Editing Otto Preminger (section)

===Directing style and personality===

As noted above, both as a director and (later in his career) as the producer of his own films, Preminger repeatedly broke new ground, by challenging long-established norms and taboos in Hollywood films. He was also known for his efficiency as a filmmaker—for most of his career he routinely completed his films on time and on budget. He frequently favoured long takes, often filmed dialogue in two-shots, rather than intercutting, and preferred minimal cuts. John Ford was also known for similar techniques, filming as few takes as possible, and "cutting in the camera", and it is likely that Preminger preferred these methods for the same reasons as Ford, who had learned from hard experience that shooting as little footage as possible reduced costs, while also minimising the ability of studio executives to recut their films against their wishes.

However, despite his liberal social outlook, Preminger became notorious for his domineering and abrasive personality, his explosive temper, and his dictatorial manner on set, which earned him nicknames like "Otto the Terrible" and "Otto the Ogre"—although it has been speculated that (like his contemporary [[John Ford]]) Preminger's tyrannical persona and abusive behaviour were to some extent a calculated pose, intended to garner publicity, keep his cast and crew under his control, and keep interfering studio executives at bay.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/01/14/balance-of-terror |title=Balance of Terror: How Otto Preminger made his movies |last=Denby|first=David |date=14 January 2008|magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref>

Preminger evidently had relatively few conflicts with the major stars with whom he worked, although there were notable exceptions. [[Lana Turner]] (originally cast in the role that subsequently went to [[Lee Remick]]) quit ''Anatomy of a Murder'' a month before filming was due to start, over a dispute about her wardrobe, with Turner telling the press that she couldn't deal with Preminger's domineering personality,<ref name=ind>{{cite web |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/otto-preminger-the-method-in-his-madness-7785.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/otto-preminger-the-method-in-his-madness-7785.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Otto Preminger: The method in his madness |last=McNab|first=Geoffrey |date=25 March 2005 |website=The Independent |publisher=independent.co.uk |access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref> and renowned British actor [[Paul Scofield]] reportedly quit ''Saint Joan'' after he got into a heated argument with Preminger during the first cast read-through of the script.

[[Laurence Olivier]], who played a police inspector in the psychological thriller ''[[Bunny Lake Is Missing]]'' (1965), shot in England, recalled in his autobiography ''Confessions of an Actor'' that he found Preminger a "bully". [[Adam West]], who portrayed the lead in the 1960s ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' television series, echoed Olivier's opinion. He remembered Preminger as being rude and unpleasant, especially when he disregarded the typical thespian etiquette of subtly cooperating when being helped to his feet, in a scene by West and [[Burt Ward]].

Preminger became notorious for his abusive and bullying behaviour towards his crews, and he was especially intolerant of less experienced actors—he reputedly completely memorised every line of each script before shooting began, and would fly into a rage at any actor who struggled to remember their lines. He is said to have grabbed one nervous young actor by the shoulders and screamed in his face "Relax! Relax!" Composer [[Elmer Bernstein]], who scored ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' recalled, "He was a scary character. I thought he was going to throw me out of the office when I told him that what I had in mind was to do a jazz-based score. But he said that that was what I had been hired for, and that was what I should go away and do."<ref name=ind/>

[[Linda Darnell]] was another famous target of Preminger's temper—he reportedly screamed at her almost every day for two months during the filming of ''Forever Amber''. She came to loathe him, and the combination of the long hours of filming, heavy dieting and Preminger's constant harangues caused Darnell to collapse twice on set, and she was ordered to take ten days off by a doctor. During rehearsals for the Herman Wouk play ''Modern Primitive'', Preminger screamed so violently at an actor who struggled to remember his lines that the man allegedly suffered a nervous breakdown, and one witness later commented, "I had never seen such terrifying rage in anyone," describing the director as having "veins standing out on his forehead" and "literally foaming at the mouth".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/otto-preminger-man-and-myth-20081219-j78lj |title=Otto Preminger: Man and Myth |last=Rich|first=Nathaniel |date=19 December 2008|website=afr.com |publisher=The Australian Financial Review |access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref>

One of the most infamous examples of his mistreatment of inexperienced actors was [[Jean Seberg]], whom he plucked from obscurity and directed in ''Saint Joan'' and ''Bonjour Tristesse''. Seberg later commented: "With him, I became a nervous wreck, crying and jumping when the phone started ringing, incapable of walking calmly across a room." Preminger imposed an intense, constant and minute level of control over Seberg throughout their association, and her co-star [[Richard Widmark]] later characterised Preminger's behaviour towards her as "sadistic". [[Tom Tryon]], the star of Preminger's 1963 feature ''The Cardinal'', received similar treatment—Preminger would scream at him, zoom in on his shaking hands, and repeatedly fired and rehired him, with the result that Tryon was hospitalised with a body rash and peeling skin, due to nerves. Interviewed some 30 years later, Tryon admitted that he still hated talking about the experience, and his brother Bill Tryon told the same interviewer: "I'll never watch that movie again the rest of my life, knowing what Tom went through."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1992-04-26-0000202541-story.html |title="A Life in Two Acts" |last=McClurg|first=Jocelyn |date=26 April 1992|website=Courant.com |publisher=The Hartford Courant |access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref>