David and Lisa (1962) is a low-budget film directed by Frank Perry, often cited as one of his best works. Based on the novel by Theodore Isaac Rubin, the screenplay, written by Frank Perry's wife Eleanor, tells the story of a bright young man suffering from a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This lands him in a residential treatment center, in which he meets a girl with dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder, and often mistakenly called "schizophrenia") called Lisa, whom he learns to understand.
The film is shot entirely in black-and-white, and it runs for 93 minutes. Shooting it cost US$183,000, and it made over US$1,000,000 in rentals on its first week.
David and Lisa earned Frank Perry a nomination for the 1962 Academy Award for Directing and Eleanor Perry for her Screenplay.
David and Lisa is also the title of the stage play (c. 1967) with the same basic characters and story, and it is the title of a 1998 made-for-TV film starring Lukas Haas, Sidney Poitier, and Brittany Murphy.
