Franz Antel

Personal Info

Known For Director

Gender Male

Birthday 1913-06-28

Deathday 2007-08-11 (94 years old)

Place of Birth Wien, Austria

Also Known As François Legrand

Franz Antel

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Franz Antel (June 28, 1913 – August 11, 2007) was a veteran Austrian filmmaker. Born in Vienna, Antel worked mainly as a film producer in the interwar years. After World War II, he began writing and directing films on a large scale. In the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s these were mainly comedies (romantic, slapstick, and/or musical) and K.u.k. films all of which, for Austrian and German TV stations alike, have been a staple of weekend afternoon programming ever since. In between there is quite a sober film about the Oberst (Colonel) Redl affair that shook the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy on the eve of World War I. From the late 1960s, encouraged by the new opportunities in the film industry brought about by the sexual revolution, Antel gradually switched his main interest to soft porn and ribaldry. It was in particular his series of Wirtin ("hostess") films, directed under the pseudonym François Legrand, with which he tried to win international recognition. Titles included The Sweet Sins of Sexy Susan (1967), Sexy Susan Sins Again (1969), Wild, Willing & Sexy (1969) and Don't Tell Daddy (aka Naughty Nymphs in the U.S.A.) (1972). Among the actors Antel worked with were Hans Moser, Paul Hörbiger, Oskar Werner, Curd Jürgens, Tony Curtis, Herbert Fux, Heinrich Schweiger, Arthur Kennedy, Carroll Baker, Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Marisa Berenson, Britt Ekland, Andréa Ferréol. 1981 was a turning point in Antel's career when he adapted for the big screen a stage play by Ulrich Becher and Peter Preses. Set from the days of the Anschluss of 1938 until after the end of the war, Der Bockerer is about a Viennese butcher named Karl Bockerer (Karl Merkatz) whose common sense rather than intellect tells him to oppose the Nazis and who dares to show resistance just because he is never fully aware of the possible fateful consequences of his actions. While Bockerer and his wife survive the war unscathed, their son joins the SA but, after some internal intrigue, is sent to the front and killed. Der Bockerer IV The film's strong anti-fascist message, the moving dialogue, and performances by the crème de la crème of Austrian actors and actresses (Ida Krottendorf, Alfred Böhm, Heinz Marecek, Hans Holt, Dolores Schmidinger and many more) made Der Bockerer an unusually successful film and gave new impetus to Antel's career. He made three sequels, which follow the lives of the Bockerers well into the 1960s, each depicting a crucial historical event in Austria or one of its neighbouring countries:     Der Bockerer II (1996) is about the ten-year occupation (1945-1955) of Austria by the allied powers;     Der Bockerer III — Die Brücke von Andau (2000) is set at the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; and, finally,     Der Bockerer IV — Der Prager Frühling (2003) deals with Dubček's Prague Spring of 1968. Antel would recount an anecdote about himself describing how, in order to live up to his reputation as a womanizer, he used to carry a pair of high heels in his luggage which he then would occasionally place in the corridor in front of his hotel room – especially when he was travelling alone. Description above from the Wikipedia article Franz Antel, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Director

1990
1988
Die Lacher Macher

as Director

1985
Sie war keine Lady

as Director

1982
1981
Bockerer

as Director

1979
Austern mit Senf

as Director

1978
1977
Casanova & Co.

as Director

1976
Blackmail Chase

as Director

1975
1973
1972
Naughty Nymphs

as Director

1971
Einer spinnt immer

as Director

1969
House of Pleasure

as Director

1968
1967
Das große Glück

as Director

1966
1965
Ruf der Wälder

as Director

1964
1964
1964
Die große Kür

as Director

1961
1960
1958
1956
Roter Mohn

as Director

1956
Kaiserball

as Director

1956
Symphonie in Gold

as Director

1956
Lumpazivagabundus

as Director

1955
Heimatland

as Director

1955
1955
Espionage

as Director

1954
1954
Verliebte Leute

as Director

1954
1954
1953
1953
1953
Kaiserwalzer

as Director

1952
Hello Dienstmann

as Director

1952
1952
1952
Der Obersteiger

as Director

1951
1951
Der alte Sünder

as Director

1951
1948
Das singende Haus

as Director

Producer

1985
Private Passions

as Executive Producer

1984
1981
Bockerer

as Producer

1978
Magnum Cop

as Producer

1978
Love-Hotel in Tirol

as Co-Producer

1977
Casanova & Co.

as Producer

1976
Blackmail Chase

as Producer

1969
Die liebestollen Dirndl von Tirol

as Executive Producer

1966
1937
Millionenerbschaft

as Producer

1935
Immortal Melodies

as Producer

Creator