Title: John M. Frankenheimer Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1954-1960

Creator:

• Frankenheimer, John M., 1930-2002

Call Number: U.S. Mss 45AN

Quantity: 2.8 cubic feet (6 archives boxes and 1 package)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of a CBS television director who moved to motion pictures at the conclusion of the era of live dramatic anthologies. Scripts, primarily for the series Climax, Danger, and Playhouse 90, comprise the bulk of the collection, though there are also drawings, set plans, and camera indications prepared by the staff of art director Ted Haworth for the movie Seconds (Para., 1966).

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0045an

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John Michael Frankenheimer was born on February 19, 1930, at Malba, New York. His parents, Walter and Mary Sheedy Frankenheimer, sent him to Foxwood School and LaSalle Military Academy; and in 1951 he graduated from Williams College.

During 1951 Frankenheimer began his career in the field of mass media in Washington D.C. He joined the city's American Theatre Wing for its production of The Moon Is Blue and both acted and directed at WTOP-TV, the CBS channel in the nation's capital. During the Korean conflict he enlarged his professional experience by serving as a second lieutenant for the armed forces photographic service at Burbank, California. After his release from service, he rejoined CBS. At first he worked with the Garry Moore Show and the Edward R. Morrow series. Later he became assistant director and director of Person to Person, You Are There, Danger, Mama, Climax, Studio One, and Playhouse 90.

As a free lance TV director in 1959, John Frankenheimer worked with the Browning Version and Ingrid Bergman in Turn of the Screw. In that same year he also directed the Broadway show Midnight Sun. His film credits include Young Savages, Birdman of Alcatraz, All Fall Down, and The Manchurian Candidate.

In 1959 Frankenheimer received the Brotherhood Award. Previously, he had earned an Emmy for The Comedians, the Locarno Festival prize for the Best Film Director of 1955, and the 1954 Christopher Award. He was a member of the Director's Guild, the Civil Liberties Union, and the Democratic Party.

John Frankenheimer died of a stroke following back surgery on July 6, 2002, in Los Angeles, California, .

The papers of John Frankenheimer, television and screen director, are composed entirely of television scripts. The scripts are arranged alphabetically by television series title, then by show title within the series. The series are Buick Playhouse, Climax, Danger, Dupont Show of the Month, Ford Show, NBC Sunday Showcase, Playhouse 90, Pursuit, Studio One, and You Are There. The most scripts are from Climax and Playhouse 90.

Acquisition Information

Presented by John Frankenheimer, Malibu, California, January 18, 1963.

Processing Information

Processed by E. McC., 1965.

U.S. Mss 45AN	Buick Playhouse
Box   1	“The Fifth Column,” 1960 January 22
	Climax
Box   1	“Bail Out at Forty-Three Thousand,” 1955 December 29
Box   1	“Edge of Terror,” 1955 August 11
Box   1	“Figures in Clay,” 1956 May 31
Box   1	“Gamble on a Thief,” 1956 February 2
Box   1	“House of Shadows,” 1955 October 20
Box   1	“The Louella Parsons Story,” 1956 March 8
Box   1	“The Passport,” 1955 December 8
Box   1	“Scheme to Defraud,” 1955 November 10
Box   1	“Sit Down with Death,” 1956 April 26
Box   2	“South of the Sun,” 1955
Box   2	“Spin Into Darkness,” 1956 April 5
Box   2	“T-6,” 1956 May 17
Box   2	“To Wake at Midnight,” 1955 June 23
	Danger
Box   2	“The Dark Curtain,” 1955 February 1
Box   2	“Knife in the Dark,” 1954 December 7
Box   2	“No Passport for Death,” 1955 January 18
Box   2	“Precinct Girl,” 1955 January 4
Box   2	“Treasure of the Argo,” 1954 December 21
	Dupont Show of the Month
Box   2	“The Browning Version,” 1959 April 23
	Ford Show
Box   2	“The Turn of the Screw,” 1959 September 27
	NBC Sunday Showcase
Box   3	“People Kill People, Sometimes,” 1959 September
Box   3	“The American,” 1960 March 27
	Playhouse 90
Box   3	“The Blue Men,” 1959 January 15
Box   3	“Bombers Moon,” 1958 May 22
Box   3	“Clash by Night,” 1957 June 13
Box   3	“The Comedian,” 1957 February 14
Box   3	“Days of Wine and Roses,” 1958 September 25
Box   3	“The Death of Manolete,” 1957 September 2
Box   3	“Eloise,” 1956 November 22
Box   4	“The Fabulous Irishman,” 1957 June 27
Box   4	“Face of a Hero,” 1959 January 1
Box   4	“For Whom the Bell Tolls,” 1959 January 28
Box   4	“The Family Nobody Wanted,” 1956 December 20
Box   4	“Forbidden Area,” 1956 October 4
Box   4	“If You Knew Elizabeth,” 1956 April 11
Box   4	“Journey to the Day,” 1960 April 22
Box   4	“The Last Man,” 1957 December 19
Box   5	“The Last Tycoon,” 1957 March 14
Box   5	“The Ninth Day,” 1957 January 10
Box   5	“Old Man,” 1958 November 20
Box   5	“Rendezvous in Black,” 1956 October 25
Box   5	“Rumors of Evening,” 1958 April 10
Box   5	“A Sound of Different Drummers,” 1957 October 3
Box   5	“The Thundering Wave,” 1957 December 12
Box   5	“A Town Has Turned to Dust,” 1958 June 9
Box   5	“The Violent Heart,” 1958 February 6
Box   6	“Winter Dreams,” 1957 May 23
	Pursuit
Box   6	“Goodbye Allison,” 1958 March 2
	Studio One
Box   6	“The Last Summer,” 1958 August 4
	You Are There
Box   6	“The Plot Against King Solomon,” 1954 November 28