Frank P. Keller Jr. (February 4, 1913 â December 25, 1977) was an American film editor with 24 feature film credits from 1958 to 1977. He was noted for his work with director Peter Yates, particularly for the film Bullitt (1968), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. He received an additional three nominations for the films Beach Red (1967), The Hot Rock (1972), and Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973).
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 ' (1967âÂÂ69). 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).
In 1976, Keller was elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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. William A. Fraker, the cinematographer for the film, attributed the success of the chase sequence primarily to the work of 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."
Keller died in Los Angeles on Christmas Day 1977, aged 64.