Editing Lewis Milestone (section)

==Television and unrealized film projects: 1955–1965==

After completing ''[[The Widow (1955 film)|The Widow (La Vedova)]]'' (1955), Milestone returned to the United States in search of film projects. With the Hollywood studio system in decline, Milestone resorted to television to keep working. Five years elapsed before he completed another feature film.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 191: During the late Fifties "Hollywood was reeling from the collapse of the studio system" and "it would be five years before Milestone made another feature film, ''Pork Chop Hill'' (1959)."</ref><ref>Canham, 1974 p. 103: After making The Widow "Milestone turned to television for several years, working on a number of series including [[Have Gun Will Travel]]{{nbsp}}... but he was tempted back [to Hollywood] at the end of the decade to direct ''Pork Chop Hill''"</ref> In 1956–1957, Milestone partnered with actor-producer [[Kirk Douglas]], who had debuted in Milestone's ''[[The Strange Love of Martha Ivers]]'' (1946), to make a movie about a ''[[Citizen Kane]]''-like tycoon but the project, which was titled ''King Kelly'', was abandoned after a year.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 178</ref>

In 1957, Milestone directed episodes of television drama series, including ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (two episodes), ''[[Schlitz Playhouse]]'' (two episodes) and ''[[Suspicion (American TV series)|Suspicion]]'' (one episode). In 1958, Milestone directed actor [[Richard Boone]], who debuted in Milestone's''[[Kangaroo (1952 film)|Kangaroo]]'' (1952), in two episodes of the television western ''[[Have Gun – Will Travel]]''.<ref>Whitely, 2020: "As movie work dried up, Milestone reluctantly took on some television direction, which he did not enjoy, starting in 1958 with 'Schlitz Playhouse' and continuing with 'Have Gun-Will Travel' in the same year and ending with 'Arrest and Trial' in 1963."<br />Canham, 1974 pp. 118&ndash;119: See here for short list on "unrealized projects" and "Kane-like" project<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 178: See here for episodes directed by Milestone. And "Milestone{{nbsp}}... characterized television direction{{nbsp}}... as a form of wage slavery" in an interview with Higham and Greenberg (1969), see footnote.</ref> Milestone embarked upon the filming of Warner Bros.'s ''[[PT 109 (film)|PT 109]]'' (1963), a biography of [[John F. Kennedy]]'s experiences as a [[torpedo boat]] commander in the [[Pacific War]]. After several weeks of filming, [[Jack L. Warner]] removed Milestone from the project and replaced him with director [[Leslie H. Martinson]], who received the screen credit.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 186: "controversial nature of the [film] project{{nbsp}}... [President] Kennedy would have run for reelection in 1964" and Jack Warner complained that "satisfactory progress was not being made" under Milestone's direction.<br />Barson, 2020: "Milestone began work on two more films, he was replaced on both productions: PT 109 (1963), a film about John F. Kennedy's wartime heroism in the Pacific"</ref>

Milestone found television productions unappealing but returned to that medium after completing ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' (1962), directing one episode of the series ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'' and one episode of ''[[The Richard Boone Show]]'', both in 1963.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 186</ref> Milestone's final film work was for a multinational joint venture with [[American International Pictures]]' ''[[The Dirty Game|La Guea Seno- The Dirty Game]]'' (1965), for which he directed one episode before being replaced by [[Terence Young (director)|Terence Young]] due to failing health.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 119<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 186</ref>

Several of Milestone's films—''Seven Sinners'', ''The Front Page'', ''The Racket'', and ''Two Arabian Knights''—were preserved by the [[Academy Film Archive]] in 2016 and 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=&filmmaker=milestone&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive}}</ref>