The short film garnered the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 38th Oscar Ceremony ( which it lost to Claude Berri 's '' Le Poulet '' ) . '' Skaterdater '' drew the attention of executives at 20th Century Fox , who hired Black to direct '' Pretty Poison '' . " I did n’t begrudge UA the thousands they made from the short , " Black commented . " It led to 20th Century-Fox giving me the chance to make '' Pretty Poison '' , on which I was given fairly free rein . " Black 's directorial debut was '' Pretty Poison '' ( 1968 ) , a black comedy film which starred Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld . The screenplay was written by Lorenzo Semple , Jr. , and was based on the novel , '' She Let Him Continue '' ( which was also the working title at the time ) , by Stephen Geller . Perkins plays a paroled arsonist who pretends to be a secret agent to win over a stunning blonde honors student , played by Weld . But despite a well-scrubbed facade , Weld 's character is in fact a psychopath , and soon the pair are committing a string of crimes , including homicide
1966 Cannes Film Festival
1966 Cannes Film Festival
Noel Black