Franklin J. Schaffner Movies
Born in Japan to American Protestant missionaries, director Franklin J. Schaffner first set foot on American soil at age five. After spending his childhood in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Schaffner studied pre-law at Franklin and Marshall College, then moved on to Columbia University's law school. After World War II navy service, Schaffner decided to abandon law; virtually by a fluke, he received an assistant director's job with the March of Time, a filmed news service. From there Schaffner went to CBS' news, sports and public affairs department. Producer Worthington Miner took note of some of the documentaries Schaffner had assembled at CBS, and put the young director in charge of the fledgling TV network's dramatic department. Among Schaffner's TV directorial credits were such top-level anthologies as Studio One, Playhouse 90 and DuPont Show of the Month. Hollywood producer Jerry Wald was impressed by Schaffner's TV output and hired the director to helm the 1963 film The Stripper. The following year, Schaffner directed the film he personally considered his finest: The Best Man (1964), which won several awards (but not the Oscar it deserved). Schaffner's first big-budget project was The Warlord (1965); the director later credited this period epic with sparking his fascination with different cultures. One couldn't find a culture more different than the simian society of Planet of the Apes (1968), a film that Schaffner was engaged to direct after Blake Edwards pulled out. The box-office success of Planet prompted 20th Century-Fox to assign Schaffner another potential blockbuster, the Oscar-winning Patton (1970). It is at this point that Schaffner's Hollywood career truly peaked; with the exception of such films as Papillon (1973), most of the director's subsequent projects were of diminishing quality. By 1982, a weary Schaffner was trying to make a workable film out of the Luciano Pavoratti disaster Yes, Giorgio. Just before his death in 1989, Franklin Schaffner returned to the small, intimate type of film with which he began his career with the uneven but occasionally worthwhile Welcome Home. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
- R
In this drama, Lt. Jake Robbins (Kris Kristofferson) was presumed to have been killed in action during the Vietnam War. His wife, Sarah (JoBeth Williams) and his son were forced to get on with their lives; however when Jake turns up in Thailand many years later with a Cambodian wife and two children, the two families must struggle to deal with this complication. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kris Kristofferson, JoBeth Williams, (more)
- 1987
- PG
A novice knight and his unlikely allies lead a crusade against evil in this adventure set in 12th century France. Robert Nerra (Eric Stoltz) is a young knight who, after the death of his older brother, abandons the struggle to defend his father's property in a skirmish over land rights and instead sets out to offer his services to King Richard the Lionhearted. As Nerra makes his way through a France racked with poverty and sickness, he encounters a group of orphans who are trying to flee from the Black Prince (Gabriel Byrne), a dark-clad rogue knight who steals children and sells them to Arab slave merchants. At first thinking him to be King Richard himself, the children follow Nerra, and he tries to protect and organize them as best he can. As they march through France, the orphans' numbers grow, and soon Nerra finds himself leading a crusade of children as he at once leads them to safety and fights off the Black Prince's forces. Lionheart was one of the final films from veteran director Franklin J. Schaffner; the film received an unfortunately short-lived theatrical release and went largely unseen until it was released on home video in 1990, a year after Schaffner's death. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
- 1982
- PG
When touring Italian opera star Giorgio Fini (Luciano Pavarotti in his screen debut) mysteriously loses his voice before a performance in Boston, he goes to see throat specialist Dr. Pamela Taylor (Kathryn Harrold), and the two fall madly in love. This film features a number of songs, including "If We Were in Love" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Luciano Pavarotti, Kathryn Harrold, (more)
- 1981
- PG
