# Franz Schulz

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Austrian playwright and screenwriter (1897–1971)

For the Chilean footballer, see [Franz Schultz](/source/Franz_Schultz).

Franz Schulz Born (1897-03-22)22 March 1897 Prague, Austria-Hungary Died 4 May 1971(1971-05-04) (aged 74) 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) Alma mater Charles University in Prague Occupation Screenwriter Years active 1920-1956 Known for Champagner (1929) Die Privatsekretärin (1931) Bombs on Monte Carlo (1931) Midnight (1939) Adventure in Diamonds (1940) Born to Sing (1942) Masquerade in Mexico (1945) Invasion USA (1952)

**Franz Schulz** (born 22 March 1897 in [Prague](/source/Prague), [Austria-Hungary](/source/Austria-Hungary), died 4 May 1971, in [Muralto](/source/Muralto), [Ticino](/source/Ticino), Switzerland) was a [playwright](/source/Playwright) and [screenwriter](/source/Screenwriter) who worked from 1920 through 1956. [1][2][3][4]

## 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](/source/Friedrich_Adler_(writer)). Lucia, one of his sisters, was the first wife of the painter [László Moholy-Nagy](/source/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_Moholy-Nagy).[2]

Already as teenager Schulz visited cafes – centres of culture, then – and thus became acquainted with [Max Brod](/source/Max_Brod), [Egon Erwin Kisch](/source/Egon_Erwin_Kisch), [Franz Kafka](/source/Franz_Kafka), [Paul Leppin](/source/Paul_Leppin), and [Franz Werfel](/source/Franz_Werfel). Schulz graduated in 1915 from the [Charles University in Prague](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Talkie)" was the 1930 film *[Die Drei von der Tankstelle](/source/The_Three_from_the_Filling_Station_(1930_film))*, followed in 1931 by feature film screenplays for *[Die Privatsekretärin](/source/Die_Privatsekret%C3%A4rin_(1931_film))* and *[Bombs on Monte Carlo](/source/Bombs_on_Monte_Carlo_(1931_film))*.[2]

In 1933 Schulz emigrated to Prague. Forced out of the Germany film industry by the rise of [The Third Reich](/source/The_Third_Reich), Schultz emigrated to England.[5] In 1939, Schulz co-founded the 'Austrian Exile Theatre Laterndl' that attempted to preserve [Viennese](/source/Vienna) 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".[6] In 1938-39 he worked with [Billy Wilder](/source/Billy_Wilder) and [Charles Brackett](/source/Charles_Brackett) to create the [Mitchell Leisen](/source/Mitchell_Leisen) comedy film *[Midnight](/source/Midnight_(1939_film))*.[3] From 1940 on, and later as a naturalized US citizen, Shultz was officially Francis George Spencer. Upon the end of [World War II](/source/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](/source/Ascona%2C_Switzerland) and worked primarily as a [playwright](/source/Playwright). His last feature film was the 1956 *[Drayman Henschel](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Drayman_Henschel_(film)&action=edit&redlink=1) [[de](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuhrmann_Henschel_(1956))]*, for which he adapted the 1898 [Gerhart Hauptmann](/source/Gerhart_Hauptmann) [stage play of the same name](/source/Drayman_Henschel) for director [Josef von Báky](/source/Josef_von_B%C3%A1ky).[1]

On 4 May 1971, six weeks after his 74th birthday, Schulz/Spencer died at [Muralto](/source/Muralto), [Ticino](/source/Ticino), Switzerland. He is interred at the Pambio-Naranco [Jewish](/source/Jewish) [cemetery](/source/Cemetery) in [Lugano](/source/Lugano), [Ticino, Switzerland](/source/Ticino%2C_Switzerland).

## Career

### Select filmography

#### Silent films

- *[Judith Trachtenberg](/source/Judith_Trachtenberg_(film))* (1920)

- *[Die Verwandlung](/source/Die_Verwandlung)* (1920)

- *[Circus of Life](/source/Circus_of_Life)* (1921)

- *[The Red Masquerade Ball](/source/The_Red_Masquerade_Ball)* (1921)

- *[Im Kampf mit dem unsichtbaren Feind](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Im_Kampf_mit_dem_unsichtbaren_Feind&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1922)

- *[Die schwarze Schachdame](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Die_schwarze_Schachdame&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1922)

- *[Wettlauf ums Glück](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wettlauf_ums_Gl%C3%BCck&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1923)

- *[The Third Watch](/source/The_Third_Watch)* (1924)

- *[Leap Into Life](/source/Leap_Into_Life)* (1924) (novel)

- *[The Pink Diamond](/source/The_Pink_Diamond)* (1926)

- *[Der goldene Abgrund](/source/Der_goldene_Abgrund)* (1927)

- *[The Trousers](/source/The_Trousers)* (1927)

- *[The Abduction of the Sabine Women](/source/The_Abduction_of_the_Sabine_Women_(1928_film))* (1928)

- *[Die Räuberbande](/source/Die_R%C3%A4uberbande)* (1928)

- *[Dyckerpotts' Heirs](/source/Dyckerpotts'_Heirs)* (1928)

- *[The Green Alley](/source/The_Green_Alley)* (1928)

- *[Princess Olala](/source/Princess_Olala)* (1928)

- *[Abwege](/source/Abwege)* (1928)

- *[Love's Masquerade](/source/Love's_Masquerade_(1928_film))* (1928)

- *[The President](/source/The_President_(1928_film))* (1928)

- *[Sechs Mädchen suchen Nachtquartier](/source/Sechs_M%C3%A4dchen_suchen_Nachtquartier)* (1928)

- *[Artists](/source/Artists_(1928_film))* (1928) (writer)

- *[Prince or Clown](/source/Prince_or_Clown)* (1928)

- *[The Gypsy Chief](/source/The_Gypsy_Chief)* (1929)

- *[Father and Son](/source/Father_and_Son_(1929_German_film))* (1929) (writer)

- *[The Convict from Istanbul](/source/The_Convict_from_Istanbul)* (1929) (writer)

- *[Adieu Mascotte](/source/Adieu_Mascotte)* (1929) (writer)

- *[The Merry Widower](/source/The_Merry_Widower)* (1929) (writer)

- *[Champagner](/source/Champagner)* (1929)

- *[My Daughter's Tutor](/source/My_Daughter's_Tutor)* (1929)

#### Sound films

- *[The Three from the Filling Station](/source/The_Three_from_the_Filling_Station_(1930_film))* (1930)

- *[The Road to Paradise](/source/The_Road_to_Paradise)* (1930)

- *[Va Banque](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Va_Banque_(1930_film)&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1930)

- *[Two Worlds](/source/Two_Worlds_(1930_German-language_film))* (1930)

- *[The Son of the White Mountain](/source/The_Son_of_the_White_Mountain)* (1930)

- *[Two Worlds](/source/Two_Worlds_(1930_German_film))* (1930)

- *[Two Hearts in Waltz Time](/source/Two_Hearts_in_Waltz_Time_(1930_film))* (1930)

- *[Delicatessen](/source/Delicatessen_(1930_film))* (1930)

- *[Die Privatsekretärin](/source/Die_Privatsekret%C3%A4rin_(1931_film))* (1931)

- *[The Private Secretary](/source/The_Private_Secretary_(1931_Italian_film))* (1931)

- *[The Office Girl](/source/The_Office_Girl)* (1931)

- *[Sunshine Susie](/source/Sunshine_Susie)* (1931)

- *[The Typist](/source/The_Typist)* (1931)

- *[Gloria](/source/Gloria_(1931_film))* (1931) (manuscript)

- *[My Cousin from Warsaw](/source/My_Cousin_from_Warsaw)* (1931, German)

- *[Ich heirate meinen Mann](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ich_heirate_meinen_Mann&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1931)

- *[My Cousin from Warsaw](/source/My_Cousin_from_Warsaw_(1931_French_film))* (1931, French)

- *[Wiener Liebschaften](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wiener_Liebschaften&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1931)

- *[The Girl and the Boy](/source/The_Girl_and_the_Boy)* (1931)

- *[Amours viennoises](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amours_viennoises&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1931)

- *[Bombs on Monte Carlo](/source/Bombs_on_Monte_Carlo_(1931_film))* (1931)

- *[Captain Craddock](/source/Captain_Craddock)* (1931)

- *[Monte Carlo Madness](/source/Monte_Carlo_Madness_(1932_film))* (1932)

- *[Das Mädel vom Montparnasse](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Das_M%C3%A4del_vom_Montparnasse&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1932)

- *[Love on Wheels](/source/Love_on_Wheels_(1932_film))* (1932) (story)

- *[Girls to Marry](/source/Girls_to_Marry)* (1932)

- *[Two Hearts Beat as One](/source/Two_Hearts_Beat_as_One_(film))* (1932)

- *[Amourous Adventure](/source/Amourous_Adventure)* (1932)

- *[Madame Makes Her Exit](/source/Madame_Makes_Her_Exit)* (1932)

- *[The Lucky Number](/source/The_Lucky_Number)* (1932) (story)

- *[Marry Me](/source/Marry_Me_(1932_film))* (1932) (story)

- *[Adventures on the Lido](/source/Adventures_on_the_Lido)* (1933)

- *[Sleeping Car](/source/Sleeping_Car_(film))* (1933)

- *[What Women Dream](/source/What_Women_Dream)* (1933)

- *[A Daughter of Her People](/source/A_Daughter_of_Her_People)* (1933)

- *[One Exciting Adventure](/source/One_Exciting_Adventure)* (1934)

- *[Blossom Time](/source/Blossom_Time_(1934_film))* (1934)

- *[The Typist Gets Married](/source/The_Typist_Gets_Married)* (1934)

- *[Two Hearts in Waltz Time](/source/Two_Hearts_in_Waltz_Time_(1934_film))* (1934)

- *[Paris in Spring](/source/Paris_in_Spring)* (1935)

