Editing Peter Falk (section)

===Early films===
[[File:Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Trailer21 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Peter Falk in ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'' (1963)]]
[[File:Peter Falk and Natalie Wood in 'Penelope', 1966.jpg|thumb|upright|With [[Natalie Wood]] in [[Penelope (1966 film)|''Penelope'']] (1966)]]

Despite his stage success, a theatrical agent advised Falk not to expect much [[film actor|film acting]] work because of his artificial eye.<ref name='OfficialBio'/> He failed a screen test at [[Columbia Pictures]] and was told by studio boss [[Harry Cohn]]: "For the same price I can get an actor with two eyes." He also failed to get a role in the film ''[[Marjorie Morningstar (film)|Marjorie Morningstar]]'', despite a promising interview for the second lead.{{sfn|Falk|2006|pp=51–55}} His first film performances were in small roles in ''[[Wind Across the Everglades]]'' (1958), ''[[The Bloody Brood]]'' (1959), and ''[[Pretty Boy Floyd (film)|Pretty Boy Floyd]]'' (1960). Falk's performance in ''[[Murder, Inc. (1960 film)|Murder, Inc.]]'' (1960) was a turning point in his career. He was cast in the supporting role of killer [[Abe Reles]] in a film based on the real-life [[Murder, Inc.|murder gang of that name]] who terrorized New York in the 1930s. ''[[The New York Times]]'' film critic [[Bosley Crowther]], while dismissing the movie as "an average gangster film," singled out Falk's "amusingly vicious performance."<ref name='Crowthermurderinc'/> Crowther wrote:<ref name='Crowthermurderinc'>{{cite news|first=Bosley|last=Crowther |author-link= Bosley Crowther|title=Screen: 'Murder, Inc.': Story of Brooklyn Mob Retold at the Victoria|date=June 29, 1960|url =https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9405E2DF1031EF3ABC4151DFB066838B679EDE|work=The New York Times |access-date =January 31, 2009 }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Mr. Falk, moving as if weary, looking at people out of the corners of his eyes and talking as if he had borrowed Marlon Brando's chewing gum, seems a travesty of a killer, until the water suddenly freezes in his eyes and he whips an icepick from his pocket and starts punching holes in someone's ribs. Then viciousness pours out of him and you get a sense of a felon who is hopelessly cracked and corrupt.}}

The film turned out to be Falk's breakout role. In his autobiography, ''Just One More Thing'' (2006), Falk said his selection for the film from thousands of other [[Off-Broadway]] actors was a "miracle" that "made my career" and that without it, he would not have received the other significant movie roles that he later played.{{sfn|Falk|2006|p=76}} Falk, who played Reles again in the 1960 TV series ''The Witness'', was nominated for a [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for his performance in the film.

In 1961, multiple Academy Award-winning director [[Frank Capra]] cast Falk in the comedy ''[[Pocketful of Miracles]]''. The film was Capra's last feature, and although it was not the commercial success he hoped it would be, he "gushed about Falk's performance."<ref name=Fantle/> Falk was nominated for an Oscar for the role. In his autobiography, Capra wrote about Falk:
{{blockquote|The entire production was agony&nbsp;... except for Peter Falk. He was my joy, my anchor to reality. Introducing that remarkable talent to the techniques of comedy made me forget pains, tired blood, and maniacal hankerings to murder [[Glenn Ford]] (the film's star). Thank you Peter Falk.<ref>Capra, Frank. ''The Name Above the Title: an Autobiography'', Macmillan (1971)</ref>{{rp|480}}}}

For his part, Falk says he "never worked with a director who showed greater enjoyment of actors and the acting craft. There is nothing more important to an actor than to know that the one person who represents the audience to you, the director, is responding well to what you are trying to do." Falk once recalled how Capra reshot a scene even though he yelled "Cut and Print," indicating the scene was finalized. When Falk asked him why he wanted it reshot: "He laughed and said that he loved the scene so much he just wanted to see us do it again. How's that for support!"<ref name=Fantle/>

For the remainder of the 1960s, Falk had mainly supporting movie roles and TV guest-starring appearances. Falk portrayed one of two cabbies who falls victim to greed in the epic 1963 star-studded comedy ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'', although he appears only in the last fifth of the movie. His other roles included the character of Guy Gisborne in the [[Rat Pack]] musical comedy ''[[Robin and the 7 Hoods]]'' (1964), in which he sings one of the film's numbers, and the spoof ''The Great Race'' (1965) with [[Jack Lemmon]] and [[Tony Curtis]].