138-574: John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964), Seconds (1966), Grand Prix (1966), French Connection II (1975), Black Sunday (1977), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), and Ronin (1998). He won four Emmy Awards – three consecutive – in
276-400: A cantaloupe , which was a crop that helped save the town's life when the land boom collapsed. In 1931, the original city seal was replaced and in 1978 the modern seal was adopted. The new seal shows City Hall beneath a banner. An airplane symbolizes the city's aircraft industry, the strip of film and stage light represent motion picture production. The bottom portion depicts the sun rising over
414-419: A "genius". Stroud is later visited by bird-lover Stella Johnson and agrees to go into business, marketing his bird remedies. Stella and he later marry, but his mother disapproves. This causes a permanent rift between mother and son and further disowns him by refusing to support his release petition. He is abruptly transferred to the federal penitentiary at Alcatraz , a new maximum-security institution where he
552-511: A ****, a ****." Warden James F. Maroney declined United Artists' invitation to show the film in Alcatraz to inmates, after a special screening was set up for him and three of his staff. In explaining his reasons, Maroney said that "prison life is always fascinating to people who never have been confined in a prison." He went on to say that he and his staff "found the film interesting and occasionally, but not always, realistic", but suggested that
690-512: A 100-foot-wide (30 m), nearly three-mile-long (4.8 km) right-of-way to the railroad. This decision helped shape Burbank’s future, positioning it as a vital transportation and commerce hub within the Valley. The first train passed through Burbank on April 5, 1874. A boom created by a rate war between the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific brought people streaming into California . By 1886,
828-501: A U.S. Treasury prohibition officer. Through the decades, the department has grown and evolved, adapting to the changing needs of the city. Today, the Burbank Police Department is a well-respected agency, known for its professionalism and commitment to serving the community. The department has a diverse range of specialized units, including a SWAT team, K-9 unit, air support, and a detective bureau. In 1928, Burbank
966-571: A baccalaureate in English from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. As captain of the tennis team at Williams, Frankenheimer briefly considered a professional career in tennis, but reconsidered: I gave that up when I really started acting at eighteen or nineteen, because there wasn't any time to do both ... my interest was more toward acting in those days and an actor is what I wanted to be. I did act at college and summer stock for
1104-507: A cinema of exactitude rather than spontaneity.” “More and more I think that our society is being manipulated and controlled...the most important aspect is that [in 1962] this country was just recovering from the McCarthy era and nothing had ever been filmed about it. I wanted to do a picture that showed how ludicrous the whole McCarthy far-Right syndrome was and how dangerous the far-Left syndrome is... The Manchurian Candidate dealt with
1242-519: A city was a crucial milestone in the area's progress, triggering a fresh phase of growth and advancement. This cityhood meant that Burbank gained the ability to govern itself, making decisions independently regarding its development and expansion. It also granted the city greater authority over its valuable resources, such as land, water, and other assets. With this newfound control, Burbank could shape its own future and manage its local affairs more effectively. The first city seal adopted by Burbank featured
1380-416: A city ... Everything done at Burbank has been done right. The citizens of Burbank had to put up a $ 48,000 subsidy to get the reluctant Pacific Electric Streetcar officials to agree to extend the line from Glendale to Burbank. The first Red Car rolled into Burbank on September 6, 1911, with a tremendous celebration. That was about two months after the town became a city. The "Burbank Review" newspaper ran
1518-561: A communist seminar) and a subjective one (the soldiers attending an innocuous meeting of the Ladies’ Garden Society). This tour de force was a pure distillation of Frankenheimer's television technique, opening with a self-conscious 360-degree pan that utilised the ‘wild’ sets which allowed TV cameras to move into seemingly impossible positions.” In 1968, Frankenheimer acknowledged that the methods he used on television were “the same kind of style I used on The Manchurian Candidate . It
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#17327728049051656-403: A cost of $ 200,000. Burbank, who came to California in his early thirties, died in 1895 at the age of 73. The theater continued to operate but struggled for many years and by August 1900 had its thirteenth manager. The new manager's name was Oliver Morosco , who was already known as a successful theatrical impresario. He put the theater on the path to prosperity for many years. Though the theater
1794-544: A court decision known as the "Great Partition" was made in 1871 dissolving the Rancho San Rafael. He eventually became known as one of the largest and most successful sheep raisers in southern California, and as a result, he closed his dentistry practice and invested heavily in real estate in Los Angeles. When the area that became Burbank was settled in the 1870s and 1880s, the streets were aligned along what
1932-595: A cross-country tour. When in San Francisco at the Mark Hopkins Hotel , he invited questions from journalists about Robert Stroud. At the press conference, Lancaster made his views clear that he believed Stroud should be released, even offering to visit Washington to try and use his influence to help the cause. When asked by an interviewer if some of the film's profits would be used to help fund Stroud's release, Lancaster shouted at him, "You're nothing but
2070-529: A decommissioned National Guard base in Griffith Park . The government also set up trailer camps at Hollywood Way and Winona Avenue in Burbank and in nearby Sun Valley . But new homes were built, the economy improved, and the military presence in Burbank continued to expand. Lockheed employees numbered 66,500 and expanded from aircraft to include spacecraft, missiles, electronics and shipbuilding. Burbank
2208-518: A failure and focused on getting a Pacific Electric Streetcar line into Burbank. Laid out and surveyed with a modern business district surrounded by residential lots, wide boulevards were carved out as the "Los Angeles Express" printed: Burbank, the town, being built in the midst of the new farming community, has been laid out in such a manner as to make it by and by an unusually pretty town. The streets and avenues are wide and, all have been handsomely graded. All improvements being made would do credit to
2346-469: A group of speculators had purchased much of Burbank's land holdings for $ 250,000, possibly due to a severe drought that had made it challenging to sustain his livestock, killing approximately 1,000 sheep due to the lack of water and grass that year. The group of speculators who bought the acreage formed the Providencia Land, Water, and Development Company and began developing the land, calling
2484-400: A period of many hours, according to Martha Gaddis. Gaddis served as technical director for the filming of his book and spent all his time on the film set from September 1960. Unlike Lancaster, who requested that he remain on set at all times to ensure an accurate portrayal of his character, Gaddis was "eager to be released" after 6 months on set. In publicizing the film, Lancaster went on
