10 One-and-Done Movies Directed by Actors
About this episode
The episode discusses ten movies directed by actors who only directed once.
by Patrick Bromley When what they really want to do is direct. Once. I was watching 1975's Posse recently and thinking that Kirk Douglas should have directed more movies, which is what inspired this list. Joke's on me, of course, because Kirk Douglas did direct more movies -- one, at least, Scalawag in 1973. That makes him ineligible for this list, but it got me thinking about other actors who directed one movie and then never directed again. Here's a list of 10 of them! 1. One-Eyed Jacks (1961, dir. Marlon Brando) The sole directorial effort of Marlon Brando is a revisionist western about a bandit seeking revenge on his former mentor (Karl Malden) after being betrayed. Apparently, Brando only took the job directing after clashing with multiple writers and directors (this was before the Eastwood Rule), but he does a fine job both in front of and behind the camera. History has vindicated him as well, as the movie entered the Criterion Collection in 2016 and the National Film Registry two years later. This was the last movie to be shot in VistaVision until The Brutalist in 2024. 2. Harlem Nights (1989, dir. Eddie Murphy) The only movie ever directed by Eddie Murphy came…
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