Actors turned directors

Crisp and Raoul Walsh were both in Birth of a Nation, as Ulysses S Grant and John Wilkes Booth, respectively.

Ray Milland PANIC IN YEAR ZERO

Martin Gabel, an actor I've never cared for (Orson Bean, who worked with him in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter on Broadway, claims he was quite a pretentious twit in real life as well) directed precisely one film: The Lost Moment (1947).

Hadn't heard that about Keith. I did some checking, and found he wrote two plays that were produced on B'way: 1927's The Tightwad, and 1932's Singapore, but that's the extent of it. Strikes me that while Keith's well-bred diction and low-key personality were miles from Gleason's common-man, "deese-dem-dose" New Yorker, they were of a similar physical type: wiry; bald; strong-jawed; tough-looking. And what that has to do with anything, I don't know. But here's an additional Keith bio morsel: his third wife was Peg Entwistle, whose most enduring filmland fame came from her suicidal leap from the "H" of the Hollywoodland sign in 1932 (she and Keith had divorced three years earlier). 

I saw The Lost Moment once many years ago and recall liking it, but somehow missed noticing that Gabel had directed it. Although the screen roles I've seen him play were nearly without exception unpleasant characters, I always enjoyed him on What's My Line? But what comes across on the tube may not be what does in life, and I could never tell if his supercilious manner might be as charming offscreen as, say, Clifton Webb's apparently was. Not to Mr. Bean, it seems. In any case, he and sunny, bubbly Arlene Francis struck me as an odd match. 

According to Bean, after both were cast in WSSRH he tried to pass the time with Gabel during rehearsals. Gabel declined to chat, saying only "Appearing in the same play does not constitute a social introduction."

I never thought much of Gabel as an actor. He doesn't do much with the shrink in Wilder's Front Page or the first warden in There Was A Crooked Man, two small but notable roles a more charismatic actor could have made a lot more out of. I have to admit he's not bad as the gangster in Bogart's Deadline USA -- not great, but not bad.

Yes. And I do believe Kubrick would have done a better job with the pacing, and all those other things. Brando's inexperience showed in many ways.

But he did get great performances out of a pretty solid cast, and delivered a great performance himself.

Some of the scenes are priceless. (Tim Carey even shows up for a great quirky scene with Brando)

So it wildly uneven, but great cinematography, solid perfs, interesting scenes, and dialog which looks forward to future westerns.

It is a little slow.

Cheers!

Oh, it plods. One of Brando's better performances, though.

From what I've read, Frawley was apparently a huge jerk and everyone on that show hated him.  When he died, Ball et al had a party. 

Yes. As I understand it Vivian Vance and Frawley despised each other. Nonetheless, Fred was my favorite!