2622-511: A petition campaign by admirers, Stroud is eventually transferred to another prison in Missouri . During the move, he meets several reporters and displays a range of knowledge on more than just birds, such as the technical details of a passing jet aircraft. He meets author Thomas E. Gaddis , who wrote a book based on his life. British director Charles Crichton was picked for this film and his United States debut, but he clashed with Lancaster and
2760-526: A population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank , who established a sheep ranch there in 1867. Burbank consists of two distinct areas: a downtown/foothill section, in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains , and the flatland section. Numerous media and entertainment companies are headquartered or have significant production facilities in Burbank—often called the "Media Capital of
2898-484: A remote base in West Texas , they prepare to commandeer the nation's communication networks and seize control of Congress. When Scott's JCS aide Colonel Martin “Jiggs” Casey ( Kirk Douglas ) discovers the planned coup he is appalled, and convinces President Lyman as to the gravity of the threat. Lyman mobilizes his own governmental loyalists, and a clash over Constitutional principles between Lyman and Scott plays out in
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#17327728049053036-488: A respected expert in avian diseases though the study of canaries. Frankenheimer traces Stroud's emergence from his anti-social misanthropy towards a humane maturity, despite the brutal conditions of his incarceration. In 1962, the production and filming of Birdman of Alcatraz was already underway when United Artists enlisted Frankenheimer to replace British director Charles Crichton . As such, key production decisions had already been made, and Frankenheimer regarded himself as
3174-652: A screenplay by Rod Serling , dramatizes an attempted military coup d’état in the United States, set in 1974. The perpetrators are led by General James M. Scott ( Burt Lancaster ), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) a virulently anti-Communist authoritarian. When US President Jordan Lyman ( Fredric March ) negotiates a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union—an act that Scott considers treasonable—Scott mobilizes his military cabal. Operating at
3312-672: A small storage yard in its rear. This depot was destroyed by fire in 1942 and in 1947 a small passenger shelter was constructed. On May 26, 1942, the California State Railroad Commission proposed an extension of the Burbank Line to the Lockheed plant. The proposal called for a double-track line from Arden Junction along Glenoaks to San Fernando Boulevard and Empire Way, just northeast of Lockheed's main facility. But this extension never materialized and
3450-581: A special edition that day advising all local residents that: On Wednesday, the first electric car running on a regular passenger-carrying schedule left the Pacific Electric station at Sixth and Main streets, Los Angeles, for Burbank at 6:30 a.m. and the first car from Burbank to Los Angeles left at 6:20 a.m. the same day. Upon arrival of this car on its maiden trip, many citizens gave evidence of their great joy by ringing bells and discharging firearms. A big crowd of both men and women boarded
3588-600: A stronger base for agricultural development. The original plot of the new townsite of Burbank extended from what is now Burbank Boulevard on the north, to Grandview Avenue in Glendale, California on the south, and from the top of the Verdugo Hills on the east to what is now known as Clybourn Avenue on the west. At the same time, the arrival of the railroad provided immediate access for the farmers to bring crops to market. Packing houses and warehouses were built along
3726-470: A very high regard for my [television] crews, because I hand pick them; on The Young Stranger I was given a crew, and I thought they were terrible and treated me very badly. It made me very bitter about the whole experience ... I felt very confined, constricted and a bad director ... There were so many things I thought I could have done but didn't do ... As a result of this experience I was fed up with films and went back to television. Frankenheimer adds that in
3864-652: A year. But I was really not a very good actor. I was quite shy and quite stiff... After graduating Williams College, Frankenheimer was drafted into the Air Force and assigned to the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), serving in the Pentagon mailroom at Washington, D. C. He quickly applied for and was transferred, without any formal qualifications, to an Air Force film squadron in Burbank, California . It
4002-499: A “hired director” with little direct control over the production. Producer Harold Hecht and screenwriter Guy Trosper insisted on an exhaustive adaption of the Gaddis biography. The filmed rough cut that emerged was over four hours in length. When simply editing the work was ruled out as impracticable, the script was rewritten and the film largely re-shot, producing a final cut of 2 ½ hours. According to Frankenheimer, he had an option in
4140-415: Is brainwashed by Chinese and Russian captors after his Army platoon are imprisoned. He returns to civilian life in the United States, where he becomes an unwitting “ sleeper ” assassin in an international communist conspiracy to subvert and overthrow the U.S. government. The film co-starred Laurence Harvey (as Sergeant Raymond Shaw), Janet Leigh , James Gregory and John McGiver . Angela Lansbury , as
4278-419: Is a largely fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud , who was sentenced to solitary confinement after having killed a prison guard. A federal prison inmate , he became known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his studies of birds, which had taken place when he was incarcerated at Leavenworth Prison where he was allowed to keep birds in jail. Although known as "The Birdman of Alcatraz", Stroud
John Frankenheimer - Misplaced Pages Continue
4416-487: Is based on novelist Evan Hunter 's A Matter of Conviction (1959). United Artists publicity executives changed the box-office title to the vaguely lurid The Young Savages, to which Frankenheimer objected. The story involves the attempted political exploitation of a brazen murder involving Puerto Rican and Italian youth gangs set in New York City's Spanish Harlem . District Attorney, Dan Cole ( Edward Andrews ), who
4554-504: Is cinematically a significant advance over Frankenheimer's similarly themed first film effort The Young Stranger (1957). Film historian Gerald Pratley attributes this to Frankenheimer's insistence on hand-picking his leading technical support for the project, including set designer Bert Smidt, cinematographer Lionel Lindon and scenarist JP Miller . Pratley observed: " The Young Savages is far more alive and real than [ The Young Stranger ]...the youths might well be some of those we met in
4692-470: Is imprisoned as a young man for committing a murder in Alaska . He is shown as a rebellious inmate, fighting against a rigid prison system; while being transported with other prisoners by train, he breaks open the window to allow the suffocating inmates to breathe. He comes into conflict with Harvey Shoemaker, warden of Leavenworth Prison . While in jail, Stroud learns that his mother tried to visit him, but
4830-547: Is not permitted to keep birds. Although growing elderly, he remains independent, writing a history of the U.S. penal system that is suppressed by Shoemaker, now warden of the Rock. Still at odds with authority, Stroud helps end a prison rebellion in 1946 by throwing out the two firearms acquired by the convicts. He assures the authorities that they can now re-enter the premises without risk of being shot. Shoemaker acknowledges Stroud never lied to him and takes him at his word. After
