Over the course of four fertile years, Frankenheimer became regarded as the premier 'thinking man's' action/thriller director with Grand Prix, Seven Days In May, The Train, The Birdman Of Alcatraz and perhaps the greatest espionage picture ever made—The Manchurian Candidate. Long before the term 'maverick' was bandied about indiscriminately, his innovative camera and narrative work was a precursor to the late '60 new wave, and marked the beginning of a trend that continues to this day—the Action/Adventure film.

In 1977, he adapted Black Sunday, from the best-selling Thomas Harris ("The Silence Of The Lambs") novel, a story about terrorists targeting the Super Bowl. In the '90s, Frankenheimer helmed two excellent cable televisioin films: Andersonville, the story of the Georgia Civil War prison camp, and George Wallace, a biography of the controversial former governor of Alabama, starring Gary Sinese and Angelina Jolie. The '90s also saw the release of The Island of Dr. Moreau starring Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer, and Ronin, his return to the political-espionage genre, starring Robert DeNiro.

In Atlanta recently to promote his new thriller, Reindeer Games, Frankenheimer sat down with Michael Clark and discussed some things old, some things new, Sinatra, Kennedy and violence in the movies.

Why can't anyone seem to make a quality action/adventure movie anymore?

JF: It has to be on the page. You can't take a mediocre script and make a smart movie. I love [Reindeer Games'] script . It's very smart. I couldn't see anything coming...I liked how the characters went from here to there. The character Charlize [Theron] played was very complex. Most of all, I liked the moral lesson it sends out. In the majority of the films being released today, people commit murder and mayhem without any fear of the consequences. It sends the wrong message. [Rudy] the lead character here makes a very unselfish gesture at the end of the movie that very few people; even morally upstanding people, would make. That was the clincher for me. We were also very lucky to have a story with humor that didn't seem forced or out of place.

Do you subscribe to the theory many anti-Hollywood types extol—that violence in film leads to violence in real-life and that filmmakers have a moral and ethical duty to avoid gratuitous violence?

JF: I'll answer that Mike, by asking you a question. How many violent films did the citizens of Germany see while under Hitler's rule?

None, probably.

JF: OK, let's start from there. There's never been a more violent society in the history of mankind than what was experienced under the Third Reich. This talk all stems from politicians who are searching for propaganda to get themselves elected. Propaganda from a Congress that hasn't been able to pass a single decent gun control law that keeps the wrong people from purchasing an Uzi and opening fire. Look at Europe. How many gun related deaths occur each year in England, France and Germany? It's a small number. The people over there are seeing the exact same movies. They have laws that make sense. Having said that, I think the filmmaker does have a responsibility and I do think that there is too much gratuitous violence on the screen and I think you have work hard to tone it down. In making this movie, I was constantly aware that I wanted women to like it. I have a responsibility to make a thoughtful picture. The stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor was material I shot that was maybe a tad excessive. I don't think this film has a single frame of anything one could call 'gratuitous.'

Let's talk about The Manchurian Candidate. According to lore, [leading man Frank] Sinatra, who was leery of the assassination sub-plot, screened it for President Kennedy, seeking, if you will, his approval. Is there any truth to that story?

JF: At the time the film was made, the heads of United Artists, who were big supporters of the Democratic party, also had there own political aspirations. When we went to them to make the movie, they felt that Kennedy wouldn't like it. They were seeking ambassadorships and felt that the movie would rub the president the wrong way. Sinatra, at the time, was very friendly with John Kennedy, so he went to the President and asked him whether or not he thought it would be a good idea. Kennedy responded enthusiastically saying how much he loved the book and wondered who was going to play the mother. He loved the idea.

To what do you attribute the film's longevity and heavy cult following?

JF: United Artists never really believed in or backed the picture. They sunk most of their money that year into another Sinatra movie, one he made with Cary Grant directed by Stanley Kramer. Despite short-changing us on publicity, the movie still did pretty good at the box-office which was helped by a slew of positive reviews, especially from the European press. After the assassination of president Kennedy, there were a number of distributors who wanted to re-release it, solely for exploitative reasons and we, who very close to the film, didn't want that to happen. Through the years, it kept showing up at festivals and film classes and you guys in the press kept the myth going. In the late '80s, Sinatra and I were negotiating the re-release. He wanted it back in the theaters. The UA brass said that they weren't sure that the $2 million or so it would have cost to promote it would yield any profits. Sinatra took out his checkbook and wrote them a check for $2 million right on the spot. He said, 'OK, now, I'd like you to put it in the theaters. Next month. If you need to dip into this, please feel free.'

Sinatra, by his own admission, was a 'one-take' guy; he couldn't stand doing multiple-takes. How did you and he get along?

JF: I knew of his reputation before we started and was admittedly a little apprehensive. I met with him before we started and told him of this and he replied by saying that he was primarily an entertainer, not an actor and that his first take would always be the best one. I explained that I wasn't used to doing things that way. As he was very intent on getting things right, we ended up agreeing to do more rehearsal takes than normal and, for the most part, he nailed it. I did shoot some additional takes, but very few of those made it into the final cut.

As a viewer, nothing is more satisfying than a well-executed car chase scene and the two you included in Ronin, were among the best ever committed to film. How long did it take you to shoot those?

JF: I worked about 18 days with the first unit shooting the actors. After principal photography was complete, I spent 35 days with the second unit and stunt doubles. To give you some perspective, the entire Reindeer Games shoot took just 65 days and The Manchurian Candidate took 41 days.

Does that mean that movies are harder to make now? That audiences are getting harder to please?

JF: I don't know. They say that the audience's attention span isn't what it used to be but these are also same people who insist on making three-hour movies. You tell me.

By the title alone, Reindeer Games sounds like a Christmas film and in fact, was originally slated for release at that time and also went through a couple name changes. How did that sit with you?

JF: The film simply wasn't ready at that time. Looking back, if it had come out then, it would have been lost in the flood of holiday releases. It was too long and frankly, I'm glad we waited; it's a much better film than it would have been two months ago. Look at the first Die Hard movie. It takes place around Christmas but came out sometime in July. When the date changed, it kind of screwed up the marketing and that's when the name "Deception" came into play. Not only would that titled have tipped off the audience, it just sounded too generic; too straight-to-video. For the most part, the marketing of the film is out of the hands of the director, but I think the Weinsteins did a great job; the trailer is one of the best I've ever seen. When I made Black Sunday, Sumner Redstone [now chairman of Viacom] wrote me, telling me how it was going to be the biggest thing ever; bigger than E.T.....you name it, and it did...just OK. I learned a lot from that experience. All you can do is as a director is to make the best movie you can and hope for the best.