After a string of hits that included Planet of the Apes (1968), Patton (1970), Papillon (1973), and The Boys from Brazil (1978), director Franklin J. Schaffner stumbled badly with this expensive wannabe cousin to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Based on a novel by author Robin Cook, this romance-adventure stars Lesley-Anne Down as Erica Baron, a female archaeologist who is searching for a lost Egyptian tomb, hoping that she will be responsible for the next discovery along the lines of King Tut's Tomb. Erica witnesses the murder of a native, Abdu Hamdi (John Gielgud doing his best Alec Guinness impersonation) and when she attempts to solve the crime, she becomes the target of a campaign to kill her using a variety of creative methods, including bats and entombment. In the course of her adventures, Erica also falls in love with a handsome Egyptologist, Ahmed Khazzan (Frank Langella). Sphinx (1981) was a box office disaster from which Schaffner never recovered, directing only three more pictures. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lesley-Anne Down, Frank Langella, (more)
This film of Ira Levin's novel The Boys from Brazil wastes no time in establishing the fact that several seemingly unrelated men have been mysteriously murdered. Elderly Jewish Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), brought into the case when the clues seem to point to a neo-fascist plot, traces the trail of evidence to Paraguay. Here he finds an unregenerate Auschwitz doctor, patterned on Joseph Mengele and played by -- of all people -- Gregory Peck. Lieberman discovers that the murdered men had all fathered sons who were identical -- the results of a cloning experiment, designed to create a race of incipient Hitlers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, (more)
After a parade of top-heavy blockbusters (Papillon, Nicholas and Alexandra), director Franklin J. Schaffner retreats, like the Hemingway character of the film, to peaceful tropical serenity in Islands in the Stream (based on Ernest Hemingway's posthumously published novel). George C. Scott plays the rich, but world-weary writer Thomas Hudson, living on Bimini in the Bahamas, where he carouses, drinks, and fishes to his heart's content. Invading Hudson's paradise is a parade of the sons of his ex-wives. His oldest son Tom (Hart Bochner) succeeds in getting closer to his father, but the bonding comes to a halt as ripples from the encroaching conflagration of World War II intrude upon Hudson's retreat. Tom leaves the island to fight for the RAF. Then, one day, Hudson receives a visit from his ex-wife Audrey (Claire Bloom), who tells him that Tom has died in the war. Rejecting his insulated existence, Hudson decides to make a stand by agreeing to smuggle a group of Jewish refugees onto the island. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, David Hemmings, (more)
The autobiography of Henri Charriere, one of the few people to successfully escape from the notorious French penal colony of Devil's Island, served as the basis for Papillon. Steve McQueen plays the pugnacious Charriere (known as "Papillon," or "butterfly," because of a prominent tatoo), incarcerated--wrongly, he claims--for murdering a pimp. He saves the life of fellow convict Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a counterfeiter who will later show his gratitude by helping Charriere in his many escape attempts, and by smuggling food to Charriere when the latter is put in solitary confinement. One breakout, which takes Charriere and Dega to a leper colony and then to a native encampment, is almost successful, but Charriere is betrayed (allegedly because he stopped for an act of kindness) and back the prisoners go to French Guiana. Years later, Dega is made a trustee and is content with his lot, but the ageing, white-haired Charriere cannot be held back. A tribute to the unquenchability of the human spirit, Papillon brought in an impressive $22 million at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, (more)
Nicholas and Alexandra covers the rise and fall of the last of the Russian Romanovs. We first meet Czar Nicholas (Michael Jayston) and his German bride Alexandra (Janet Suzman) at their 1894 wedding. Though Nicholas is devoted to Alexandra, the Russian populace is less politely inclined to having a "foreigner" as their Czarina. Alexandra gains favor when she gives birth to the much-loved Prince Alexis (Roderick Noble). Alas, Alexis suffers from hemophilia, a disease which strikes every second generation of Alexandra's family. When all conventional medical ministrations fail, Alexandra puts the fate of her son in the hands of mystical holy man Rasputin (Tom Baker, later famous for his portrayal of Doctor Who). As Rasputin's influence and power grows, the Russian peasantry becomes more restless and disgruntled. They are now willing to listen to the speeches of such rabble-rousers as Lenin (Michael Bryant) and Trotsky (Brian Cox), who sow the seeds of revolution. Even after the murder of Rasputin, the Bolsheviks are unsatisfied: The revolution finally comes to pass in October of 1917. At first, the moderate Kerensky (John McEnery) pleads with his followers to allow the Romanovs safe passage out of Russia. But the radicals seize control, and on July 16, 1918, the royal family is summarily executed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman, (more)