4968-753: Is now Olive Avenue, the road to the Cahuenga Pass and downtown Los Angeles. These were largely the roads the Native Americans traveled and the early settlers took their produce down to Los Angeles to sell and to buy supplies along these routes. The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1876, linking San Francisco and Los Angeles, marked a turning point for the San Fernando Valley , including what would become Burbank. A shrewd businessman, Dr. Burbank sold
5106-620: Is prepare a shot for the director. He would tell you what he wanted and you would get it from the cameraman ... You'd also be responsible for the timing of the show. But I think – well, I know – I was born with a good eye for the camera and so the job really was playing right into what I would call my own strength. Television scripts [of the 1950s] exploring problems at the societal level were systematically ignored (i.e. racial discrimination, structural poverty, and other social ills). Instead, critics complain, too many "golden age" dramas were little more than simplistic morality tales focusing on
5244-423: Is seeking the state governorship, sends assistant D. A. Hank Bell ( Burt Lancaster ) to gather evidence to secure a conviction. Bell, who grew up in the tenement district, has escaped from his impoverished origins to achieve social and economic success. He initially adopts a cynical hostility towards the youths he investigates, which serves his own career aims. The narrative explores the human and legal complexities of
5382-453: Is vaguely moralistic and conformist, and the scenes of the Beatty character's comeuppance contrived in the extreme. All Fall Down is saved by the portrayals of Eva Marie Saint, quiet and gracious, as the unfortunate Echo, and Angela Lansbury, extravagant and outlandish, as Berry-Berry's mother, within whom incestuous fires appear to blaze. Critics have noted that Annabell Willart (Lansbury) was
5520-407: Is very expensive. Those were the days before Mayor Lindsay when you had to pay off every other cop on the beat…" The coming of age film All Fall Down was both filmed and released while Frankenheimer's Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) was in post-production and his The Manchurian Candidate (1962) was in pre-production. The picture was scripted by William Inge , who also wrote Splendor in
5658-541: Is widely considered a preeminent figure in the so-called " Golden Age of Television ". Film historian Stephen Bowie offers this appraisal of Frankenheimer's legacy from the "Golden Age" of television: Along with Sidney Lumet, John Frankenheimer was the major director to emerge from and be influenced by the aesthetics of live television drama, which flourished briefly in the US ... Frankenheimer's later fame, and his oft-repeated nostalgia for live television, have designated him as
John Frankenheimer - Misplaced Pages Continue
5796-596: The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star . Lockheed later created the U2 , SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk at its Burbank-based " Skunk Works ". The name came from a secret, ill-smelling backwoods distillery called "Skonk Works" in cartoonist Al Capp 's Li'l Abner comic strip. Dozens of hamburger stands, restaurants and shops appeared around Lockheed to accommodate the employees. Some of
5934-649: The State Legislature to incorporate as a city on July 8, 1911, with businessman Thomas Story as the mayor . Voters approved incorporation by a vote of 81 to 51. At the time, the Board of Trustees governed the community which numbered 500 residents. With the action of the Legislature, Burbank thus became the first independent city in the San Fernando Valley. The establishment of Burbank as
6072-529: The U-2 spy planes . The city contains the largest IKEA in the U.S. The history of the Burbank area can be traced back to the Tongva people, the indigenous people of the area, who lived in the region for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. In the late 18th century and the early 19th century, Spanish explorers and mission priests arrived in the Los Angeles area. The city of Burbank occupies land that
6210-617: The United Airport was the largest commercial airport in the Los Angeles area until it was eclipsed in 1946 by the Los Angeles Municipal Airport (now Los Angeles International Airport ) in Westchester when that facility (the former Mines Field ) commenced commercial operations. Amelia Earhart , Wiley Post and Howard Hughes were among the notable aviation pioneers to pilot aircraft in and out of
6348-704: The " Golden Mall ". In 1887, the Burbank Furniture Manufacturing Company was the town's first factory. In 1917, the arrival of the Moreland Motor Truck Company changed the town and resulted in growing a manufacturing and industrial workforce. Within a few years, Moreland trucks were seen bearing the label, "Made in Burbank." Watt Moreland, its owner, had relocated his plant to Burbank from Los Angeles. He selected 25 acres (100,000 m ) at San Fernando Blvd. and Alameda Avenue. Moreland invested $ 1 million in
6486-600: The "Fawkes’ Folly" aerial trolley. He and his wife Ellen C. Fawkes secured two patents for the nation's first monorail . The two formed the Aerial Trolley Car Company and set about building a prototype they believed would revolutionize transportation. Joseph Fawkes called the trolley his Aerial Swallow, a cigar-shaped, suspended monorail driven by a propeller that he promised would carry passengers from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles in 10 minutes. The first open car accommodated about 20 passengers and
6624-463: The "poverty, violence and despair of city life" with a restraint such that "the events and characters seem consistently believable." Frankenheimer recalled "I shot The Young Savages mainly to show people that I could make a movie, and while it was not completely successful, my point was proved...The film was made on a relatively cheap budget and shooting on location in New York for a Hollywood company
6762-581: The 1950s to make a television adaption of the Stroud story, but CBS was warned off by the Federal Bureau of Prisons , and the project was dropped. Frankenheimer's 1962 political thriller The Manchurian Candidate is widely regarded as his most remarkable cinematic work. Biographer Gerald Prately observes that “the impact of this film was enormous. With it, John Frankenheimer became a force to be reckoned with in contemporary cinema; it established him as
6900-500: The 1990s for directing the television movies Against the Wall , The Burning Season , Andersonville , and George Wallace , the last of which also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film . Frankenheimer's nearly 40 feature films and over 50 plays for television were notable for their influence on contemporary thought. He became a pioneer of the "modern-day political thriller", having begun his career at
7038-528: The Fifties' obsession with disaffected teenagers: There was an especially true feeling to the problem of the 16-year-old boy who became "The Young Stranger" ... This film, in 1957, at the height of the problem-teen vogue , sounded a quiet note of contrast. In part, its genuine quality might be put down to the fact [both director and writer] were in their mid-twenties – much nearer to the age of their central character [James MacArthur], about twenty himself at
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#17327728049057176-588: The Grass (1961) and concerns character Berry-Berry ( Warren Beatty ), an emotionally irresponsible hustler, and his adoring younger brother Clinton ( Brandon deWilde ), to whom Berry-Berry appears as a romantic Byronesque figure. The older brother's cruel treatment of Echo O'Brien ( Eva Marie Saint ), his lover who becomes pregnant, disabuses the naive Clinton of Berry-Berry's perfection. His anguished insight permits Clinton to achieve emotional maturity and independence. Film critic David Walsh comments: " All Fall Down
