Franz Schulz

{{Short description|Austrian playwright and screenwriter (1897–1971)}} {{for|the Chilean footballer|Franz Schultz}} {{Infobox person | name = Franz Schulz | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|03|22|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Prague]], [[Austria-Hungary]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|05|04|1897|03|22|df=y}} | death_place = [[Muralto]], [[Ticino]], Switzerland | resting_place = Pambio-Naranco [[Jewish]] [[cemetery]] in [[Lugano]], [[Ticino, Switzerland]]. | other_names = Franz Spencer Frank Spencer Franz-Spencer-Schulz Franz Spencer-Schulz Franz G. Springer | citizenship = United States ([[naturalized]]) | years_active= 1920-1956 | known_for = ''[[Champagner]]'' (1929) ''[[Die Privatsekretärin (1931 film)|Die Privatsekretärin]]'' (1931) ''[[Bombs on Monte Carlo (1931 film)|Bombs on Monte Carlo]]'' (1931) ''[[Midnight (1939 film)|Midnight]]'' (1939) ''[[Adventure in Diamonds]]'' (1940) ''[[Born to Sing (1942 film)|Born to Sing]]'' (1942) ''[[Masquerade in Mexico]]'' (1945) ''[[Invasion U.S.A. (1952 film)|Invasion USA]]'' (1952) | alma_mater = [[Charles University in Prague]] | occupation = [[Screenwriter]] }}

'''Franz Schulz''' (born 22 March 1897 in [[Prague]], [[Austria-Hungary]], died 4 May 1971, in [[Muralto]], [[Ticino]], Switzerland) was a [[playwright]] and [[screenwriter]] who worked from 1920 through 1956. <ref name="book3">{{cite book|last=[[Hans-Michael Bock]]|title=CineGraph: Lexikon zum deutschsprachigen Film, LG. 27 |publisher=Edition Text + Kritik|year=1996|isbn=3-88377-607-6|language=German}}</ref><ref name="book4">{{cite book|author=Ginny G. von Bülow, Wolfgang Jacobsen|title=Franz Schulz - ein Autor zwischen Prag und Hollywood: Biographie|publisher=Vitalis|year=1997|isbn=80-85938-01-4|language=German}}</ref><ref name="book5">{{cite book|last=Hellmuth Karasek|title=Billy Wilder: eine Nahaufnahme|publisher=Hoffmann und Campe|year=2006|isbn=3-455-09553-4|language=German}}</ref><ref name="book6">{{cite book|last=Gerhard Lamprecht|title=Deutsche Stummfilme|publisher=Deutsche Kinemathek|year=1967}}</ref>

==Biography== Schulz was born into a wealthy family, and although of the Jewish faith, religion played no role in the family. His father was a lawyer and a college friend of the writer [[Friedrich Adler (writer)|Friedrich Adler]]. Lucia, one of his sisters, was the first wife of the painter [[László Moholy-Nagy]].<ref name="book4"/>

Already as teenager Schulz visited cafes – centres of culture, then – and thus became acquainted with [[Max Brod]], [[Egon Erwin Kisch]], [[Franz Kafka]], [[Paul Leppin]], and [[Franz Werfel]]. Schulz graduated in 1915 from the [[Charles University in Prague]] and entered the army shortly thereafter. After the end of the World War I and subsequent release from service, he went to [[Berlin]] where he worked from 1918 to 1920 as a journalist, until writing for film. His early screenplays were for crime and drama films, before he turned his attention to comedy. His first "[[talkie]]" was the 1930 film ''[[The Three from the Filling Station (1930 film)|Die Drei von der Tankstelle]]'', followed in 1931 by feature film screenplays for ''[[Die Privatsekretärin (1931 film)|Die Privatsekretärin]]'' and ''[[Bombs on Monte Carlo (1931 film)|Bombs on Monte Carlo]]''.<ref name="book4"/>

In 1933 Schulz emigrated to Prague. Forced out of the Germany film industry by the rise of [[The Third Reich]], Schultz emigrated to England.<ref name="book2">{{cite book|last=S. S. Prawer|title=Between two worlds: the Jewish presence in German and Austrian film, 1910-1933|publisher=Berghahn Books|year=2007|series=Volume 3 of Film Europa|pages=21, 141, 162, 167|isbn=978-1-84545-303-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0RmSMWQE4LAC&dq=Franz+Schulz&pg=PA167}}</ref> In 1939, Schulz co-founded the 'Austrian Exile Theatre Laterndl' that attempted to preserve [[Vienna|Viennese]] culture through performances of cabaret and stage plays until August 1945. The Laterndl became one of the "outstanding cultural achievements of German-speaking exile in London".<ref name="book1">{{cite book|title=German-speaking exiles in Great Britain, Volume 2|editor=Anthony Grenville|publisher=Rodopi|year=2000|series=Yearbook of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies|pages=209|isbn=90-420-1373-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=strsfjTi2bIC&dq=%22Franz+Schulz%22&pg=PA209}}</ref> In 1938-39 he worked with [[Billy Wilder]] and [[Charles Brackett]] to create the [[Mitchell Leisen]] comedy film ''[[Midnight (1939 film)|Midnight]]''.<ref name="book5"/> From 1940 on, and later as a naturalized US citizen, Shultz was officially Francis George Spencer. Upon the end of [[World War II]] emigrated to the United States where he continued work in film (and later television) as a screenwriter. Schulz later settled in [[Ascona, Switzerland]] and worked primarily as a [[playwright]]. His last feature film was the 1956 ''{{Ill|Drayman Henschel (film)|de|3=Fuhrmann Henschel (1956)|lt=Drayman Henschel}}'', for which he adapted the 1898 [[Gerhart Hauptmann]] [[Drayman Henschel|stage play of the same name]] for director [[Josef von Báky]].<ref name="book3"/>

