The Only Major Actors Still Alive From The Arrangement

In 1960, Kirk Douglas had helped to break the Hollywood Blacklist with "Spartacus" by publicly crediting then-blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo as the screenwriter. But in 1969, he found himself working with a director who had been anything but helpful to his Hollywood colleagues during the height of McCarthyism. Sadly, this team-up between Douglas and director Elia Kazan also had the unfortunate distinction of being one of the Greek-American filmmaker's most derided films.

"The Arrangement" currently has a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which should tell you pretty much all you need to know about how this ill-fated drama was received upon release. The film is an adaptation of Kazan's own 1967 novel of the same name and follows LA advertising executive Evangelos Topouzoglou/Eddie Anderson (Douglas) as he endures a protracted nervous breakdown (which is what watching this incredible trailer feels like). Critics at the time were merciless with their condemnation of Kazan's film, which to them clearly didn't match the quality of his earlier works such as "Gentleman's Agreement" or "A Streetcar Named Desire". The New York Times' Vincent Canby, for example, called the film "a callous soap opera, unworthy of a man of Kazan's true talent."

But regardless of its reception, there's no denying the star power of "The Arrangement." Aside from Douglas (who passed away in 2020), the film starred Faye Dunaway, Deborah Kerr, and Richard Boone. Some 55 years after it first debuted, then, in lieu of a full critical reassessment (which doesn't appear to be happening any time soon), perhaps we can take this moment to celebrate the actors who gave what they could to Kazan's film, and see which of them are still going strong half a century later.

"The Arrangement" might not have received the kind of critical appraisal Elia Kazan or the film's stars were hoping for, but there's no denying Faye Dunaway's magnetism. As Vincent Canby noted in his NYT review, the actor came across as "so cool and elegant that the sight of her almost pinches the optic nerves," even while she was playing what Canby termed "the office tramp." Both Kirk Douglas and Dunaway delivered great performances that transcended the movie surrounding them. Roger Ebert dubbed their efforts "remarkable," and that's a fair assessment, especially when it came to Dunaway's cool and sensitive Gwen — a research assistant at the advertising agency and Eddie's mistress.

After her turn in "The Arrangement," Dunaway maintained her status as one of the leading stars of the "New Hollywood" movement, delivering more standout performances in films that defined that era. This included her Oscar-nominated turn opposite Jack Nicholson in 1974's "Chinatown" and a starring role in 1975's "Three Days of the Condor." She also narrowly dodged being fired from "Network" by Sidney Lumet, but it's a good thing she wasn't dismissed as she went on to finally win the Oscar for her role as Diane Christensen in the film.

Now 83 and with that Oscar, an Emmy, three Golden Globes, and a BAFTA Award to her name, Dunaway will be the subject of "Faye," an upcoming documentary set to hit HBO and MAX in late 2024.

Carol Eve Rossen worked with some esteemed directors during her career, from Brian De Palma to Elia Kazan himself. In fact, her feature film debut was in "The Arrangement," in which she played Gloria Anderson, Eddie's sister-in-law. Though Gloria doesn't have a big part in the story, she does have some standout scenes, most notably when she and Eddie's wife Florence (Deborah Kerr) burst into the bedroom of the Anderson family estate in Long Island to find Eddie and Gwen in bed.

After "The Arrangement" Rossen went on to co-star in 1975's "The Stepford Wives" — a horror film that comes highly recommended by Jordan Peele — alongside Katharine Ross and Paula Prentiss. She would re-team with Kirk Douglas in 1978 for de Palma's "The Fury" and also appeared in an impressive array of TV shows after "The Arrangement," showing up in everything from "Archie Bunker's Place" to "Law & Order."

Though her last credited appearance was in the 1995 TV movie "The Heidi Chronicles," Rossen has also kept busy outside of acting, publishing her own nonfiction book, "Counterpunch," in 1988. She continued to work as a script doctor in the years after, before completing her second book "Mother Goose Drank Scotch" in 2019.

Michael Murphy might not command the same reverence as Kirk Douglas but he's surely worthy of a mention on this list, and not simply because he's still going in 2024. Murphy's role as Father Draddy in "The Arrangement" was one of his earliest following small parts in 1967's "Double Trouble," 1968's "Countdown" and "The Legend of Lylah Clare," and 1969's "That Cold Day in the Park." But after his work on Elia Kazan's film, he went on to establish an enviable career in the industry.

Many of his best-known roles came from his frequent work with Robert Altman. From 1963 to 2004, Murphy appeared in 12 of the director' films, TV series, and miniseries, perhaps most notably playing the lead role in mockumentary series "Tanner '88." The best part of this is that Murphy reprised his role as "Fmr. U.S. Congressman" Jack Tanner in Martin Scorsese's 2019 quasi-documentary "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story," in which the director and Dylan blended real and fictitious elements (Murphy's character contributing to the latter).

Elsewhere, Murphy gained recognition for his performance as Jill Clayburgh's husband, Martin, in Paul Mazursky's 1978 effort "An Unmarried Woman" (1978) and as Woody Allen's buddy, Yale, in "Manhattan" (1979). He continued acting throughout the following decades, delivering yet another notable turn in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" in 1999.

Now 86, Murphy seems to be enjoying a quiet life, having told his local Maine news station back in 2018 that his life is "so relaxed" and adding, "There's something about living here in the woods, I look out the window and, you get a dog, everything kind of mellows."

Dianne Hull made her feature film debut in "The Arrangement," playing the part of Ellen, daughter of the Anderson family lawyer, Arthur (Hume Cronyn). Discovered by Elia Kazan, Hull suddenly found herself with a small but significant role in the famed director's movie, before going on to appear in multiple other productions until the early-90s.

After "The Arrangement," Hull appeared in 1970's "The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart" before taking on multiple roles throughout the decade, including 1974's "Man on a Swing" and 1979's "The Onion Field." In 1987, she also appeared in a season 2 episode of Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" (which, in 2020, was rebooted for the Apple TV+ service) alongside several other TV roles throughout the '70s and '80s. A handful of film roles throughout the '80s led to her last credited turn in 1991's Pierce Brosnan-led "Murder 101."

According to Hull's IMDB page, the now-76-year-old is known as "one of the premiere teachers of Method Acting in Los Angeles." Following her last credited roles, Hull has indeed worked alongside her mother, Lorrie, delivering method acting classes around LA, though it seems her last listed classes were some time in 2018.