7314-465: The Lockheed company. The new owners staked their limited funds to develop an all-metal, twin-engine transport, the Model 10 Electra. It first flew in 1934 and quickly gained worldwide notice. A brochure celebrating Burbank's 50th anniversary as a city touted Lockheed payroll having "nearly 1,200" by the end of 1936. The aircraft company's hiring contributed to what was a favorable employment environment at
7452-459: The MWD. The town grew steadily, weathering the drought and depression that hit Los Angeles in the 1890s and in 20 years, the community had a bank , newspaper, high school and a thriving business district with a hardware store, livery stable, dry goods store, general store, and bicycle repair shop. The city's first newspaper, Burbank Review , was established in 1906. The populace petitioned
7590-544: The McCarthy era, the whole idea of fanaticism, the far-Right and the far-Left being really the same thing, and the idiocy of it. I wanted to show that and I think we did.”- John Frankenheimer in Gerald Pratley's The Cinema of John Frankenheimer (1969) The Manchurian Candidate was released in the post- Red Scare period of the early 1960s, when anti-Communist political ideology still prevailed. Just one month after
7728-599: The Mexican leader Pio Pico . New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, and from 1824, Rancho San Rafael existed within the new Mexican Republic. David Burbank purchased over 4,600 acres (19 km ) of the former Verdugo holding and another 4,600 acres (19 km ) of the Rancho Providencia in 1867. Burbank built a ranch house and began to raise sheep and grow wheat on
7866-513: The NBCUniversal building. The broadcast network The CW is also headquartered in Burbank. "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" was stated often as a joke on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , as both shows were taped at NBC's former studios . The Hollywood Burbank Airport was the location of Lockheed's Skunk Works , which produced some of the most secret and technologically advanced airplanes, including
8004-742: The Oval Office, with the President denouncing the General as a traitor to the US Constitution. When Scott is exposed publicly, his military supporters abandon him, and the conspiracy collapses. Frankenheimer points to the topical continuity of his political thrillers: “Seven Days in May was as important to me as The Manchurian Candidate . I felt that the voice of the military was much too strong...the General MacArthur syndrome
8142-599: The Valley, and a company known as the San Fernando Valley Home Telephone Company was formed, based in Glendale. This company provided telephone service to the entire Valley, connecting communities and facilitating growth. Home Telephone competed with Tropico, and in 1918 both were taken over by Pacific Telephone Company. At this time, there were an estimated 300 hand-cranked telephones in Burbank. The telephone network helped to connect
8280-823: The Verdugo Mountains. In 1915, major sections of the Valley were annexed, helping Los Angeles to more than double its size that year. But Burbank was among a handful of towns with their own water wells and remained independent. By 1916, Burbank had 1,500 residents. In 1922, the Burbank Chamber of Commerce was organized. In 1923, the United States Postal Service reclassified the city from the rural village mail delivery to city postal delivery service . Burbank's population had grown significantly, from less than 500 people in 1908 to over 3,000 citizens. The city's business district grew on
8418-514: The World" and only a few miles northeast of Hollywood —including Warner Bros. Entertainment , The Walt Disney Company , Nickelodeon Animation Studio , The Burbank Studios , Cartoon Network Studios with the West Coast branch of Cartoon Network , and Insomniac Games . Universal plays a key role in attractions and entertainment in Burbank, with its theme park Universal Studios Hollywood and
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#17327728049058556-604: The aircraft industry and a major airport in Burbank during the 1930s set the stage for major growth and development, which was to continue at an accelerated pace into World War II and well into the postwar era. Brothers Allan Loughead and Malcolm Loughead , founders of the Lockheed Aircraft Company , opened a Burbank manufacturing plant in 1928 and, a year later, aviation designer Jack Northrop built his Flying Wing airplane in his own plant nearby. Dedicated on Memorial Day Weekend (May 30 – June 1), 1930,
8694-422: The area, including the city's Magnolia Park development. Around this time, major employers began to cut payrolls and some plants closed their doors. The Burbank City Council responded by slashing 10% of the wages of city workers. Money was put into an Employee Relief Department to help the unemployed. Local civic and religious groups sprang into action and contributed with food as homeless camps began to form along
8832-406: The average rating is 7.3/10. One of the first critic's reviews of the film by Philip K. Scheuer praised it as "one of the finest pieces of film-making to come out of Hollywood in many a disappointing day", describing Lancaster's performance as "an astonishing tour de force." In discussing the film's prison setting, Variety wrote, "Birdman reverses the formula and brings a new breadth and depth to
8970-418: The bird, and starts a trend. Some other convicts and he acquire and care for birds, such as canaries , given from outside sources. Stroud develops a collection of birds and cages. When the birds fall ill, he conducts experiments and comes up with a cure. As the years pass, Stroud becomes an expert on bird diseases and publishes a book on the subject. His writings are so impressive that a doctor describes him as
9108-497: The boundaries of what could be done in live television ... As the live TV director who took the medium in an explicitly cinematic direction, Frankenheimer was actually the least typical. Frankenheimer's earliest films addressed contemporary issues such as "juvenile delinquency, criminality and the social environment" and are represented by The Young Stranger (1957), The Young Savages (1961) and All Fall Down (1962). Frankenheimer's first foray into filmmaking occurred while he
9246-485: The burgeoning entertainment industry drew more people to the area, and Burbank's population doubled between 1930 and 1940 to 34,337. Burbank saw its greatest growth during World War II due to Lockheed's presence, employing some 80,800 men and women producing aircraft such as the Lockheed Hudson , Lockheed P-38 Lightning , Lockheed PV-1 Ventura , Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress , and America's first jet fighter,
9384-485: The case and Bell's struggle to confront his personal and social prejudices and commitments. The film's arresting opening sequence depicting a killing, which is key to the plot, reveals Frankenheimer's origins in television. The action, "brilliantly filmed and edited", occurs preliminary to the credits, and is accompanied by an impelling soundtrack by composer David Amram , serving to quickly rivet audience interest. The Young Savages , though focusing on juvenile delinquency,
9522-462: The city limits after sunset. Following a San Fernando Valley land bust during the Depression, real estate began to bounce back in the mid-1930s. In Burbank, a 100-home construction project began in 1934. By 1936, property values in the city exceeded pre-Depression levels. By 1950, the population had reached 78,577. From 1967 to 1989, a six-block stretch of San Fernando Blvd. was pedestrianized as
