Franklin J. Schaffner

Director

About

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Also Known As

Franklin James Schaffner

Birth Place

Japan

Born

May 30, 1920

Died

July 02, 1989

Cause of Death

Cancer

Biography

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One of the leading directors of the "Golden Age"" of live TV who later proved himself a capable handler of both epic action features and intimate dramas. Schaffner began his career as an assistant on "The March of Time" documentary series and directed over 150 TV plays, including the original broadcasts of "Twelve Angry Men" (1954) and "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" (1955). He enjoyed ...

Filmography

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Welcome Home (1989)

Lionheart (1987)

Yes, Giorgio (1982)

The Boys From Brazil (1978)

Islands In The Stream (1977)

Photos & Videos

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Papillon (1973) -- (Movie Clip) No One Is Innocent

Papillon (1973) -- (Movie Clip) You Escape, They Hunt

Family & Companions

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Jean Schaffner

Wife

Established an alumni medal in his honor at the American Film Institute.

Bibliography

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"Franklin J. Schaffner"

Erwin Kim, Scarecrow Press (1985)

Notes

President of the Directors Guild of America from 1987-89.

Biography

One of the leading directors of the "Golden Age"" of live TV who later proved himself a capable handler of both epic action features and intimate dramas. Schaffner began his career as an assistant on "The March of Time" documentary series and directed over 150 TV plays, including the original broadcasts of "Twelve Angry Men" (1954) and "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" (1955). He enjoyed success with his 1960 Broadway production of "Advise and Consent" and made his first feature film, "The Stripper"--adapted from a play by William Inge--in 1963.

Schaffner is best known for "Planet of the Apes" (1968), "Patton" (1969) and "Papillon" (1973), which yielded one of Dustin Hoffman's finest performances.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

Welcome Home (1989)

Lionheart (1987)

Yes, Giorgio (1982)

The Boys From Brazil (1978)

Islands In The Stream (1977)

Papillon (1973)

Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

The Double Man (1968)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

The War Lord (1965)

The Best Man (1964)

The Stripper (1963)

The Kill (1952)

The Rockingham Tea Set (1950)

Cast (Feature Film)

The Double Man (1968)

Producer (Feature Film)

Executive Producer

Papillon (1973)

Production Companies (Feature Film)

Life Events

1948

Joined CBS-TV

1960

Broadway directing debut, "Advise and Consent"

1963

Film directing debut, "The Stripper"

1989

Final film, "Welcome Home," posthumously dedicated to him

Videos

Papillon (1973) -- (Movie Clip) No One Is Innocent En route to the penal colony in French Guyana ca. 1933, Steve McQueen (title character) introduces himself to wisecracking counterfeiter Dega (Dustin Hoffman), their first conversation, early in director Franklin Schaffner's international hit Papillon, 1973.

Papillon (1973) -- (Movie Clip) You Escape, They Hunt Arriving from France, Steve McQueen (title character) and Dega (Dustin Hoffman) get their first look at Devil's Island, with comments from returning inmate Julot (Don Gordon), who takes his own desperate steps, in Papillon, 1973, from the international best-selling memoir by Henri Charriere.

Planet Of The Apes (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Hell With The Scarecrows Hot on the trail of vegetation they found on what appeared to be a desolate planet, astronauts Taylor (Charlton Heston), Landon (Robert Gunner) and Dodge (Jeff Burton) haven’t noticed the figures tracking them on the cliffs, trouble ensuing, early in Planet Of The Apes, 1968.

Planet Of The Apes (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Human See Human Do Injured and now a captive, human Taylor (Charlton Heston), still unable to speak, has made more progress with ape scientist Zira (Kim Hunter) than with minder Julius (Buck Kartalian), but none with her boss Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans), introduced here, in Planet Of The Apes, 1968.

Planet Of The Apes (1968) -- (Movie Clip) How Do You Account For Me? Animal psychologist (and Chimpanzee) Zira (Kim Hunter) has proven that human Taylor (Charlton Heston), still unable to speak because of his throat injury, can communicate, though her colleague and boyfriend Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) isn't convinced by his story, in Planet Of The Apes, 1968.

Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) -- (Movie Clip) Your Gentle Czar Tender early sequence, 1904, as Nicholas Romanov, the last Russian czar (Michael Jayston), learns he has a son, and discusses names with the Czarina (Janet Suzman) in director Franklin J. Schaffner's Nicholas and Alexandra, 1971.

Nicholas And Alexandra (1971) -- (Movie Clip) Little Yellow Buddhists Selfish and racist notions from the Queen Mother (Irene Worth) before the Czar (Michael Jayston), Czarina (Janet Suzman) and Grand Duke (Harry Andrews) meet the new monk Rasputin (Tom Baker) in Nicholas and Alexandra, 1971.

Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) -- (Movie Clip) God Meant Me To Rule Laurence Olivier (in his barely-recognizable period, as "Count Witte"), with the Grand Duke (Harry Andrews), reasons with the Czar (Michael Jayston) about Korea, in Nicholas and Alexandra, 1971.

Planet Of The Apes (1968) -- (Movie Clip) I Leave The 20th Century Expository prologue before credits from director Franklin J. Schaffner, Taylor (Charlton Heston) ruminating and hitting the sack, crew Robert Gunner and Jeff Burton already snoozing, in the original Planet Of The Apes, 1968, co-starring Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall.

Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) -- (Movie Clip) Think Of The Soldiers The imperial composure is threatened when the Czar (Michael Jayston) and Czarina (Janet Suzman), busy blessing soldiers, learn their hemophiliac son is bleeding, in Nicholas and Alexandra, 1971.

Patton (1970) -- (Movie Clip) Americans, Traditionally, Love To Fight Based on no actual speech, assembled by screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola from quotes from the subject, George C. Scott in his Academy Award-winning title role, director Franklin Schaffner elected to make the famous monologue his opening, in Patton, 1970.

Patton (1970) -- (Movie Clip) What Happened At Kasserine? Director Franklin Schaffner's staging of the arrival of the the general (George C. Scott, title character) in Tunisia, 1943, after a disastrous encounter with the Germans, largely as described in the autobiography of General Omar Bradley (Karl Malden), in the hit bio-pic Patton, 1970.

Nicholas and Alexandra - (Original Trailer) Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), the story of Russia's last czar, Nicolas II, and his ill-fated family.

Patton - (Original Trailer) George C. Scott won a Best Actor Oscar for Patton (1970), the story of the colorful World War II general.

Best Man, The - (Original Trailer) Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson are two presidential hopefuls forced to consider dirty politics in Gore Vidal's The Best Man (1964).

War Lord, The - (Original Trailer) Charlton Heston is a medieval knight who exercises his right to sleep with another man's bride on their wedding night in The War Lord (1965).

Boys From Brazil, The - (Original Trailer) A Nazi hunter (Laurence Olivier) tracks a mad scientist (Gregory Peck) out to bring back Hitler.

Papillon - (Original Trailer) Steve McQueen plays Henri Charriere, one of the few prisoners to escape from Devil's Island in Papillon (1973) co-starring Dustin Hoffman.

Companions

Jean Schaffner

Wife

Established an alumni medal in his honor at the American Film Institute.

Bibliography

"Franklin J. Schaffner"

Erwin Kim, Scarecrow Press (1985)

Notes

President of the Directors Guild of America from 1987-89.

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