In 1943 North Africa, George Patton (George C. Scott) assumes command of (and instills some much-needed discipline in) the American forces. Engaged in battle against Germany's Field Marshal Rommel (Karl Michael Vogler), Patton drives back "The Desert Fox" by using the German's own tactics. Promoted to Lieutenant General, Patton is sent to Sicily, where he engages in a personal war of egos with British Field Marshal Montgomery (Michael Bates). Performing brilliantly in Italy, Patton seriously jeopardizes his future with a single slap. While touring an Army hospital, the General comes across a GI (Tim Considine) suffering from nervous fatigue. Incensed by what he considers a slacker, Patton smacks the poor soldier and orders him to get well in a hurry. This incident results in his losing his command-and, by extension, missing out on D-Day. In his final campaign, Patton leads the US 3rd Army through Europe. Unabashedly flamboyant, Patton remains a valuable resource, but ultimately proves too much of a "loose cannon" in comparison to the more level-headed tactics of his old friend Omar Bradley (Karl Malden). Patton won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Scott, an award that he refused. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Karl Malden, (more)
Originally intended as a project for Blake Edwards, the film version of Pierre Boule's semisatiric sci-fi novel came to the screen in 1968 under the directorial guidance of Franklin J. Schaffner. Charlton Heston is George Taylor, one of several astronauts on a long, long space mission whose spaceship crash-lands on a remote planet, seemingly devoid of intelligent life. Soon the astronaut learns that this planet is ruled by a race of talking, thinking, reasoning apes who hold court over a complex, multilayered civilization. In this topsy-turvy society, the human beings are grunting, inarticulate primates, penned-up like animals. When ape leader Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) discovers that the captive Taylor has the power of speech, he reacts in horror and insists that the astronaut be killed. But sympathetic ape scientists Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) and Dr. Zira (Kim Hunter) risk their lives to protect Taylor -- and to discover the secret of their planet's history that Dr. Zaius and his minions guard so jealously. In the end, it is Taylor who stumbles on the truth about the Planet of the Apes: "Damn you! Damn you! Goddamn you all to hell!" Scripted by Rod Serling and Michael Wilson (a former blacklistee who previously adapted another Pierre Boule novel, Bridge on the River Kwai), Planet of the Apes has gone on to be an all-time sci-fi (and/or camp) classic. It won a special Academy Award for John Chambers's convincing (and, from all accounts, excruciatingly uncomfortable) simian makeup. It spawned four successful sequels, as well as two TV series, one live-action and one animated. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, (more)
- 1967
In this espionage thriller, Dan Slater (Yul Brynner) is a CIA agent who travels to Austria after his son dies in a skiiing mishap. Slater begins to suspect that his son's death wasn't an accident and begins investigating the matter on his own. Slater finds that fellow agent Frank Wheatley (Clive Revill) is of little help to him. Beautiful Gina (Britt Ekland), the companion of prominent socialite Mrs. Carrington (Moira Lister), then slowly draws Slater into her web. In time, he discovers that his son's death was all part of a diabolical plan to lure him to Austria; Soviet agents led by Bethold (Anton Diffring) have performed extensive plastic surgery on one of their top spies until he's identical to Slater, and they intend to send him back in Slater's place, giving them an insider at the highest levels of U.S. intelligence. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Britt Ekland, (more)
- 1965
The painstakingly accurate historical drama The War Lord is predicated on the old practice of le droit du seigneur. Norman knight Charlton Heston, in charge of an 11th century Druid community, exercises his right to claim bride Rosemary Forsyth on the night of her wedding to James Farentino. Forsyth becomes enamored of her abductor, refusing to leave his side. Seeking vengeance, Farentino, the son of Druidic leader Niall McGinniss, foments an all-out war between Heston and Heston's covetous brother Guy Stockwell. Despite the impressive scope of the battle scenes, The War Lord, based on a stage play by Leslie Stevens, is essentially an intimate human drama (in contrast, look what "droit du seigneur" sparked in the 1995 epic Braveheart). The surehanded direction of Franklyn Schaffner and the credible performances of Heston et. al. are brilliantly complemented by Jerome Morross' Stravinsky-like musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Richard Boone, (more)
