Schaffner, Franklin

SCHAFFNER, FRANKLIN

U.S. Director

Franklin Schaffner, one of several prominent directors during U.S. television's "Golden Age," worked in such prestigious anthology series as Studio One (CBS), The Kaiser Aluminum Hour (NBC), Playhouse 90 (CBS), The DuPont Show of the Week (NBC), the Edward R. Murrow series Person to Person (CBS), and the dramatic series The Defenders (CBS). Schaffner later became known as an "actor's director," but his television work is known primarily for his unique use of the camera.

Schaffner attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, where he majored in government and english. A prize-winning orator, Schaffner appeared in several university productions and also worked part-time as an announcer at local radio station WGAL. His plans to attend Columbia Law School were interrupted by his enlistment in the US Navy during World War II, during which he served with amphibious forces in Europe and North Africa and, later, with the Office for Strategic Services in the Far East.

After the war, Schaffner first sought work as an actor. He was eventually hired as a spokesperson and copywriter for Americans United for World Government, a peace organization. During this period, Schaffner met ABC Radio Vice President Robert Saudek and worked as a writer for Saudek's radio series World Security Workshop. For that series, Schaffner wrote "The Cave," which was the series' final broadcast (8 May 1947). Schaffner's experience on this series encouraged him to pursue a career in broadcasting.

Schaffner was hired as an assistant director on the radio documentary series The March of Time for $35 per week. His work brought him to the attention of Robert Bendick, Director of Television News and Special Events for CBS. Bendick hired Schaffner in April 1948 as director of Brooklyn Dodgers baseball as well as other sporting events and public service programs. Schaffner's experience with the spontaneity and immediacy of live special events made him a logical choice as one of three directors for the 1948 Democratic and Republican political conventions held in Philadelphia.

By 1949, Schaffner was ready for the challenge of directing live dramatic programs. After directing Wesley (CBS), a situation comedy produced by Worthington Miner about a precocious twelve-year-old and his family, Schaffner alternated directing assignments with Paul Nickell on Miner's live anthology series Studio One (CBS). On the series, Schaffner directed adaptations of classics as well as original productions, including the series' first color telecast, The Boy Who Changed the World (18 October 1954). At a time when other networks used static cameras, Schaffner utilized a moving camera with long, graceful tracking shots. In addition to hiding the limitations of the studio set, Schaffner's camera work drew audiences into the action of the play. In Twelve Angry Men (20 September 1954), Schaffner designed a 360° shot that required orchestrated moves of the set's walls during the shot. Schaffner won the 1954 Emmy for Best Direction for his work on Twelve Angry Men.

While working on the Studio One series, Schaffner drew on his news and public affairs experience to serve as producer and studio director for the Edward R. Murrow interview program Person to Person (CBS, 1953-1961). Although the initial episodes utilized static camera set-ups for the remote interviews, Schaffner later incorporated tracking cameras that moved with guests to show their home and activities. Schaffner worked on the series until 1957, when more of his work originated from Los Angeles.

Schaffner utilized his news experience once again for A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy (NBC, 14 February 1962). Schaffner's moving camera and unique camera angles provided viewers with an intimate look at the White House renovation. He won a 1962 Directorial Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America for his work on the program.

One of Schaffner's best-known works is the production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial for Ford Star Jubilee (CBS, 19 November 1955), which was broadcast from the new CBS state-of-the-art facilities at Television City in Los Angeles. The static action of the play is kept moving by Schaffner's mobile camera and dramatic crane shots. Schaffner was awarded two Emmys for his work on the teleplay: one for Best Director and another for best adaptation (with Paul Gregory). The show was originally broadcast in color, but only black and white kinescopes survive.

After years as a director of live television dramas, Schaffner directed various episodes of the dramatic series The Defenders (CBS, 1961-65), produced by Herbert Brodkin and written by Reginald Rose. The series originated as a two-part episode on Studio One in 1957, directed by Robert Mulligan. Schaffner used film editing to create montages of busy New York scenes and unusual camera angles to concentrate on the characters. Schaffner won his fourth Emmy for his work on the series.

