Previous Festivals: 1999

Director John Frankenheimer

Lunch seminar with Mr. Frankenheimer

The Williamstown Film Festival’s tribute to John Frankenheimer drew more than 250 people to the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown on June 26. Frankenheimer, the director of such classic films as The Manchurian Candidate, The Train, Birdman of Alcatraz, and Seven Days in May, received the Williamstown Film Festival's first Lifetime Achievement Award for more than four decades of creative genius. A champagne/dessert party in the Clark Art Institute's atrium preceeded the award ceremony, which included clips of the director's most famous works and an open discussion with the audience, moderated by Williams College professor Jim Shepard and WFF founding member Steve Lawson.

“The evening was a spectacular success,” says WFF President Bob Ware. “Everything from the champagne and the desserts, to the film clips and the conversation with Mr. Frankenheimer was thoroughly enjoyable. I can’t wait to do it all again next year.”

The Festival began Friday morning, June 25, with a screening of Ratchet, produced by George Belshaw of Altar Rock Films in Albany, NY. The film was followed by a luncheon seminar on "Producing the Independent Film" at the Williams Inn, and a screening of the The Basket followed the seminar. The film, which stars Karen Allen and Peter Coyote and is set in Washington State, was produced by North by Northwest Entertainment and directed by Rich Cowan.

The first day of the Festival ended with a rare screening of John Frankenheimer's classic The Iceman Cometh, starring Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, and Fredric March. Only two copies of this remarkable film exist, and the WFF was fortunate to acquire one of them for this screening.

The second day of the Festival began with a screening of Better Living, an offbeat comedy about a New York family struggling to cope with life in the absence of the father who disappeared 15 years earlier. Edward Herrmann, who plays a sardonic priest in the film, appeared at the screening with Max Mayer, the director, and Catherine Corpeny, who played one of Mr. Herrmann’s nieces. Better Living, a Goldheart Pictures film, was produced by Ron Kastner and Lemore Sylvan.

The Water Street Grill was SRO in anticipation of the luncheon seminar talk by Mr. Frankenheimer on the art of directing. Edward Herrmann joined in the discussion, and a host of Frankenheimer fans including State Representative Daniel Bosley made this event one of the most memorable of our first year. [Mr. Frankenheimer's highly personal talk was taped and is currently being shown on Willinet, our local public access cable channel. Copies of that tape, the tribute, and the indie film seminar are all available at a modest price from WFF.]

A screening of The Manchurian Candidate, one of Frankenheimer's most popular films, followed the luncheon seminar. The film was introduced enthusiastically by the director and professor Shawn Rosenheim of Williams College. At one point, when our aged copy of the film broke, Frankenheimer sprang up and good-naturedly related anecdotes about Frank Sinatra's antics during the making of the film. Cocktails and dinner at The Orchards followed the screening. Then we traveled down South Street to the Clark Art Institute for champagne, fabulous desserts, and the tribute.