He returned to his first love, the stage. In 1957, he was in a short-lived revival of "Carousel." Keel's next film was made in Britain, the thriller "Floods of Fear" (1959). He returned to Hollywood to play Simon-Peter in a Biblical epic, "The Big Fisherman" (1960). In 1959-60 he was in a short-lived Broadway musical "Saratoga." Keel went to Europe to make a low budget war film, "Armored Command" (1961). In England, he starred in "The Day of the Triffids" (1962).