Editing Cliff Robertson (section)

===Columbia===
Robertson made his film debut in ''[[Picnic (1955 film)|Picnic]]'' (1955), directed by Logan. Robertson played the role of [[William Holden]]'s best friend – a part originated on stage by [[Paul Newman]]. Newman was under contract to Warner Bros. when the film was being made and was then considered too big a star to reprise his stage performance. Logan's wife recommended Robertson after seeing him in a revival of ''The Wisteria Trees'', and the director remembered him from a Chicago production of ''Mister Roberts''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/00josh/page/5/mode/1up?q=picnic+|first=Joshua|last=Logan|year=1978|pages=7–8|title=Movie stars, real people and me|publisher=Bantam Doubleday Dell |isbn=9780440062585 }}</ref>

The film was a box office success and Robertson was promoted to [[Joan Crawford]]'s co-star in ''[[Autumn Leaves (film)|Autumn Leaves]]'' (1956), also at [[Columbia Pictures]], playing her mentally unstable younger lover. This meant he had to pass up the chance to replace [[Ben Gazzara]] on Broadway in ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Schallert, E.|title=Cliff Robertson wins plum Crawford lead; Lance Fuller starred.|date=August 18, 1955|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|166816412}}}}</ref> However he did return to Broadway to appear in ''[[Orpheus Descending]]'' by [[Tennessee Williams]], which only had a short run.

[[File:Jane-powell-cliff-robertson-girl-most-likely-1958-.jpg|thumb|right|Robertson, [[Jane Powell]], and [[Keith Andes]] in the 1958 film, ''[[The Girl Most Likely]]'']]
Robertson went to [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] to make two films: ''[[The Naked and the Dead (film)|The Naked and the Dead]]'' (1958), an adaptation of the famous novel, co-starring [[Aldo Ray]]; and ''[[The Girl Most Likely]]'' (1958), a musical – the last film made by RKO Studios.  Robertson received superb reviews for ''[[Days of Wine and Roses (Playhouse 90)|Days of Wine and Roses]]'' on TV with [[Piper Laurie]].

He was in Columbia's ''[[Gidget (film)|Gidget]]'' (1959), appearing opposite [[Sandra Dee]] as the Big [[Kahuna]]. It was popular and led to two sequels, neither of which Robertson appeared in. Less successful was a war film at Columbia, ''[[Battle of the Coral Sea (film)|Battle of the Coral Sea]]'' (1959).

In 1961, he was the third lead in Paramount's ''[[All in a Night's Work (film)|All in a Night's Work]]'', starred in [[Samuel Fuller]]'s ''[[Underworld U.S.A.]]'' at Columbia, and supported [[Esther Williams]] in ''[[The Big Show (1961 film)|The Big Show]]''. He had his first film hit since ''Gidget'' with Columbia's ''[[The Interns (film)|The Interns]]'' (1962). After supporting [[Debbie Reynolds]] in ''[[My Six Loves]]'' (1963), Robertson was President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s personal choice to play him in 1963's ''[[PT 109 (film)|PT 109]]''.<ref>{{cite news |author=Hoberman, J. |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0335,hoberman,46558,1.html |title=Lights, Camera, Exploitation |work=Village Voice |date=August 26, 2003 |access-date=November 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630070747/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0335%2Choberman%2C46558%2C1.html |archive-date=June 30, 2008 }}</ref> The film was not a success at the box office.

More popular was ''[[Sunday in New York]]'' (1963), where Robertson supported [[Rod Taylor]] and [[Jane Fonda]], and ''[[The Best Man (1964 film)|The Best Man]]'' where he was a ruthless presidential candidate.

Robertson appeared in a popular war film ''[[633 Squadron]]'' (1964) then supported [[Lana Turner]] in a melodrama, ''[[Love Has Many Faces]]'' (1965). In 1965 he said his contract with Columbia was for one film a year.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Cliff Robertson: Career that's flying high.|date=August 8, 1965|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|155264948}}}}</ref>