Murray's early success as a leading man in such Hollywood productions as Bus Stop (1956) with Marilyn Monroe and A Hatful of Rain (1957) gave him the credibility and capital to divide his time
between straight for - hire jobs (Advise and Consent, The Viking Queen, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes) and more personal projects (the Norman Vincent Peale biopic One Man's Way, the fact - based conversion drama
Childish Things, and The Cross and the Switchblade, which he directed).