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CNN Live Saturday

Director John Frankenheimer Dies at 72

Aired July 06, 2002 - 17:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Sad news out of the film industry this afternoon. Film director John Frankenheimer died of a stroke today. The 72-year-old Frankenheimer helmed classics, including "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Birdman of Alcatraz." One of his final projects, last month's HBO movie "The Path to War." CNN entertainment correspondent Paul Clinton joins us to talk about a man who got his professional start in live television in the 1950s.

And Paul, you're on the phone with us. Pretty remarkable that this man who always wanted to be a professional tennis player found himself to be one of the most revered film directors. What is the most lasting impression of Frankenheimer, in your view?

PAUL CLINTON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: John Frankenheimer really had a strong, strong social conscience. And that came through in a lot of his work. As you mentioned, "Manchurian Candidate," and a number of his films on TV. He was also someone who was very active in both television and film, which is fairly rare.

He won four consecutive Emmys in TV in recent years, one for "Andersonville," which is about Civil War prisons, "The Burning Season," "Against the Wall," and the "George Wallace" TV movie.

But he was also very active in films. He got his start working for the Air Force making documentaries in Burbank, and then went to ABC in New York and got a job there in the early days of television. As you mentioned, "Birdman of Alcatraz" is one of his most famous movies.

Perhaps "Manchurian Candidate" is the one that is going to stand out against time. That was made in 1962, but it was not released until 1987, because it dealt with assassinations and the political thriller, and because of the Kennedy assassination, it was held and not released for 25 years. And it was perhaps one of Sinatra's best performances other than "From Here to Eternity."

He also did "Ronin" with Robert DeNiro. "Reindeer Games" is one of his most recent. But he was a man who was very, very socially conscious and straddled the worlds of television and film. And he'll be deeply missed.

WHITFIELD: And remarkably, he had incredible staying power. You talked about "Reindeer Games," which we're seeing a clip of right now, with Charlize Theron and Ben Affleck. What kind of relationship do you suppose this director have with actors? There are so many actors who say they longed to work with certain directors. Was he one of them?

CLINTON: Yes, he was. He was -- I don't know whether you'd really call him an actor's director or not, but he was very open to input from everyone around him, and he was, you know, he was a very open guy and very aware of things that were going on socially, and you know, just within people's lives. I mean, he was very attuned to social issues and to individual people.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Clinton, thank you very much for joining us.

CLINTON: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: John Frankenheimer, dead at the age of 72 today.

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