# Frank P. Keller

Frank P. Keller (February 4, 1913 – December 25, 1977) was an American film and television editor with 24 feature film credits from 1958 - 1977. He is noted for the series of films he edited with director Peter Yates, for his four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing ("Oscars"), and for the "revolutionary" car chase sequence in the film Bullitt (1968) that likely won him the editing Oscar.

## Career

From 1942 to 1945, during the Second World War, Keller worked with editor Norval Crutcher on cataloging the film shot by combat cameramen in Europe. In 1949, Keller was editor Al Clark's assistant on All the King's Men (1949). From 1952 to 1956, Keller worked as an editor with Frank Capra on the first four films of The Bell Laboratory Science Series, sponsored by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Their work culminated with the 1956 televising (in color) of Our Mr. Sun, which was the first film of the series. Keller later edited the seventh and eighth films in the series, Thread of Life (1960) and About Time (1962), which were produced by Owen Crump for Warner Bros.
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). 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. Leonard Maltin has called it a "now-classic car chase, one of the screen's all-time best." 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." 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."

## Recognition

In 1957, Keller won an Emmy Award (Best Editing Of A Film For Television) for Our Mr. Sun. Keller was nominated for the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award for A Pocketful of Miracles (1962). He won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award for Bullitt (1968), and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing. He was nominated for the Academy Award and for the ACE Eddie Award for three other films: Beach Red (directed by Cornel Wilde-1967), The Hot Rock (with Fred W. Berger; directed by Peter Yates-1972), and Jonathan Livingston Seagull (with James Galloway; directed by Hall Bartlett-1973). He was nominated for ACE Eddie Awards for Room 222 (1969 - best edited TV pilot) and for Gargoyle (1972 - best edited TV special).
In 1976, Keller was elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

## Filmography

Editor :
| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
| 1958 | The Bonnie Parker Story | William Witney | |
| 1959 | The Five Pennies | Melville Shavelson | |
| 1959 | Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow | William J. Hole Jr. | |
| 1961 | Pocketful of Miracles | Frank Capra | |
| 1962 | Safe at Home! | Walter Doniger | |
| 1963 | Papa's Delicate Condition | George Marshall | |
| 1963 | Come Blow Your Horn | Bud Yorkin | |
| 1964 | For Those Who Think Young | Leslie H. Martinson | |
| 1966 | Tarzan and the Valley of Gold | Robert Day | |
| 1966 | Cyborg 2087 | Franklin Adreon | |
| 1967 | Beach Red | Cornel Wilde | |
| 1968 | Bullitt | Peter Yates | First collaboration with Peter Yates |
| 1969 | John and Mary | Peter Yates | Second collaboration with Peter Yates |
| 1971 | Murphy's War | Peter Yates | Third collaboration with Peter Yates |
| 1972 | The Hot Rock | Peter Yates | Fourth collaboration with Peter Yates |
| 1973 | Jonathan Livingston Seagull | Hall Bartlett | |
| 1974 | For Pete's Sake | Peter Yates | Fifth collaboration with Peter Yates |
| 1976 | Mother, Jugs & Speed | Peter Yates | Sixth collaboration with Peter Yates |
| 1977 | Rolling Thunder | John Flynn | |
| 1977 | Beyond Reason | Telly Savalas | |
Editorial department :
| Year | Film | Director | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | All the King's Men | Robert Rossen | Assistant editor | Uncredited |

### TV documentaries

Editor :
| Year | Film | Director |
| 1960 | The Thread of Life | Owen CrumpRobert McKimson |

### TV movies

Editor :
| Year | Film | Director |
| 1956 | Our Mr. Sun | Frank CapraWilliam T. Hurtz |
| 1957 | Hemo the Magnificent | Frank CapraWilliam T. Hurtz |
| 1957 | The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays | Frank CapraWilliam T. Hurtz |
| 1958 | The Unchained Goddess | Richard CarlsonWilliam T. Hurtz |
| 1962 | About Time | Owen CrumpPhil Monroe |
| 1971 | The Forgotten Man | Walter Grauman |
| 1972 | Gargoyles | Bill L. Norton |
| 1975 | The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return | David Lowell Rich |

### TV series

Editor :
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1961 | The Avengers | — |
| 1961 | Outlaws | 1 episode |
| 1964−65 | The Bing Crosby Show | 5 episodes |
| 1966 | Star Trek: The Original Series | 2 episodes |
| 1968 | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | 1 episode |
| 1969 | Room 222 | 1 episode |
Editorial department :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964−65 | The Bing Crosby Show | Editorial supervisor | 6 episodes |
Director :
| Year | Title |
| 1952 | Film Story-ettes |
Producer :
| Year | Title | Credit |
| 1952 | Film Story-ettes | Producer |