Go Back  DVD Talk Forum > Entertainment Discussions > Movie Talk
Reload this Page >

Actors who turned directior for one film only

Movie Talk A Discussion area for everything movie related including films In The Theaters

Actors who turned directior for one film only

Old 04-03-12, 08:03 AM
  #1  
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
 
Jaymole's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: N.Y, N.Y
Posts: 10,517
Received 441 Likes on 249 Posts
Actors who turned directior for one film only

I just watched Charlie Bubbles, regrettably, the sole directing credit of Albert Finney. I really liked the film and it's obvious auto-biographical influence.

It got me think of other actors who tried directing for only one film. Obviously, Charles Laughton is the most famous one for Night of the Hunter. And I am a big fan of Brando's One-Eyed Jacks.

I was wondering if there are other films that people are fond of that were the sole directing credit of an actor?
Old 04-03-12, 08:54 AM
  #2  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
inri222's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 50,673
Received 182 Likes on 120 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

The War Zone - Tim Roth
Nil By Mouth - Gary Oldman
The 3 Burials of Malquiades Estrada - Tommy Lee Jones
The Buccaneer - Anthony Quinn
Old 04-03-12, 08:56 AM
  #3  
DVD Talk Hero
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 45,294
Received 1,011 Likes on 803 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Tommy Lee Jones directed The Sunset Limited as well, and despite it being Made-For-HBO it has to count to some extent.
Old 04-03-12, 08:58 AM
  #4  
DVD Talk Legend
 
TheMovieman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Oregon
Posts: 13,284
Received 211 Likes on 178 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Dan Aykroyd - Nothing But Trouble
Nicolas Cage - Sonny
Ralph Fiennes - Coriolanus
Kevin Bacon - Loverboy
Zach Braff - Garden State (haven't seen it in a while, but remember enjoying it)
Old 04-03-12, 10:11 AM
  #5  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Ash Ketchum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 12,618
Received 275 Likes on 210 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by inri222
The Buccaneer - Anthony Quinn
Quinn's THE BUCCANEER was surprisingly good. It was produced by his then-father-in-law Cecil B. De Mille, who directed the 1938 original. I like Quinn's version better. De Mille died the following year at the age of 77.

Other one-time actor-directors:

Jack Lemmon: KOTCH (1971), starring his buddy Walter Matthau and his (Lemmon's) wife Felicia Farr. I saw this once. It was an okay comedy about an old codger (Matthau).

Lew Ayres: HEARTS IN BONDAGE (1936), a Civil War drama about the battle between the ironclad ships, the Monitor and the Merrimac, piloted by two friends on opposite sides. Abraham Lincoln is a major character. It's a good one, despite a low budget.

James Cagney: SHORT CUT TO HELL (1957), a remake of the Alan Ladd classic, THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942). I've never seen this because I've never had the opportunity. Has anyone ever revived it?
Old 04-03-12, 10:14 AM
  #6  
Moderator
 
Groucho's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Posts: 71,383
Received 122 Likes on 84 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Bill Murray -- Quick Change (with Howard Franklin)
Old 04-03-12, 10:18 AM
  #7  
DVD Talk Legend
 
islandclaws's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain
Posts: 20,085
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 6 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Kurt Russell has publicly said that he was the actual director of Tombstone, not George P. Costmatos.
Old 04-03-12, 11:16 AM
  #8  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Hokeyboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 20,388
Received 680 Likes on 419 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Shatner in Star Trek V.

Eddie Murphy in Harlem Nights.

Last edited by Hokeyboy; 04-03-12 at 11:25 AM.
Old 04-03-12, 11:24 AM
  #9  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Crocker Jarmen's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 8,740
Received 462 Likes on 306 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only



I would love to have seen another film by Laughton.
Old 04-03-12, 12:02 PM
  #10  
DVD Talk Legend
 
JumpCutz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: south of heaven
Posts: 13,540
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Jason Miller - That Championship Season
Old 04-03-12, 12:22 PM
  #11  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,902
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Bill Paxton - Frailty
Old 04-03-12, 12:28 PM
  #12  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MA
Posts: 17,000
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Beware! The Blob (1972) - Larry Hagman