On 4 May 1971, six weeks after his 74th birthday, Schulz/Spencer died at [[Muralto]], [[Ticino]], Switzerland. He is interred at the Pambio-Naranco [[Jewish]] [[cemetery]] in [[Lugano]], [[Ticino, Switzerland]].

==Career==

===Select filmography=== {{div col|colwidth=22em}}

====Silent films==== * ''[[Judith Trachtenberg (film)|Judith Trachtenberg]]'' (1920) * ''[[Die Verwandlung]]'' (1920) * ''[[Circus of Life]]'' (1921) * ''[[The Red Masquerade Ball]]'' (1921) * ''[[Im Kampf mit dem unsichtbaren Feind]]'' (1922) * ''[[Die schwarze Schachdame]]'' (1922) * ''[[Wettlauf ums Glück]]'' (1923) * ''[[The Third Watch]]'' (1924) * ''[[Leap Into Life]]'' (1924) (novel) * ''[[The Pink Diamond]]'' (1926) * ''[[Der goldene Abgrund]]'' (1927) * ''[[The Trousers]]'' (1927) * ''[[The Abduction of the Sabine Women (1928 film)|The Abduction of the Sabine Women]]'' (1928) * ''[[Die Räuberbande]]'' (1928) * ''[[Dyckerpotts' Heirs]]'' (1928) * ''[[The Green Alley]]'' (1928) * ''[[Princess Olala]]'' (1928) * ''[[Abwege]]'' (1928) * ''[[Love's Masquerade (1928 film)|Love's Masquerade]]'' (1928) * ''[[The President (1928 film)|The President]]'' (1928) * ''[[Sechs Mädchen suchen Nachtquartier]]'' (1928) * ''[[Artists (1928 film)|Artists]]'' (1928) (writer) * ''[[Prince or Clown]]'' (1928) * ''[[The Gypsy Chief]]'' (1929) * ''[[Father and Son (1929 German film)|Father and Son]]'' (1929) (writer) * ''[[The Convict from Istanbul]]'' (1929) (writer) * ''[[Adieu Mascotte]]'' (1929) (writer) * ''[[The Merry Widower]]'' (1929) (writer) * ''[[Champagner]]'' (1929) * ''[[My Daughter's Tutor]]'' (1929)

====Sound films==== * ''[[The Three from the Filling Station (1930 film)|The Three from the Filling Station]]'' (1930) * ''[[The Road to Paradise]]'' (1930) * ''[[Va Banque (1930 film)|Va Banque]]'' (1930) * ''[[Two Worlds (1930 German-language film)|Two Worlds]]'' (1930) * ''[[The Son of the White Mountain]]'' (1930) * ''[[Two Worlds (1930 German film)|Two Worlds]]'' (1930) * ''[[Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1930 film)|Two Hearts in Waltz Time]]'' (1930) * ''[[Delicatessen (1930 film)|Delicatessen]]'' (1930) * ''[[Die Privatsekretärin (1931 film)|Die Privatsekretärin]]'' (1931) * ''[[The Private Secretary (1931 Italian film)|The Private Secretary]]'' (1931) * ''[[The Office Girl]]'' (1931) * ''[[Sunshine Susie]]'' (1931) * ''[[The Typist]]'' (1931) * ''[[Gloria (1931 film)|Gloria]]'' (1931) (manuscript) * ''[[My Cousin from Warsaw]]'' (1931, German) * ''[[Ich heirate meinen Mann]]'' (1931) * ''[[My Cousin from Warsaw (1931 French film)|My Cousin from Warsaw]]'' (1931, French) * ''[[Wiener Liebschaften]]'' (1931) * ''[[The Girl and the Boy]]'' (1931) * ''[[Amours viennoises]]'' (1931) * ''[[Bombs on Monte Carlo (1931 film)|Bombs on Monte Carlo]]'' (1931) * ''[[Captain Craddock]]'' (1931) * ''[[Monte Carlo Madness (1932 film)|Monte Carlo Madness]]'' (1932) * ''[[Das Mädel vom Montparnasse]]'' (1932) * ''[[Love on Wheels (1932 film)|Love on Wheels]]'' (1932) (story) * ''[[Girls to Marry]]'' (1932) * ''[[Two Hearts Beat as One (film)|Two Hearts Beat as One]]'' (1932) * ''[[Amourous Adventure]]'' (1932) * ''[[Madame Makes Her Exit]]'' (1932) * ''[[The Lucky Number]]'' (1932) (story) * ''[[Marry Me (1932 film)|Marry Me]]'' (1932) (story) * ''[[Adventures on the Lido]]'' (1933) * ''[[Sleeping Car (film)|Sleeping Car]]'' (1933) * ''[[What Women Dream]]'' (1933) * ''[[A Daughter of Her People]]'' (1933) * ''[[One Exciting Adventure]]'' (1934) * ''[[Blossom Time (1934 film)|Blossom Time]]'' (1934) * ''[[The Typist Gets Married]]'' (1934) * ''[[Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1934 film)|Two Hearts in Waltz Time]]'' (1934) * ''[[Paris in Spring]]'' (1935) * ''[[The Lottery Lover]]'' (1935) * ''[[The Night Is Young]]'' (1935) * ''[[Clothes and the Woman]]'' (1937) * ''[[Midnight (1939 film)|Midnight]]'' (1939) * ''[[Lucky Partners]]'' (1940) * ''[[Adventure in Diamonds]]'' (1940) * ''[[Pacific Blackout]]'' (1941) (as Frank Spencer) * ''[[Down in San Diego]]'' (1941) (as Franz Spencer) * ''[[Born to Sing (1942 film)|Born to Sing]]'' (1942) (as Franz G. Springer) * ''[[Masquerade in Mexico]]'' (1945) (as Franz Spencer) * ''[[Willard Parker#Filmography|The Fighting Guardsman]]'' (1946) (as Franz Spencer) * ''[[Invasion U.S.A. (1952 film)|Invasion USA]]'' (1952) (as Franz Spencer) * ''{{Ill|Drayman Henschel (film)|de|3=Fuhrmann Henschel (1956)|lt=Drayman Henschel}}'' (1956) (as Franz-Spencer-Schulz)