9660-484: The city's Southern Pacific railroad tracks. Hundreds began to participate in self-help cooperatives, trading skills such as barbering, tailoring, plumbing or carpentry, for food and other services. By 1930, as First National Studios , Andrew Jergens Company , The Lockheed Company , McNeill and Libby Canning Company , the Moreland Company, and Northrop Aircraft Corporation opened facilities in Burbank and
9798-424: The commission moved on to other projects in the San Fernando Valley. The Red Car line in Burbank was abandoned and the tracks removed in 1956. In 1923, Burbank transitioned from a marshal’s office to a police department. The early department consisted of only a handful of officers who were responsible for maintaining law and order in a rapidly growing community. The first police chief was George Cole, who later became
9936-601: The early 1960s.” Frankenheimer's “terrifying parable” of the American political milieu was sufficiently well-received to avoid its summary rejection by distributors. The Manchurian Candidate , due its subject matter and its proximity to the Kennedy assassination is inextricably linked to that event. Frankenheimer acknowledged as much when, in 1968, he described The Manchurian Candidate as “a horribly prophetic film. It's frightening what's happened in our country since that film
10074-558: The eldest of three siblings, struggled to assert himself with his domineering father. Growing up in New York City he became fascinated with cinema at an early age, and recalls avidly attending movies every weekend. Frankenheimer reports that in 1938, at the age of seven or eight, he attended a 25-episode, 7 1 ⁄ 2 hour marathon of The Lone Ranger accompanied by his aunt. In 1947, he graduated from La Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, Long Island, New York, and in 1951 he earned
10212-401: The emerging television industry. His earnestness impressed Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) television executives, landing him a job in the summer of 1953 to serve as a director of photography on The Garry Moore Show . Frankenheimer recalls his apprenticeship at CBS: When I stop and look back on [ The Garry Moore Show ] ... I was particularly well-suited for that job ... what you would do
10350-557: The everyday problems and conflicts of weak individuals confronted by personal shortcomings such as alcoholism, greed, impotence, and divorce, for example.... [I]t is important to note that the "golden age" coincided with the Cold War era and McCarthyism and that cold-war references, such as avoiding communism and loving America, were frequently incorporated in teleplays of the mid to late 1950s. – Anna Everett in "Golden Age" Museum of Broadcast Communications Frankenheimer
10488-467: The factory and machinery and employed 500 people. It was the largest truck maker west of the Mississippi. Within the next several decades, factories would dot the area landscape. What had mainly been an agricultural and ranching area would get replaced with a variety of manufacturing industries. Moreland operated from 1917 to 1937. Aerospace supplier Menasco Manufacturing Company would later purchase
10626-538: The film to be produced, in response to which the studio ended their involvement. Producers had to make changes to the script at the behest of the United States Navy and the United States Army in order to receive co-operation in producing the film. Producer Harold Hecht took little notice of the federal pressures, suggesting he would even ask for permission to film at Alcatraz. Burt Lancaster
10764-424: The film would get him released from prison, as the book got him transferred from Alcatraz prison. The movie began filming during the fall of 1960 under the working title of The Man from Alcatraz . Lancaster began filming after concluding his previous movie A Matter of Principle . As shooting was not permitted within Alcatraz itself, the sets were constructed within two buildings situated at Columbia Studios . For
10902-746: The film's release, the John F. Kennedy administration was in the midst of Cuban Missile Crisis and nuclear brinkmanship with the Soviet Union. That Frankenheimer and screenwriter Axelrod persisted in the production is a measure of their political liberalism, in a historical period when, according to biographer Gerald Pratley “ it was clearly dangerous to speak of politics in the out-spoken, satiric vein that characterized this picture.” Film critic David Walsh adds that “the level of conviction and urgency” that informs The Manchurian Candidate , reflects “the relative confidence and optimism American liberals felt in
11040-426: The first car and rode to Glendale and there changed to a second car coming from Los Angeles and rode home again. Every face was an expression of happiness and satisfaction. The Burbank Line was completed through to Cypress Avenue in Burbank, and by mid-1925 this line was extended about a mile further along Glenoaks Boulevard to Eton Drive. A small wooden station was erected in Burbank in 1911 at Orange Grove Avenue with
11178-481: The first day, the bank collected $ 30,000 worth of deposits, and at the time the town had a population of 300 residents. In 1911, the bank was dissolved; it would then become the Burbank branch of the Security Trust & Savings Bank. In 1911, wealthy farmer Joseph Fawkes grew apricots and owned a house on West Olive Avenue. He was also fascinated with machinery, and soon began developing what became known as
11316-506: The first film, but now further along their delinquent ways. The acting throughout is authoritative, with vivid portrayals by the Italian and Puerto Rican players...the entire film is photographically alive with a strong, visual sense which was to characterize all of Frankenheimer's future work…" Though "contrived and familiar in its social concerns" Frankenheimer and leading man Burt Lancaster, both Liberals in their political outlook, dramatize
11454-593: The first of three desperately controlling mothers in Frankenheimer's films of 1962: the other two played by Thelma Ritter in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Lansbury again in The Manchurian Candidate (1961). In all three films, the father is either weak or absent." “I can't really think of a scene in Birdman of Alcatraz I liked. I like the total effect of the film, but I don't think there
11592-440: The form." A. H. Weiler of The New York Times called it "a thoughtful yet powerful portrait that cleaves to the heart and mind despite its omissions". Some former inmates who knew Stroud criticized the film's portrayal of the man. Former Alcatraz inmate Glenn Williams said that Stroud "was not a sweetheart; he was a vicious killer. I think Burt Lancaster owes us all an apology". Another former convict, Jim Quillan, described
11730-561: The height of the Cold War . He was technically highly accomplished from his days in live television; many of his films were noted for creating "psychological dilemmas" for his male protagonists along with having a strong "sense of environment", similar in style to films by director Sidney Lumet , for whom he had earlier worked as assistant director. He developed a "tremendous propensity for exploring political situations" which would ensnare his characters. Movie critic Leonard Maltin writes that "in his time [1960s] ... Frankenheimer worked with
11868-403: The inmates would prefer to watch entertainment that distracts them from their environment, rather than one which reminds them of their current one. The film opened at theaters on July 3, 1962, in Los Angeles before expanding to the entire country. Rotten Tomatoes , a review aggregator , reports that 92% of 24 surveyed critics, both contemporaneous and modern, gave the film a positive review;
12006-582: The interior stage sets. The FCC terminated the programming after 15 weeks. In addition to mastering the basic elements of filmmaking, Frankenheimer began reading widely on film technique, including the writings of Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein . Frankenheimer was discharged from the military in 1953. During his years in military service, Frankenheimer strenuously sought a film career in Southern California. Failing this, at age 23, he returned to New York upon his military discharge to seek work in
