Alan Smithee, will you ever make a hit?

You may not be privy to the work of Alan Smithee and that is probably for good reason. I can’t think of a director with a worse string of movies. It seems no matter what genre or decade this man is in, whatever he touches becomes a dumpster fire. And you’d think after how many duds he’s responsible for he'd stop there, but no. Several of Smithee's films have failed to recuperate their budgets in box office (which is no sign of success), but it is startling when a film doesn’t earn even one percent of its budget in box office sales. Somehow he has been able to direct television shows, music videos, and was even behind some print magazine editions of comic books.

Listen. I would never tell someone to give up, and luckily, I won't have to, because he already has! Or better to say he has finally come to recognize his lack of prowess in the director’s chair.

It took some thirty-odd years since his first movie, Fade In (1968), but I think Smithee really got the message after directing his self-titled project An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997). The film was neither a critical nor box office success, but from that point on he has proudly carried the mantle of one of the most expansive careers that hardly anyone recognizes.

Alan Smithee—or Allen, as he sometimes goes by—does present an interesting case study about how he has done everything he has, facing misstep after misstep and never really catching a break. How, after so many setbacks, did he last so long? His name has been tied to some of the most disastrous productions that have caused safety laws to be put into place. Including the disastrous Twilight Zone: The Movie, in which three actors died on set from a helicopter accident resulting in the creation of the Motion Picture & Entertainment Unit to enforce fire safety regulations and requirements throughout the industry. There have been several instances where he has directed four movies in a year, sometimes only becoming the director retroactively after a film's release or for the television edit. How does he have the time and bandwidth to keep going?

My best rationalization of this man and the repeated chances he receives is that he has never been and will never be held to the same standards as other real-life directors. But you could say the same for any fictional character.

Alan Smithee or Allen Smithee is a pseudonym that has been used by many directors somewhat under the radar until An Alan Smithee Film brought about broader public recognition of the Smithee phenomenon. The mockumentary follows the title character going on the run with the only copy of his film after realizing the only Guild approved name to disown his own film is his own. It attempts to satirize Hollywood and show business, but fell flat in both public and critical reception. And whether it was a publicity stunt or not the film’s real life director, Arthur Hiller, opted to have the film be credited to Smithee instead. In most cases a director would pick up the moniker when they felt they didn’t get creative control and no longer wanted their name associated with a project, whether it was just for the television edit or all versions of a film.

Whether it was included as a gag in the credits, tied to a troubled production, or part of a cult classic, the name pops up where you least expect. Smithee can arrive anywhere and continues to do so today. Going into year fifty-six, still yet to pick up a discernible directorial style, I think Smithee is here to stay.