A Little Solitaire : John Frankenheimer and American Film

Think about some commercially successful film masterpieces--__The Manchurian Candidate__. __Seven Days in May. Seconds__. Then consider some lesser known, yet equally compelling cinematic achievements--__The Fixer. The Gypsy Moths. Path to War__. These triumphs are the work of the best known and most highly regarded Hollywood director to emerge from live TV drama in the 1950s--five-time Emmy-award-winner John Frankenheimer. Although Frankenheimer was a pioneer in the genre of political thrillers who embraced the antimodernist critique of contemporary society, some of his later films did not receive the attention they deserved. Many claimed that at a midpoint in his career he had lost his touch. World-renowned film scholars put this myth to rest in __A Little Solitaire__, which offers the only multidisciplinary critical account of Frankenheimer's oeuvre. Especially emphasized is his deep and passionate engagement with national politics and the irrepressible need of human beings to assert their rights and individuality in the face of organizations that would reduce them to silence and anonymity. Introduction : Why Don't You Pass The Time By Playing A Little Solitaire? / R. Barton Palmer And Murray Pomerance -- Thrills. Murdered Souls, Conspiratorial Cabals: Frankenheimer's Paranoia Films / David Sterritt -- The Manchurian Candidate: Compromised Agency And Uncertain Causality / Charles Ramírez Berg -- Stealth, Sexuality, And Cult Status In The Manchurian Candidate And Seconds / Rebecca Bell-metereau -- The Train: John Frankenheimer's Rape Of Europa / Matthew H. Bernstein -- Action And Abstraction In Ronin / Stephen Prince -- Politics. Late Frankenheimer/political Frankenheimer / Douglas Mcfarland -- John Frankenheimer's War On Terror / Corey K. Creekmur -- The Burning Season: Environmentalism Versus Progress? / Robin L. Murray -- Pictures And Prizes: Le Grand Prix De Rome And Grand Prix / Victoria Duckett -- Families. Crashing In: Birdman Of Alcatraz / Tom Conley -- Walking The Line With The Fille-fatale / Linda Ruth Williams -- Live Tv, Filmed Theater, And The New Hollywood: John Frankenheimer's The Iceman Cometh / James Morrison -- Ashes, Ashes: Structuring Emptiness In All Fall Down / Murray Pomerance -- Secrets. An American In Paris: John Frankenheimer's Impossible Object / Jerry Mosher -- Shot From The Sky: The Gypsy Moths And The End Of Something / Dennis Bingham -- Frankenheimer And The Science Fiction/horror Film / Christine Cornea -- -- The Fixer: A Jew Who Could Be Any Man, Any Time, Anywhere / R. Barton Palmer -- Jonah / Bill Krohn. Edited By Murray Pomerance, R. Barton Palmer. Includes Bibliographical References, Filmography And Index. Think about some commercially successful film masterpieces-- The Manchurian Candidate . Seven Days in May. Seconds . Then consider some lesser known, yet equally compelling cinematic achievements-- The Fixer. The Gypsy Moths. Path to War . These triumphs are the work of the best known and most highly regarded Hollywood director to emerge from live TV drama in the 1950s--five-time Emmy-award-winner John Frankenheimer. Although Frankenheimer was a pioneer in the genre of political thrillers who embraced the antimodernist critique of contemporary society, some of his later films did not receive the attention they deserved. Many claimed that at a midpoint in his career he had lost his touch. World-renowned film scholars put this myth to rest in A Little Solitaire , which offers the only multidisciplinary critical account of Frankenheimer's oeuvre. Especially emphasized is his deep and passionate engagement with national politics and the irrepressible need of human beings to assert their rights and individuality in the face of organizations that would reduce them to silence and anonymity. CONTENTS 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10 Introduction 14 Thrills 24 Murdered Souls, Conspiratorial Cabals 26 The Manchurian Candidate 42 Stealth, Sexuality, and Cult Status in The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds 61 The Train 75 Action and Abstraction in Ronin 91 Politics 102 Late Frankenheimer/Political Frankenheimer 104 John Frankenheimer’s “War on Terror” 116 The Burning Season 130 Pictures and Prizes 142 Families 156 Crashing In 158 Walking the Line with the Fille Fatale 170 Live TV, Filmed Theater, and the New Hollywood 183 Ashes, Ashes 197 Secrets 210 An American in Paris 212 Shot from the Sky 227 Frankenheimer and the Science Fiction/Horror Film 242 The Fixer 257 Jonah 275 JOHN FRANKENHEIMER’S DIRECTORIAL CAREER 292 WORKS CITED AND CONSULTED 300 CONTRIBUTORS 312 INDEX 316