12144-527: The late 1950s, television was transitioning from live productions to taped shows: "... a live television director was like being a village blacksmith after the advent of the automobile ... I knew I had to get out..." In 1961 Frankenheimer abandoned television and returned to filmmaking after a four-year hiatus, continuing his examination of the social themes that informed his 1957 The Young Stranger . Film historian Gordon Gow distinguishes Frankenheimer's handling of themes addressing individualism and "misfits" during
12282-468: The most artistic, realistic and vital filmmaker at work in America or elsewhere.” Frankenheimer and producer George Axelrod bought Richard Condon 's 1959 novel after it had already been turned down by many Hollywood studios. After Frank Sinatra committed to the film, they secured backing from United Artists. The plot centers on Korean War veteran Raymond Shaw, part of a prominent political family. Shaw
12420-499: The most recognisable Frankenheimer trademarks...Frankenheimer became the first filmmaker to acknowledge television's roles in modern society as an intrusion upon privacy and as a tool by which the powerful manipulate others.”—Film critic Stephen Bowie in John Frankenheimer Senses of Cinema (2006) Seven Days in May (1964), based closely on Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II 's best-selling novel and
12558-432: The mother and controller to her “sleeper” assassin son, garnered an Academy Award nomination for a “riveting” performance” in “the greatest screen role of her career.” Frank Sinatra , as Major Bennett Marco, who reverses Shaw's mind control mechanisms and exposes the conspiracy, delivers perhaps his most satisfactory film performance. Frankenheimer declared that both technically and conceptually, he had “complete control” over
12696-405: The new town Burbank after its founder, and began offering farm lots on May 1, 1887. The townsite had Burbank Boulevard/Walnut Avenue as the northern boundary, Grandview Avenue as the southern boundary, the edge of the Verdugo Mountains as the eastern boundary, and Clybourn Avenue as the western border. The establishment of a water system in 1887 allowed farmers to irrigate their orchards and provided
12834-614: The original French. In 1963, Frankenheimer and screenwriter George Axelrod were introduced to the producer Edward Lewis , considering a TV production concerning the American Civil Liberties Union . When the project was deemed too expensive for television, Frankenheimer was approached by an associate of Lewis, actor and producer Kirk Douglas , to purchase and adapt to film the novel Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II. “Television screens, glimpsed throughout Seven Days in May , are one of
12972-410: The original Union Air Terminal. By 1935, Union Air Terminal in Burbank ranked as the third-largest air terminal in the nation, with 46 airliners flying out of it daily. The airport served 9,895 passengers in 1931 and 98,485 passengers in 1936. In 1931, Lockheed was then part of Detroit Aircraft Corp., which went into bankruptcy with its Lockheed unit. A year later, a group of investors acquired assets of
13110-505: The pioneering residents to participate in foreign trade. Eventually, he constructed a sizable ranch house and barn near the present-day intersection of Victory Boulevard and Buena Vista Street. Subsequently, the barn was relocated and reconstructed at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California . The town's first bank was formed in 1908 when Burbank State Bank opened its doors near the corner of Olive Avenue and San Fernando Blvd. On
13248-487: The population jumped to 16,662. In the 1930s, Burbank and Glendale prevented the Civilian Conservation Corps from stationing African American workers in a local park, citing sundown town ordinances that both cities had adopted. Sundown towns were municipalities or neighborhoods that practiced racial segregation by excluding non-white individuals, especially African Americans, from living within
13386-467: The prison laundrette scene which lasts for around 90 seconds, an entire steam laundry from 1914 was brought on set, complete with all piping and machinery which was operational. For scenes in Stroud's isolation cell, the small set size meant that the movie camera required around a third of the amount of available space. The movie features many birds being friendly around Lancaster, to which he explained they had been specially trained by two men brought on to
13524-430: The production. The technical “fluency” exhibited in The Manchurian Candidate reveals Frankenheimer's struggle to convey this Cold War narrative. Film historian Andrew Sarris remarked that the director was “obviously sweating over his technique...instead of building sequences, Frankenheimer explodes them prematurely, preventing his films from coming together coherently.” The Manchurian Candidate , nonetheless, conveys
13662-586: The property. Menasco's Burbank landing gear factory closed in 1994 due to slow commercial and military orders, affecting 310 people. Within months of Moreland's arrival, Community Manufacturing Company, a $ 3 million tractor company, arrived in Burbank. In 1920, the Andrew Jergens Company factory opened at Verdugo Avenue near the railroad tracks in Burbank. Andrew Jergens Jr.—aided by his father, Cincinnati businessman Andrew Jergens Sr. and business partners Frank Adams and Morris Spazier—had purchased
13800-626: The quintessential exponent of the form: this is a crucial misconception. The aesthetics of live television were defined by their temporal and spatial limitations: all that could be shown was what could be physically created within an hour or half-hour and photographed within the confines of a small space [emphasizing] cramped blue-collar settings ("kitchen drama") because these were the most easily staged for live broadcast ... [though] perfectly suited to this world of emotional intimacy and physical claustrophobia, Frankenheimer reacted instinctively against it. He sought material and visual strategies that expanded
13938-447: The railroad corridors. The railroads also provided access to the county for tourists and immigrants alike. A Southern Pacific Railroad depot in Burbank was completed in 1887. The boom lifting real estate values in the Los Angeles area proved to be a speculative frenzy that collapsed abruptly in 1889. Much of the newly created wealthy went broke. Many of the lots in Burbank ended up getting sold for taxes. Vast numbers of people would leave
14076-628: The ranch. By 1876, the San Fernando Valley became the largest wheat-raising area in Los Angeles County . But the droughts of the 1860s and 1870s underlined the need for steady water supplies. A professionally trained dentist, Burbank began his career in Waterville, Maine . He joined the great migration westward in the early 1850s and, by 1853 was living in San Francisco . At the time the American Civil War broke out, he
14214-428: The real Stroud as a "jerk", and as "a guy that liked chaos and turmoil and upheaval... Always at somebody else's expense". The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California , United States. Located 7 miles (11 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles , Burbank has
14352-474: The region before it all ended. The effects of the downturn were felt for several years, as the economy struggled to recover and many businesses closed. However, the region eventually rebounded and continued to grow and develop in the decades that followed. Before the downturn, Burbank built a hotel in the town in 1887. Burbank also later owned the Burbank Theatre, which opened on November 27, 1893, at