Schaffner left television to direct and produce feature films. His film work includes Planet of the Apes (1968), Patton (1970, for which he received the Oscar and Directors Guild awards for Best Director), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Papillon (1973), and The Boys From Brazil (1978). In 1977, Schaffner's alma mater, Franklin and Marshall College, established the Franklin J. Schaffner Film Library and presented the director with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letter. Schaffner died of cancer on 2 July 1989.

-Susan Gibberman

Franklin Schaffner
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research

FRANKLIN J. SCHAFFNER. Born in Tokyo, Japan, 30 May 1920. Graduated from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 1942; studied law at Columbia University, New York, New York. Married Helen Jean Gilchrist, 1948; children: Jenny and Kate. Served in U.S. Navy, 1942-46. Began television career as assistant director, March of Times documentary series, 1947-48; television director, CBS, including such programs as Studio One, Ford Theater and Playhouse 90, 1949-62; formed Unit Four production company with Worthington Miner, George Roy Hill, and Fielder Cook, 1955; directed Advise and Consent on Broadway, 1960; signed three-picture deal for 20th Century Fox and directed first feature in 1961; TV counselor to President Kennedy, 1961-63; president, Gilchrist Productions, 1962-68; president, Franklin Schaffner Productions, 1969-89. Member: Directors Guild of America, president 1987-89; National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; Phi Beta Kappa; board member: Center Theater Group of the Music Center, Los Angeles; Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, National Council of the Arts, Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities; chairman, executive committee, American Film Institute. Recipient: Sylvania Award, 1953, 1954; Emmy Awards, 1954, 1955, 1962; Best Direction Award, Variety Critics Poll, 1960; Trustee Award (shared with Jacqueline Kennedy) for documentary Tour of the White House, American Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1962; Oscar for Best Director, 1970; Directors Guild Award, 1970. Died in Santa Monica, California, 2 July 1989.

TELEVISION SERIES (selection, director)

1949 Wesley
1949-56 Studio One
1950-51 Ford Theater
1953-59 Person to Person
1955-56 Ford Star Jubilee
1956-57 Kaiser Aluminum Hour (also producer)
1957 Producer's Showcase
1957-60 Playhouse 90
1959 Ford Startime
1961-65 The Defenders
1962-64 DuPont Show of the Week (also producer)

TELEVISION SPECIAL

1962 A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy

FILMS (director)

A Summer World (incomplete), 1961; The Stripper, 1963; The Best Man, 1964; The War Lord, 1965; The Double Man (also actor), 1967; The Planet of the Apes, 1968; Patton, 1970; Nicholas and Alexandra (also producer), 1971; Papillon (also co-producer), 1973; Islands in the Stream, 1977; The Boys From Brazil, 1978; Sphinx (also executive producer), 1981; Yes, Giorgio, 1982; Lionheart, 1987; Welcome Home, 1989.

RADIO

World Security Workshop; The March of Time.

STAGE (director)

Advise and Consent, 1960.

PUBLICATIONS

"The TV Director: A Dialog," with Fielder Cook. In, Bluem, William A., and Roger Manvell, editors. The Progress in Television. New York: Focal, 1967.

"Interview," with Gerald Pratley. Cineaste (New York), Summer 1969.

"Interview," with R. Feiden. InterView (New York), March 1972.

"Interview," with R. Applebaum. Films and Filming (London), February 1979.

"Interview," with D. Castelli. in Films Illustrated (London), May 1979.

Worthington Miner: Interviewed by Franklin J. Schaffner. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1985.

FURTHER READING

Cook, B. "The War Between Writers and the Directors: Part II: The Directors." American Film (Washington, D.C.), June 1979.

"Franklin J. Schaffner." Kosmorama (Copenhagen), Autumn 1977.

Geist, Kathe. "Chronicler of Power." Film Comment (New York), September/October 1972.

Kim, Erwin. Franklin J. Schaffner. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1985.

Lightman, Herb. "On Location with Islands in the Stream." American Cinematographer (Los Angeles), November 1976.

Sarris, Andrew. "Director of the Month--Franklin Schaffner: The Panoply of Power." Show (Hollywood), April 1970.

"TV to Film: A History, a Map and a Family Tree." Monthly Film Bulletin (London), February 1983.

Wilson, David. "Franklin Schaffner." Sight and Sound (London), Spring 1966.