FRANK PERRY IS STILL INDEPENDENT AND HAPPY

Twenty-five years ago this month, Frank Perry was wandering around Wynnewood, Pa., near Philadelphia, with a film crew and a cast of unknown actors, shooting his first film, an independently financed, $150,000 effort about two mentally disturbed young people.

“David and Lisa� became a landmark, “a turning point in world cinema,� wrote French director Jean Renoir. A small, personal, black-and-white film of the sort usually associated at the time with such European directors as Ingmar Bergman, “David and Lisa� marked a breakthrough for American directors like Perry, especially East Coast-based directors, who preferred to work independently of the major Hollywood film studios. For the ‘60s generation, it epitomized what was commonly called the “art film.�

Now, Perry is shooting his 14th film, “Hello Again.� And although the comedy stars Shelley Long and is being financed by Disney “at significantly under $10 million,� it, like his 1985 comedy “Compromising Positions,� represents a return to what the director calls “home turf� as a New York-based independent.

“Had anybody told me 25 years ago that I’d be sitting here today, in Minetta Lane, in New York City, directing a relatively modest comedy of which I’m proud, I’d have thought, ‘What luck!’ I couldn’t wish for any more.�

Perry has had his ups and downs, productive and dry spells, since “David and Lisa.� Having remained in New York, he has not often been courted by the Hollywood Establishment. As a result, he has financed and/or produced most of his films. And he expressed regrets the other day that he has not made more films. At the same time, he acknowledged that his few experiences as “a hired gun� for the Hollywood studios were his “least happy� ones.

Unpretentious and straightforward, Perry, 57, said he was always grateful “to be asked to the dance� by the Establishment, and thrilled to be directing this one so long as he is given the free reign he said he needs to thrive as a director.

Perry has not always thrived. He’s not that well known or popular as a director. But he remains something of a symbol within the independent film-making community. As he points out, he has maintained his independent spirit when it was not in fashion to be independent, until now, with the recent successes of independent films at the box office and in the Oscar race.

But “David and Lisa� was a long shot, and Perry knew it.

“There were no precedents in this country,� recalled Perry, noting that the project presaged the American independent movement of the 1970s. The film marked the first feature for nearly everyone who worked on it, including his then-wife and longtime writing collaborator, the late Eleanor Perry, and actors Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin, who played the title characters. Perry said he found financing for the film himself, hoping to interest distributors in the final result.

“The major and minor distributors all turned us down,� he said, pointing out that there were no major studio “classics� divisions, nor even the number of independent distributors to handle such “specialized� films, as there are today. Only after taking the finished film on the film festival route was Perry able to persuade a New York exhibitor to open the film.

The film received rave reviews, even in mainstream publications, such as Time magazine (“one of the year’s best�). Both the Perrys received Oscar nominations. Perry estimated the film’s worldwide box-office gross to date to be $25 million.

“In retrospect, it seems like an enormous milestone,� he said. “But at the time it seemed like a quirky New York success. . . . The phone didn’t exactly start ringing off the hook.� However, he went on to make a succession of small, intelligent films, sincerely serious or drolly comedic explorations of human relationships, such as “The Swimmer,� “Diary of a Mad Housewife� and “Play It as It Lays.�

“All I wanted to do was continue to make small movies, and the times I’ve departed from this have been my least happy times,� he said, referring specifically to what he called his “mini-California� period as “a hired gun� for producer Frank Yablans.

The recent relationship resulted in two of Perry’s least successful films, critically and commercially: “Mommie Dearest,� released by Paramount in 1981; and “Monsignor,� released briefly by Fox in 1982.

Perry took “considerable credit for their failures�: “I’ll make no apologies for ‘Mommie Dearest’. . . . I think it was wonderful; for ‘Monsignor’ there are no apologies . . . It was not well conceived or well done. But these were not happy experiences.�

This was why he said he returned to New York and to independent film making two years ago, with “Compromising Positions,� a $5-million “comedy thriller� based on the book of the same title by Susan Isaacs, that was picked up for 1985 release by Paramount and that, according to Perry, has grossed more than $15 million domestically. Although short-lived in many theaters at the time of its initial release, it clearly marked a return to form that Perry credited to independence.

Now, in the midst of an 11 weeks’ shooting schedule on “Hello Again,� a second screenplay by Isaacs, Perry, who again is producing, said of his less than independent relationship with Disney: “So far, so good. They’ve given me absolute freedom. Whatever happens, at least I’ve maintained my own voice.�

The film stars Long as a Long Island wife and mother who dies and later returns to life. “It’s about getting a second chance. It’s about seizing your moment, what’s right for you, as opposed to what others say is right for you.�

Perry said that other film directors no doubt think differently about success than he seems to. But he brushed aside the glamorous life and financial rewards.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is survive, which I think is an estimable goal,� said Perry. “If I’m invited to the dance, I won’t say no. I’ll wait and see who the orchestra is going to be, but, frankly, I’d rather have a few friends in for dinner.