14490-418: The restaurants operated 24 hours a day. At one time, Lockheed paid utility rates representing 25% of the city's total utilities revenue, making Lockheed the city's cash cow. When Lockheed left, the economic loss was huge. At its height during World War II , the Lockheed facility employed up to 98,000 people. Between the Lockheed and Vega plants, some 7,700,000 square feet (720,000 m ) of manufacturing space
14628-445: The role ultimately went to Edmond O'Brien. O'Brien studied the mannerisms of Gaddis to try and replicate them and even reluctantly smoked the same cigarillos , although hoped that his scenes would not take too long so that he would be able to stop smoking. Gaddis worked in capacity of technical advisor on the film and attended set every day. He emphasized that "the film won't gloss over the facts of Stroud's criminal history", hoping that
14766-456: The set from Japan. Lancaster advised that on some days, they would "get a scene with the birds right off", yet other times it may take an entire day, suggesting that the short concentration span of the birds would mean they could entirely forget what they needed to do and therefore had to be retrained. Hollywood animal trainer Ray D. Berwick was among the bird trainers in the film. The cages were recreated from cigar boxes by skilled carpenters over
14904-635: The site and built a single-story building. They began with a single product, coconut oil soap, but would later make face creams, lotions, liquid soaps, and deodorants. In 1931, despite the Depression, the Jergens company expanded, building new offices and shipping department facilities. In 1939, the Burbank corporation merged with the Cincinnati company of Andrew Jergens Sr. becoming known as the Andrew Jergens Company of Ohio. The Burbank plant closed in 1992, affecting nearly 90 employees. The establishment of
15042-505: The sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas such as Burbank, making it easier for people to move around and do business. By 1904, Burbank gained worldwide recognition when the renowned heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries became a significant landowner in the town. Jeffries acquired 107 acres (0.43 km ) of land along Victory Boulevard to establish his ranch. He ventured into cattle farming and exported his livestock to Mexico and South America, becoming one of
15180-400: The time (but looking younger) ... What made it especially distinctive amid the general sensationalism was the triviality of the boy's misdemeanor: a minor bit of roughhouse in a neighborhood cinema ... The difference between The Young Stranger , which attained a happy ending plausibly, and the general run of delinquent-problem movies was its moderation... Frankenheimer's second cinematic effort
15318-472: The time. Moreland's truck plant was later used by Lockheed's Vega Aircraft Corporation, which made what was widely known as "the explorer's aircraft." Amelia Earhart flew one across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1936, Lockheed officially took over Vega Aircraft in Burbank. During World War II, the entire area of Lockheed's Vega factory was camouflaged to fool an enemy reconnaissance effort. The factory
15456-432: The top writers, producers and actors in a series of films that dealt with issues that were just on top of the moment – things that were facing us all." I was always a very introverted child, and as far back as seven years old, I recall finding great escape in films ... in all seriousness, I have always been terribly interested in films and it was not something that happened to me later in life. I look back and realize it
15594-433: The west side of San Fernando Blvd. and stretched from Verdugo to Cypress avenues, and on the east side to Palm Avenue. In 1927, five miles (8 km) of paved streets had increased to 125 miles (201 km). The Wall Street Crash of 1929 set off a period of hardship for Burbank where business and residential growth paused. The effects of the Depression also caused tight credit conditions and halted home building throughout
15732-611: The “paranoia and delirium of the Cold War years” through its documentary-style mise-en-scène . A demonstration of Frankenheimer's bravura direction and “visual inventiveness” appears in the notable brainwashing sequence, presenting the sinister proceedings from the perspective of both the perpetrator and victim. The complexity of the sequence and its antecedents in television are described by film critic Stephen Bowie: “The famous brainwashing sequence in which Frankenheimer moves seamlessly between an objective perspective (captured soldiers in
15870-647: Was The Plot Against King Solomon (1954), a critical success. Throughout the 1950s he directed over 140 episodes of shows like Playhouse 90 and Climax! under the auspices of CBS executive Hubbell Robinson and producer Martin Manulis . These included outstanding adaptations of works by Shakespeare , Eugene O'Neill , F. Scott Fitzgerald , Ernest Hemingway and Arthur Miller . Leading actors and actresses from stage and film starred in these live productions, among them Ingrid Bergman , John Gielgud , Mickey Rooney , Geraldine Page and Jack Lemmon . Frankenheimer
16008-485: Was again well established in his profession as a dentist in Pueblo de Los Angeles . In 1867, he purchased Rancho La Providencia from David W. Alexander and Francis Mellus , and he purchased the western portion of the Rancho San Rafael (4,603 acres) from Jonathan R. Scott. Burbank's property reached nearly 9,200 acres (37 km ) at a cost of $ 9,000. Burbank would not acquire full titles to both properties until after
16146-583: Was also where the prototypes for the JetStar corporate transport and Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo carrier first took flight, and where the concepts for the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar jetliner and Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter were developed. Lockheed's presence in Burbank attracted dozens of firms making aircraft parts. One of them was Weber Aircraft Corporation , an aircraft interior manufacturer situated adjacent to Lockheed at
16284-461: Was any scene that stands out for me as being extraordinary in any way.” – John Frankenheimer in Gerald Pratley's The Cinema of John Frankenheimer (1969) Based on a biography by Thomas E. Gaddis , Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) is a documentary-like dramatization of the life of Robert Stroud , sentenced to life imprisonment in solitary confinement for killing a prison guard. While serving his sentence, Stroud ( Burt Lancaster ) becomes
16422-663: Was cast in the lead role of Robert Stroud. Maurie Siegel, who was responsible for the film's publicity, noted that Lancaster "gave up eight months of his life to the picture" and that he gave up a million dollars in lost opportunities from other engagements, to ensure the film was done how he wanted it. Lancaster's mild-mannered portrayal of Stroud was starkly different to the real life persona of Robert Stroud, who author Jolene Babyak compared to being more like Ted Bundy and suggested that cures he promoted for birds were actually potentially lethal. On being cast as Feto Gomez, Telly Savalas said he "was in awe" of Lancaster, despite saying he
16560-445: Was denied and told to return later in the week. Outraged, he attacks a guard, fatally stabbing him. Stroud is sentenced to death, but his mother runs a successful campaign to have his sentence commuted to life in prison . The sentence requires him to serve in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. While in the exercise yard during a heavy rainstorm, Stroud finds a downed nest holding an orphaned baby sparrow . He takes care of