====Television==== * ''[[Barry Nelson (actor)#Career|The Hunter]]'' (1 episode, 1952) (TV) *:Episode "Black and White Sheep" (1952) (as Franz Spencer) * ''[[Janet Dean, Registered Nurse]]'' (1 episode, 1954) (TV) *:Episode "The Kennedy Case" (1954)

===Partial theatre=== {{div col|colwidth=22em}} * ''Judith Trachtenberg'' (1920)<ref>{{cite book|last=Hans-Michael Bock, Tim Bergfelder|title=The concise Cinegraph: encyclopaedia of German cinema|publisher=Berghahn Books|year=2009|series=Film Europa: German Cinema in an International Context|pages=146|isbn=978-1-57181-655-9}}</ref> * ''Esther Labarre'' (1927)<ref>{{cite book|last=William Grange|title=Cultural chronicle of the Weimar Republic|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2008|pages=202|isbn=978-0-8108-5967-8}}</ref> * ''The Lost Waltz'' (1933)<ref>{{cite book|last=Kurt Gänzl|title=The encyclopedia of the musical theatre|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmu00ganz_1|url-access=registration|publisher=Schirmer|year=2001|pages=2270|isbn=0-02-864970-2}}</ref> * ''A Window Facing East'' (1949)<ref>{{cite book|last=Claudia Schnurmann|title=Clio in Hamburg: Historisches Seminar Universität Hamburg 1907-2007|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|year=2010|pages=72|isbn=978-3-643-10746-6|language=German}}</ref> * ''The happy anthill'' (1952)<ref>{{cite book|last=Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek|title=Filmexil, Volumes 17-22|publisher=Hentrich|year=2003|pages=39|isbn=3-88377-726-9}}</ref> * ''Die Drehtür'' (1959)<ref name="B7">{{cite book|last=Society for Exile Studies|title=Exil und Avantgarden, Volume 16|publisher=Text + Kritik|year=1998|pages=262}}</ref> * ''The Villa of Madame Vidac'' (1959)<ref name="B7"/> {{div col end}}

===Bibliography=== * ''Candide 19... oder das miese Jahrhundert'' (1966) {{ISBN|3-7466-1029-X}} * ''Battles of a Bystander'' (1941) (autobiographical novel) * ''Der Sprung ins Leben'' (1924) (novel) * ''Die Räuberbande'' (1928) (manuscript) * ''Two Worlds'' (1930) (manuscript) * ''Gloria'' (1931) (manuscript) * ''Midnight'' (1938) (manuscript) * ''Adventure in diamonds'' (1939) (manuscript)

==References== <references/>

==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0776456}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulz, Franz}} [[Category:1897 births]] [[Category:1971 deaths]] [[Category:Austrian male dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Austrian male novelists]] [[Category:Jewish novelists]] [[Category:Austrian male short story writers]] [[Category:Writers from Prague]] [[Category:Charles University alumni]] [[Category:Austrian Jews]] [[Category:Austrian male screenwriters]] [[Category:20th-century Austrian novelists]] [[Category:20th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]] [[Category:People from Muralto]] [[Category:20th-century Austrian journalists]] [[Category:20th-century Austrian male journalists]] [[Category:20th-century Austrian screenwriters]] [[Category:20th-century Austrian male writers]]