The movie that JR shot!
Old 04-03-12, 12:33 PM
  #13  
DVD Talk Reviewer
 
Randy Miller III's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Posts: 4,717
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

He's primarily a writer, but Larry David directed only one movie: Sour Grapes (1998).
Never saw it, but heard it pretty much sucked.
Old 04-03-12, 12:50 PM
  #14  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Ash Ketchum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 12,618
Received 275 Likes on 210 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Joan Rivers directed one movie--RABBIT TEST (1978). Anyone here ever see it?
Old 04-03-12, 12:56 PM
  #15  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Sitting on a beach, earning 20%
Posts: 9,917
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Frank Sinatra, None But The Brave
Karl Malden, Time Limit
Armin Mueller-Stahl, Conversation with the Beast
Klaus Kinski, Kinski Paganini
Anne Bancroft, Fatso
Walter Matthau, Gangster Story
Alan Rickman, The Winter Guest
Johnny Depp, The Brave (Not a remake of the Sinatra pic. But it does star lister Marlon Brando!)
Peter Lorre, Der Verlorene
Ice Cube, The Player's Club (I know, I know, but would you call him a rapper anymore?)
Old 04-03-12, 12:57 PM
  #16  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Sitting on a beach, earning 20%
Posts: 9,917
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by Lastdaysofrain
Bill Paxton - Frailty
He also did The Greatest Game Ever Played. You were right to forget it.
Old 04-03-12, 03:24 PM
  #17  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Shannon Nutt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 18,354
Received 324 Likes on 242 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by Hokeyboy
Shatner in Star Trek V.
Well, that's not technically true...Shatner also directed the direct-to-video GROOM LAKE, as well as the recent doc THE CAPTAINS.
Old 04-03-12, 03:43 PM
  #18  
En vacance
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 2,512
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Arnold Schwarzenegger- Christmas in Conneticut
Old 04-03-12, 03:45 PM
  #19  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
inri222's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 50,673
Received 182 Likes on 120 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Old 04-03-12, 03:50 PM
  #20  
DVD Talk Gold Edition
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,134
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by Randy Miller III
He's primarily a writer, but Larry David directed only one movie: Sour Grapes (1998).
Never saw it, but heard it pretty much sucked.
I did see it and yes, it pretty much sucks.
Old 04-03-12, 05:46 PM
  #21  
DVD Talk Hero
 
GoldenJCJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Colorado
Posts: 27,137
Received 3,160 Likes on 2,036 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by RichC2
Tommy Lee Jones directed The Sunset Limited as well, and despite it being Made-For-HBO it has to count to some extent.
Tommy Lee Jones also directed The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. I never saw The Sunset Limited but Melquiades Estrada was pretty decent.
Old 04-03-12, 05:48 PM
  #22  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Sitting on a beach, earning 20%
Posts: 9,917
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by GoldenJCJ
Tommy Lee Jones also directed The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. I never saw The Sunset Limited but Melquiades Estrada was pretty decent.
Psst... up here.
Old 04-03-12, 05:58 PM
  #23  
DVD Talk Hero
 
GoldenJCJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Colorado
Posts: 27,137
Received 3,160 Likes on 2,036 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

^ Quiet You! You don't expect me to actually read the threads I post in, do you?
Old 04-03-12, 07:09 PM
  #24  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Hokeyboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 20,388
Received 680 Likes on 419 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
Well, that's not technically true...Shatner also directed the direct-to-video GROOM LAKE, as well as the recent doc THE CAPTAINS.
Trek V is his only feature film released to theaters. Overruled.


And apropos of nothing, but The Captains was pretty crummy. I was expecting something so much more interesting.
Old 04-03-12, 07:53 PM
  #25  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Sacramento, Calif.
Posts: 13,525
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Re: Actors who turned directior for one film only

Originally Posted by Randy Miller III
He's primarily a writer, but Larry David directed only one movie: Sour Grapes (1998).
Never saw it, but heard it pretty much sucked.
I stumbled upon this movie by accident on one of the premium channels real late at night probably 10 years ago. I kept thinking to myself that Seinfeld or David just had to have something to do with it. I was really surprised I had never heard of it.

At first I thought they were just ripping off the style of humor but after the movie ended and I saw Larry David directed it I wasn't remotely surprised. It played out like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.