- *[The Lottery Lover](/source/The_Lottery_Lover)* (1935)

- *[The Night Is Young](/source/The_Night_Is_Young)* (1935)

- *[Clothes and the Woman](/source/Clothes_and_the_Woman)* (1937)

- *[Midnight](/source/Midnight_(1939_film))* (1939)

- *[Lucky Partners](/source/Lucky_Partners)* (1940)

- *[Adventure in Diamonds](/source/Adventure_in_Diamonds)* (1940)

- *[Pacific Blackout](/source/Pacific_Blackout)* (1941) (as Frank Spencer)

- *[Down in San Diego](/source/Down_in_San_Diego)* (1941) (as Franz Spencer)

- *[Born to Sing](/source/Born_to_Sing_(1942_film))* (1942) (as Franz G. Springer)

- *[Masquerade in Mexico](/source/Masquerade_in_Mexico)* (1945) (as Franz Spencer)

- *[The Fighting Guardsman](/source/Willard_Parker#Filmography)* (1946) (as Franz Spencer)

- *[Invasion USA](/source/Invasion_U.S.A._(1952_film))* (1952) (as Franz Spencer)

- *[Drayman Henschel](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Drayman_Henschel_(film)&action=edit&redlink=1) [[de](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuhrmann_Henschel_(1956))]* (1956) (as Franz-Spencer-Schulz)

#### Television

- *[The Hunter](/source/Barry_Nelson_(actor)#Career)* (1 episode, 1952) (TV) - Episode "Black and White Sheep" (1952) (as Franz Spencer)

- *[Janet Dean, Registered Nurse](/source/Janet_Dean%2C_Registered_Nurse)* (1 episode, 1954) (TV) - Episode "The Kennedy Case" (1954)

### Partial theatre

- *Judith Trachtenberg* (1920)[7]

- *Esther Labarre* (1927)[8]

- *The Lost Waltz* (1933)[9]

- *A Window Facing East* (1949)[10]

- *The happy anthill* (1952)[11]

- *Die Drehtür* (1959)[12]

- *The Villa of Madame Vidac* (1959)[12]

### Bibliography

- *Candide 19... oder das miese Jahrhundert* (1966) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-7466-1029-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/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

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-book3_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-book3_1-1) [Hans-Michael Bock](/source/Hans-Michael_Bock) (1996). *CineGraph: Lexikon zum deutschsprachigen Film, LG. 27* (in German). Edition Text + Kritik. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-88377-607-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-88377-607-6).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-book4_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-book4_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-book4_2-2) Ginny G. von Bülow, Wolfgang Jacobsen (1997). *Franz Schulz - ein Autor zwischen Prag und Hollywood: Biographie* (in German). Vitalis. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [80-85938-01-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/80-85938-01-4).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-book5_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-book5_3-1) Hellmuth Karasek (2006). *Billy Wilder: eine Nahaufnahme* (in German). Hoffmann und Campe. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-455-09553-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-455-09553-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-book6_4-0)** Gerhard Lamprecht (1967). *Deutsche Stummfilme*. Deutsche Kinemathek.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-book2_5-0)** S. S. Prawer (2007). [*Between two worlds: the Jewish presence in German and Austrian film, 1910-1933*](https://books.google.com/books?id=0RmSMWQE4LAC&dq=Franz+Schulz&pg=PA167). Volume 3 of Film Europa. Berghahn Books. pp. 21, 141, 162, 167. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-84545-303-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84545-303-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-book1_6-0)** Anthony Grenville, ed. (2000). [*German-speaking exiles in Great Britain, Volume 2*](https://books.google.com/books?id=strsfjTi2bIC&dq=%22Franz+Schulz%22&pg=PA209). Yearbook of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies. Rodopi. p. 209. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [90-420-1373-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/90-420-1373-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Hans-Michael Bock, Tim Bergfelder (2009). *The concise Cinegraph: encyclopaedia of German cinema*. Film Europa: German Cinema in an International Context. Berghahn Books. p. 146. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-57181-655-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57181-655-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** William Grange (2008). *Cultural chronicle of the Weimar Republic*. Scarecrow Press. p. 202. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8108-5967-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8108-5967-8).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Kurt Gänzl (2001). [*The encyclopedia of the musical theatre*](https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmu00ganz_1). Schirmer. p. 2270. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-02-864970-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-02-864970-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Claudia Schnurmann (2010). *Clio in Hamburg: Historisches Seminar Universität Hamburg 1907-2007* (in German). LIT Verlag Münster. p. 72. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-643-10746-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-643-10746-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek (2003). *Filmexil, Volumes 17-22*. Hentrich. p. 39. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-88377-726-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-88377-726-9).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-B7_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-B7_12-1) Society for Exile Studies (1998). *Exil und Avantgarden, Volume 16*. Text + Kritik. p. 262.

## External links

- [Franz Schulz](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0776456/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND National United States 2 France BnF data Czech Republic Israel Catalonia Artists FID People Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Franz Schulz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schulz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schulz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.