrated subsequent highlights, from “French Connection II,” multiple HBO and TNT movies, and 1998’s gripping “Ronin,” which includes one of the great screen car chases. He was never a showy filmmaker, but one with a clean, clear, unfussy style, and a serious attention to detail, that helped him produce his fair share of classics. A decade ago today, on July 6th, 2002, only a month after dropping out of the director’s chair on the ultimately ill-fated “Exorcist: The Beginning” for health reasons, Frankenheimer passed away from a stroke, at the age of 72. To mark the anniversary, we’ve picked out our five favorites from the Frankenheimer filmography, and you can find them below. Did we neglect your favorite in our selections? Weigh in in the comments section below.

“Birdman of Alcatraz” (1962)
For an all-too brief four-year period, Burt Lancaster and John Frankenheimer collaborations were looking as if they were going to be continuous and fruitful ala Robert De Niro & Martin Scorsese. After their inaugural team-up on 1961’s morality crime drama “The Young Savages,”  the duo hit certifiable pay dirt on their second time out with the “Birdman of Alcatraz.” Nominated for four Oscar baubles, including Best Actor for Lancaster (he would lose to Gregory Peck for “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but had already won in 1960 for “Elmer Gantry“), ‘Birdman’  centers on the true-life story of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate known for his affection with birds on the inside. A convicted murderer and intractably rebellious young inmate, Lancaster butts heads with the overbearing warden (Karl Malden) and then kills a guard in anger when his mother is denied a visit.  Eventually sentenced to solitary confinement for the rest of his life ‘Birdman’ then chronicles Lancaster’s redemptive transformation from recalcitrant prisoner to withdrawn internee who becomes an ornithologist inside, all the while hounded by the autocratic warden who eventually transfers him to Alcatraz; a prison that will not permit him to keep his beloved birds. Co-starring Telly Savalas and Thelma Ritter, who both were nominated for their supporting turns as fellow prisoner and mother respectively, Frankenheimer’s simple yet effective and empathetic craftsmanship creates a quietly moving story that placed the film on The AFI’s “100 Years…100 Cheers” list. All the more impressive as Frankenheimer was forced to take over the film from filmmaker Charles Crichton and compelled to shoot (by Lancaster, also the producer), the long version of the screenplay that resulted in an initial four-and-a-half-hour movie when it was first cut. Two-time Oscar winner Burnett Guffey was also nominated for Best Cinematography, making it five nominations in total.