MALIGNED DIRECTOR BACK IN DRIVER'S SEAT.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Film Writer

When director John Frankenheimer finished his senior year at Williams College, classmates voted him ``Highway Menace'' for his unnerving need for speed behind the wheel. For a while, Frankenheimer even toyed with the idea of becoming a race car driver, competing in amateur races until the money gave out. He still indulges now and again, going to drag-racing school (top speed, 217 mph) and airing out his collection of modified Mercedes cars, one of which is equipped with a 750 horsepower engine.

It's no surprise, then, that ``Ronin,'' Frankenheimer's new thriller about a group of post-Cold War mercenaries pursuing a mysterious briefcase, contains some electrifying car-chase scenes that wind through the streets of Paris and Nice. His fluid camera work is a natural extension of the techniques he used in his 1966 homage to Formula One racing, ``Grand Prix,'' a film that Frankenheimer remembers as ``the happiest time of my life.''

Not everything has been as wonderful for the 68-year-old director, whose impressive screen career includes ``The Manchurian Candidate,'' ``The Days of Wine and Roses'' and ``The Birdman of Alcatraz.'' Personal problems, including a long bout with alcoholism, took their toll on his career, as did a series of mediocre movies in the late '70s and '80s. That Frankenheimer survived and continues making movies is an achievement, the greatest one of his life, he says.

``The beach is littered with bodies that this town has ground up and spit out,'' Frankenheimer says from his Beverly Hills home. ``I've had films that have worked and films that haven't. But I've never given up. I've always sucked in my gut and kept plugging away.''

Of late, Frankenheimer's career path has brought him back to television, the medium with which he began some 45 years ago. Following a stint in the Air Force making training films, Frankenheimer worked for ``Playhouse 90'' and other anthology series, directing 152 live television dramas between 1954 and 1960. (We'll do the math for you - that's one show every two weeks.)

He returned to TV in 1994, winning an Emmy for his direction of HBO's ``Against the Wall,'' a tense retelling of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. He has won three subsequent Emmys in the past four years, the latest just recently for his work on the TNT biography of George Wallace.

``It's been a rebirth for me, no question about that,'' Frankenheimer says candidly. ``I had done a series of movies that hadn't done very well, and my phone wasn't ringing. I was about to do a crummy action movie with a second-rate action star when the offer for `Against the Wall' came in. That changed my life.''

``What it did,'' Frankenheimer continues, ``is it altered my perception of myself and the town's perception of me. I woke up and realized I had a lot more work in me. I remembered why I got in this business to begin with - to do the work, to create something that's good. And people around here saw I wasn't some old fart who couldn't handle the job anymore.

``I had always thought of those early years in television as the greatest in my life. And now with these past four movies, I feel I've topped that. It's been incredibly rewarding on every level.''

The rewards are about to increase with an exclusive deal with TNT to produce and direct movies for the network. Frankenheimer would also like to continue making feature films, too, and he has his eye on a CIA drama called ``The Good Shepherd,'' written by Eric Roth of ``Forrest Gump'' fame. Age doesn't seem to be a problem. If anything, approaching his 70th birthday only seems to make Frankenheimer want to work harder.

``He has so much energy, he's really unstoppable on the set,'' says Natascha McElhone, who stars with Robert De Niro and Jean Reno in ``Ronin.''

Adds Reno, ``His experience is so vast that he knows exactly what he wants and is able to accomplish it quickly. He gives actors a lot of room, though, giving them the freedom in rehearsals to get comfortable and find their own rhythm so once the shooting begins, he can request precise variations from them. His set is very disciplined, and I think most actors really appreciate that.''

Of course, even that kind of discipline couldn't save Frankenheimer during his last feature film, ``The Island of Dr. Moreau,'' which has become a certified cult classic for an enormous Marlon Brando's strange and campy performance as the mad title character. Frankenheimer replaced the original director, Richard Stanley, who was fired three days into the shoot and later sneaked back on the set wearing a disguise.

``I got paid a fortune for taking it on, but a couple of days into it, I realized I was still grossly underpaid,'' Frankenheimer says, laughing. ``Every wild thing you heard about that set was true. But I still think it turned out to be a pretty good movie.''

Does that mean he has some fond memories of ``Moreau'' despite all the publicized difficulties?

Frankenheimer pauses for what seems like an eternity before answering.

``The only good thing I remember about that movie was when the check cleared the bank.''

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