In May 2001, amid rumors that he was the biological father of film director Michael Bay, Frankenheimer stated he had a brief relationship with Bay's birth mother.

After the rumors surfaced that Bay's natural father was a filmmaker, there was much speculation about Frankenheimer, who continued to deny the story and told the Los Angeles Times that there had once been " tests " to determine paternity ( long before DNA testing ).

As Frankenheimer describes in Charles Champlin's interview book, he advised Lancaster that the script was too long but was told he had to shoot all that was written.

The first cut of the film was four-and-a-half hours long, the length Frankenheimer had predicted.

Frankenheimer and producer George Axelrod bought Richard Condon's 1959 novel after it had already been turned down by many Hollywood studios.

The Train had already begun shooting in France when star Lancaster had the original director fired and called in Frankenheimer to save the film.

Due to their contract with the German Nürburgring, Frankenheimer had to turn over 27 reels shot there to Sturges.

The film tested very highly, and Paramount and Frankenheimer had high expectations for it.

In 1990, he returned to the Cold War political thriller genre with The Fourth War with Roy Scheider ( with whom Frankenheimer had worked previously on 52 Pick-Up ) as a loose cannon Army colonel drawn into a dangerous personal war with a Russian officer.

" In an interview, Frankenheimer refused to discuss the film, saying only that he had a miserable time making it.

They had a contract with the German Nürburgring, and after John Frankenheimer shot scenes there for Grand Prix, the reels had to be turned over to Sturges.

This almost caused Frankenheimer to back out, since he and Lancaster had butted heads on The Birdman of Alcatraz several years before.

Ironically, Lancaster and Frankenheimer became close friends during the filming, while Douglas and the director had a falling out.

Some of the other actors had problems with Frankenheimer.

Due to their contract with the German Nürburgring, Frankenheimer had to turn over 27 reels shot there to Sturges.

Director John Frankenheimer cast a more malevolent, coarse Lee Marvin in his 1973 film version that had a 239-minute running time.

The Train had already begun shooting in France when star Burt Lancaster had the original director fired and called in Frankenheimer to take over the film.

Randolph was the last blacklisted actor to regain employment in Hollywood films when director John Frankenheimer cast him in the lead role in Seconds in 1966.

Other noteworthy actors to play the role of Hickey include Lee Marvin, in a 1973 film adaptation directed by John Frankenheimer ; James Earl Jones, in a 1973 revival at the Circle in the Square Theatre that was edited for length and criticized for the weakness of its supporting cast ; and Kevin Spacey, who was lauded for his 1998 – 1999 stage rendition of the part in London's West End and then on Broadway.

* Colonel von Waldheim was originally to engage Labiche in a shootout at the film's climax, but after Paul Scofield was cast in the role, at Lancaster's suggestion Frankenheimer re-wrote the scene to provide Scofield a more suitable end — taunting Labiche into killing him.

* The Manchurian Candidate, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Leslie Parrish, Angela Lansbury

Burt Lancaster, who was producing as well as starring, asked Frankenheimer to take over the film.

His girlfriend Velma Davis was played by Evans Evans, who was the wife of film director John Frankenheimer.

The TNT cable network also produced a movie George Wallace in 1997, which was a John Frankenheimer film starring Gary Sinise, who would win an Emmy for his performance as Wallace the very night of the real Wallace's death.

According to Frankenheimer in his director's commentary, production of the film received encouragement and assistance from Kennedy through White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger, who conveyed to Frankenheimer Kennedy's wish that the film be produced and that, although the Pentagon did not want the film made, the President would conveniently arrange to visit Hyannis Port for a weekend when the film needed to shoot outside the White House.

They include Robert Zemeckis, Richard Donner, Howard Deutch, John Frankenheimer, William Friedkin, Walter Hill, Tom Holland, Tobe Hooper, Mary Lambert, Peter Medak, Russell Mulcahy, Elliot Silverstein, and Freddie Francis, who directed the original 1972 film.

In the 1997 TNT film George Wallace, directed by John Frankenheimer, Jim Folsom is played by Joe Don Baker, who was nominated for a CableACE award for his performance.

Sunday was cool, but dry, and a crowd of 75, 000 included actors James Garner ( Pete Aron ), Toshirō Mifune ( Mr. Yomura ) and Jessica Walter ( Pat Stoddard ), as well as director John Frankenheimer, who were in the final stages of creating the movie Grand Prix.

Jarier introduced himself to a new generation by contributing major stunt work to the film Ronin, directed by John Frankenheimer who also directed the 1966 classic, Grand Prix.

In 1966, John Frankenheimer made the film Grand Prix in front of 3000 locals who posed as race spectators watching actors like Yves Montand and Françoise Hardy.

Frankenheimer ended the year with The Thundering Wave ( December 12, 1957 ), starring James and Pamela Mason in an Aurthur drama about acting couple who agree to do a play together despite their separation.

The following year, Frankenheimer began with The Blue Men ( January 15, 1959 ), an Alvin Boretz drama about the trial of police detective who refused to make an arrest.

John Frankenheimer, who directed, hasn't done anything this darkly entertaining since ' Black Sunday.

Movie critic Leonard Maltin writes that " in his time ... Frankenheimer worked with the top writers, producers and actors in a series of films that dealt with issues that were just on top of the moment — things that were facing us all.

Frankenheimer returned to television during the late 1950s, moving to film permanently in 1961 with The Young Savages, in which he worked for the first time with Burt Lancaster in a story of a young boy murdered by a New York gang.

As well as appearing in ten episodes of her father's half-hour television programme, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Hitchcock worked on a few others, including Playhouse 90, which was live, directed by John Frankenheimer.

In addition, John Frankenheimer directed five films with Lancaster: The Young Savages ( 1961 ), Birdman of Alcatraz ( 1962 ), Seven Days in May ( 1964 ), The Train ( 1964 ), and The Gypsy Moths ( 1969 ).

Frankenheimer followed this with his most iconic film, The Manchurian Candidate.

Frankenheimer followed with another successful political thriller, Seven Days in May ( 1964 ).

Again saddled with an unfilmably long script, Frankenheimer threw it out and took the locations and actors left from the previous film and began filming, with writers working in Paris as the production shot in Normandy.

Frankenheimer followed Seconds with his most spectacular production, 1966's Grand Prix.

The celebration of Americana starred Frankenheimer regular Lancaster, reuniting him with From Here to Eternity co-star Deborah Kerr, and it also featured Gene Hackman.

Frankenheimer followed this with I Walk the Line in 1970.

When it failed to become the hit that was expected, Frankenheimer admitted he developed a serious problem with alcohol.

In 1981, Frankenheimer travelled to Japan to shoot the cult martial-arts action film The Challenge, with Scott Glenn and legendary Japanese star, Toshiro Mifune.

John Frankenheimer: A Conversation with Charles Champlin ( Riverwood Press ).

* Interview with John Frankenheimer video TV Legends, 28 minutes

* A television adaptation, directed by John Frankenheimer, was broadcast in two parts on CBS's Playhouse 90 in 1956, starring Jason Robards and Maria Schell as Robert Jordan and Maria, with Nehemiah Persoff as Pablo, Maureen Stapleton as Pilar, and Eli Wallach as the gypsy Rafael.

Frankenheimer was unable to meet with McQueen to offer him the role and instead sent Edward Lewis, his business partner and the producer of Grand Prix.