Frank P. Keller
Frank P. Keller | |
---|---|
Born | Frank P. Keller, Jr. February 4, 1913 Los Angeles, California |
Occupation | Film editor |
Years active | 1943-1977 |
Frank P. Keller (February 4, 1913 – December 25, 1977) was an American
Career
From 1942 to 1945, during the Second World War, Keller worked with editor
Keller's first editing credit on a feature film was for The Bonnie Parker Story (1958), which was a film noir directed by William Witney. In 1961 Keller edited Pocketful of Miracles, which was the last film directed by Frank Capra. Keller's television work included episodes from the series The Avengers (1962) and two episodes from the first season of Star Trek (1967–69). Keller is noted for editing six of the early films directed by Peter Yates, from Bullitt (1968) through Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976).[8] His last feature film was for Rolling Thunder (directed by John Flynn-1977).
Bullitt
The car chase from Bullitt is likely the scene from Keller's work that is best remembered, and it has been extensively discussed over the years.[3][4][9][10][11][12][13] Leonard Maltin has called it a "now-classic car chase, one of the screen's all-time best."[12] Emanuel Levy wrote in 2003 that, "Bullitt contains one of the most exciting car chases in film history, a sequence that revolutionized Hollywood's standards. Chasing the hoodlums, McQueen drives up and down the hills of San Francisco, while an impressive hand-held camera records the perilous pursuit and traffic in thrilling minutia detail, as his sexy vehicle narrowly misses intersecting cars and trucks; other barriers during the chase are pedestrians, buildings, and so on."[3] Paul Monaco has written, "The most compelling street footage of 1968, however, appeared in an entirely contrived sequence, with nary a hint of documentary feel about it -- the car chase through the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt, created from footage shot over nearly five weeks. Billy Fraker, the cinematographer for the film, attributed the success of the chase sequence primarily to the work of the editor, Frank P. Keller. At the time, Keller was credited with cutting the piece in such a superb manner that he made the city of San Francisco a "character" in the film."[11]
Recognition
In 1957, Keller won an
In 1976, Keller was elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[15]
Filmography
The director for each film is indicated in parentheses.
- Beyond Reason (Savalas-1985) (home media). Produced in 1977, the film was not released theatrically.[16][17]
- Rolling Thunder (Flynn-1977)
- Mother, Jugs & Speed (Yates-1976)
- The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return(1975)
- For Pete's Sake (Yates-1974)
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Bartlett-1973)
- Gargoyles (1972) (TV Movie)
- The Hot Rock (Yates-1972)
- The Forgotten Man (1971)
- Murphy's War (Yates-1971) (edited with John Glen)
- John and Mary (Yates-1971)
- Room 222 (1969) (TV series, 1 episode)
- Bullitt (Yates-1968)
- The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968) (TV series, 1 episode)
- Beach Red (Wilde-1967)
- Star Trek (1966) (TV series, 2 episodes)
- Cyborg 2087 (Adreon-1966)
- Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (Day-1968)
- The Bing Crosby Show (1964) (TV series, 1 episode)
- For Those Who Think Young (Martinson-1964)
- Come Blow Your Horn (Yorkin-1963)
- Papa's Delicate Condition (Marshall-1963)
- Safe at Home! (Doniger-1962)
- About Time(1962) (TV movie)
- Pocketful of Miracles (Capra-1961)
- The Avengers (1961) (TV series)
- The Thread of Life (1960) (TV movie)
- Hole-1959)
- The Five Pennies (Shavelson-1959)
- The Bonnie Parker Story (Witney-1958)
References
- ^ Birthdate confirmed at the Social Security Death Index.
- IMDb.
- ^ a b c Levy, Emanuel (2008). "Bullitt". emanuellevy.com. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
Bullitt contains one of the most exciting car chases in film history, a sequence that revolutionized Hollywood's standards.
- ^ a b Hartl, John. "Top 10 car chase movies". msnbc.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
Bullitt (1968). Philip D'Antoni, who went on to produce The French Connection, warmed up for it with this Steve McQueen crime drama, set in San Francisco, where the steep hills seem to yearn for cars to go sailing over them. The director, Peter Yates, makes the most of the locations, especially during a gravity-defying chase sequence that earned an Oscar for its editor, Frank P. Keller.
- ISBN 978-0-275-94443-8.
- ISBN 978-0-15-637315-9.
- ISBN 978-0-306-80771-8.(1957), The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957), and Meteora: The Unchained Goddess (1958).
Those four films about science, hand woven with bits of celluloid, were sprightly patterns of poesy and fact; fresh ideas were their main charm, a rather elegant charm, we thought, much like the light-hearted but disciplined charm of a Mozart composition.
The four films were Our Mr. Sun, Hemo the Magnificent - ISBN 978-0-8242-0757-1.
The car chase impressed another racing driver, Steve McQueen, who invited Yates to Hollywood to direct his next picture, Bullitt (1968). Adapted from Robert L. Pike's novel Mute Witness and splendidly photographed on location in San Francisco by William A. Fraker, it was the first of many Yates films edited by Frank P. Keller.
- ISBN 0-670-75991-0.
And thus those who care about such things may know that during the filming of the climactic chase scene in Bullitt, an out-of-control car filled with dummies tripped a wire which prematurely sent a costly set up in flames, and that editor Frank Keller salvaged the near-catastrophe with a clever and unusual juxtaposition of images that made the explosion appear to go off on time.
- ISBN 978-0-520-05336-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-520-23804-4.
- ^ a b Maltin, Leonard, ed. (2004). Leonard Maltin's 2004 Movie and Video Guide. Penguin Group. p. 195.
Taut action-film makes great use of San Francisco locations, especially in now-classic car chase, one of the screen's all-time best; Oscar-winning editing by Frank Keller.
- filmsite.org. AMC Corp.
- ^ "Primetime Emmy Award Database". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2012-05-01. This database lists the film as the "AT&T Science Series"; Our Mr. Sun was the first of nine programs in the series.
- ^ "Academy Elects 12 Members to the Board of Governors". The Los Angeles Times. May 29, 1976. p. B8. Paid access.
- ISBN 9781557835512.
In 1977, he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in Beyond Reason, playing a psychiatrist having an affair with a patient, but after sitting on the shelf for years, it ended up going directly to cable outlets and video shelves.
- ^ "New Releases - Albums". Billboard. June 8, 1985.
External links
- Frank P. Keller at Memory Alpha
- Frank P. Keller at IMDb