- 1964
Gore Vidal adapted his biting and bitter political satire from his hit Broadway play. Franklin J. Schaffner directed and Haskell Wexler provided the sharp-edged cinematography. The story concerns the political back-biting and smear politics involved in a presidential election year scramble by potential presidential party nominees. Lee Tracy (in an Oscar-nominated performance and his final screen role) is Art Hockstader, a dying president who refuses to throw his support behind any of his party's presidential hopefuls. Hoping to get the nod as the party's presidential candidate is liberal do-gooder William Russell (Henry Fonda). His wife Alice (Margaret Leighton) wants to get a divorce from Russell but is delaying the divorce proceedings until after the party convention. Opposing Russell for the nomination is Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson), a slick and unscrupulous political monster who will use any bit of dirt to get ahead in the party. When he discovers that Russell once suffered from mental problems, he threatens to use it against him. Russell then finds out that Cantwell once had a homosexual relationship. Russell, who abhors smear politics, now has to decide whether to use the information against Cantwell or bury the secret and risk losing the nomination. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, (more)
- 1963
This routine tale of an aspiring actress on the verge of a sharp decline is directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and features Joanne Woodward in a skillful and engaging portrayal of Lila, the would-be thespian. The setting is a small town in the plains state of Kansas where Lila finds herself stranded when her job falls apart. Thanks to her friend Helen (Clair Trevor) she is not left out in the cold. Helen's household includes only one other person, her adult son Kenny (Richard Beymer) who is captivated by Lila, and the two have a brief, one-night stand. Kenny gets cold feet when it comes to commitment, spurring Lila to go out looking for any work at all. Her sleazy boyfriend-manager Ricky suggests stripping for the conventions that come and go, and Lila finds herself on the brink of a downhill slide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joanne Woodward, Richard Beymer, (more)
- 1958
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward made a rare joint TV appearance in this live Playhouse 90 broadcast of 1958. Newman is cast as former college football star Christian Darling, whose legendary 80-yard run in the mid-1920s won him fame, adulation, a beautiful wife named Louise (Joanne Woodward), a profitable business set up by his father-in-law, and a generously yearly stipend. All this changed with the Crash of 1929: Now broke and unemployed, Christian sits morosely at home, with only the memory of his gridiron glory keeping him company. Meanwhile, Louise has landed a good job at a fashion magazine--but as she moves up in the world, the embirtterd Christian seriously considers moving out. "The 80 Yard Run" was adapted from Irwin Shaw's short story by the author's brother David Shaw. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, (more)
- 1956
An original story by no less than Jackie Gleason was the basis of this one-hour drama, originally telecast live on the CBS dramatic anthology Studio One. Decked out in white robes and a cute little halo, comedian Red Buttons stars as St. Emergency, a celestial troubleshooter whose aid is summoned by St. Barnabas (Henry Jones), guardian angel of the town of Morton's Wish. Alas, the little community is rife with corruption, and it looks as though the citizens are doomed to a fiery punishment. But if St. Emergency can find one honest man in Morton's Wish within 24 hours, the community will be saved. Luck of luck, an honest man does indeed exist -- but it's Joe Tinker (Joe Barton), the town drunk, and hardly a candidate for Heavenly redemption. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1950
When the privileged son of a prominent politician is accused of murder, he learns an important lesson in the price of living a high-profile life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Sterling, Eva Marie Saint, (more)
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