16698-551: Was free to set up the lighting, operate the camera and perform the editing on projects he personally conceived. His first film was a documentary about an asphalt manufacturing plant in Sherman Oaks, California . Lieutenant Frankenheimer recalls moonlighting, at $ 40-a-week, as writer, producer and cameraman making television infomercials for a local cattle breeder in Northridge, California , in which livestock were presented on
16836-532: Was hidden beneath a rural neighborhood scenes painted on canvas. Hundreds of fake trees and shrubs were positioned to give the entire area a three-dimensional appearance. The fake trees and shrubs were created to provide a leafy texture. Air ducts disguised as fire hydrants made it possible for the Lockheed-Vega employees to continue working underneath the huge camouflage umbrella designed to conceal their factory. The growth of companies such as Lockheed, and
16974-419: Was intended to be an opera house, instead it staged plays and became known nationally. The theatre featured leading actors of the day, such as Fay Bainter and Marjorie Rambeau , until it deteriorated into a burlesque house. In August 1900, Burbank established its first telephone exchange, making it the first in the San Fernando Valley . Within five years, several other telephone exchanges were established in
17112-582: Was located in Burbank at the peak in 1943. Burbank's growth did not slow as war production ceased, and over 7,000 new residents created a postwar real estate boom. Real estate values soared as housing tracts appeared in the Magnolia Park area of Burbank between 1945 and 1950. More than 62% of the city's housing stock was built before 1970. Following World War II , homeless veterans lived in tent camps in Burbank, in Big Tujunga Canyon and at
17250-476: Was made despite the protests of James V. Bennett , director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons . During a visit to Washington in July 1961, Gaddis was unsuccessful in trying to meet with Bennett, given Bennett's views on the film which he deplored because "it is simply not our policy to glamorize criminals". Bennett approached Twentieth-Century Fox , the studio which had optioned the book, and told them he did not want
17388-483: Was made.” After completing The Manchurian Candidate , Frankenheimer recalls that he was determined to continue filmmaking: “I wanted to initiate the project, I wanted to have full control, I never wanted to go back to be hired as a director again.” He was offered a contract to direct a biopic about French singer Edith Piaf , with Natalie Wood in the starring role. He emphatically rejected the offer when he learned that Piaf's songs would be sung in English, rather than in
17526-442: Was never allowed to keep any birds after his transfer to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1942. The film was adapted by Guy Trosper from the 1955 book by Thomas E. Gaddis . It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role ( Burt Lancaster ), Best Actor in a Supporting Role ( Telly Savalas ), Best Actress in a Supporting Role ( Thelma Ritter ), and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White . Robert Stroud
17664-412: Was never nervous when interviewing famous figures including Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower . He recalled how "I couldn't catch my breath in the presence of Burt Lancaster", who he credited as launching his career and remained among Savalas' favorite performers. Gaddis was originally tested to play himself in the film, though experts suggested that the illusion is lost if someone plays themself and
17802-499: Was one of the first 13 cities to join the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California , one of the largest suppliers of water in the world. This contrasted with other San Fernando Valley communities that obtained water through political annexation to Los Angeles. By 1937, the first power from Hoover Dam was distributed over Burbank's own electricity lines. The city purchases about 55% of its water from
17940-431: Was picked up as assistant to director Sidney Lumet 's for CBS's historical dramatization series You Are There , and further on Charles Russell's Danger and Edward R. Murrow 's Person to Person . In late 1954 Frankenheimer replaced Lumet as director on You Are There and Danger under a 5-year contract (with a studio standard option to terminate a director with a two-week notice). Frankenheimer's directorial début
18078-548: Was previously part of two Spanish and Mexican-era colonial land grants: the 36,400-acre (147 km ) Rancho San Rafael , granted to Jose Maria Verdugo by the Spanish Bourbon government in 1784, and the 4,063-acre (16.44 km ) Rancho Providencia created in 1821. This area was the scene of a military skirmish which resulted in the unseating of the Spanish Governor of California, and his replacement by
18216-487: Was replaced by Frankenheimer. According to actor Strother Martin , "I had a nice role in Birdman of Alcatraz . They fired the original director, Charles Crichton, and I went out with him. I was replaced by Leo Penn who was eventually cut out of the picture entirely." Despite the title being The Birdman of Alcatraz , Stroud never kept any birds during his time in Alcatraz prison, but rather during his time incarcerated at Leavenworth Prison from 1912 to 1942. The film
18354-640: Was still under contract to CBS television. The head of CBS in California, William Dozier , became the CEO of RKO movie studios. Frankenheimer was assigned to direct a film version of his television Climax! production entitled "Deal a Blow", written by William Dozier's son, Robert. The 1956 movie version, The Young Stranger stars James MacArthur as the rebellious teenage son of a powerful Hollywood movie producer ( James Daly ). Frankenheimer recalled that he found his first film experience unsatisfactory: I have
18492-434: Was suspended from an overhead track and supported by wooden beams. In 1911, the monorail car made its first and only run through his Burbank ranch, with a line between Lake and Flower Streets. The monorail was considered a failure after gliding just a foot or so and falling to pieces. Nobody was injured but Joseph Fawkes' pride was badly hurt as Aerial Swallow became known as "Fawkes' Folly." City officials viewed his test run as
18630-419: Was the first time I had the assurance and self-confidence to go back to what I had been really good at in television.” Compositionally, Frankenheimer concentrates his actors into “long lens” menage, in which dramatic interactions occur at close-up, mid-shot and long-shot, a configuration that he repeated “obsessively.” Film critic Stepen Bowie observes that “this style meant that Frankenheimer's early output became
18768-522: Was the medium I liked most. – John Frankenheimer, quoted in The Cinema of John Frankenheimer (1968) Frankenheimer was born in Queens , New York City, the son of Helen Mary ( née Sheedy) and Walter Martin Frankenheimer, a stockbroker. His father was of German Jewish descent, his mother was Irish Catholic , and Frankenheimer was raised in his mother's religion. As a youth Frankenheimer,
18906-400: Was there that Lieutenant Frankenheimer "really started to think seriously about directing." Frankenheimer recollects his early apprenticeship with the Air Force photography unit as one of almost unlimited freedom. When he was a junior officer, Frankenheimer claimed, his superiors "couldn't have cared less" what he did in terms of utilizing the filmmaking equipment. Frankenheimer reports that he
19044-404: Was very much in evidence... Seven Days in May was the opportunity to illustrate what a tremendous force the military-industrial complex is...we did not ask the Pentagon for co-operation because we knew we wouldn't get it.” Birdman of Alcatraz (film) Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 American biographical drama film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Burt Lancaster . It
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