Biography
Franklin James Schaffner (May 30, 1920 – July 2, 1989) was an American director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Patton (1970), and is also known for the films Planet of the Apes (1968), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Papillon (1973), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). He served as President of the Directors Guild of America between 1987 and 1989.
Known For
Complete Filmography

Survival Scars: Franklin J. Schaffner as Auteur
2023
as Himself
Franklin J. Schaffner is the man behind a great many iconic American films: Planet of the Apes (1968), Patton (1970), Papillon (1973), The Boys from B...

Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner
1997
as Self - Director, 1970 (voice)
Almost everyone who worked with director Franklin J. Schaeffer on the film is interviewed here, including George C. Scott (this piece was done before ...

Welcome Home
1989
Director
Jake died in Vietnam; his family mourned him, then moved on. When he reappears, quite alive, the question is, what must he do and how will his family ...

Lionheart
1987
Director
A young knight sets out to join King Richards crusaders. Along the way, he encounters The Black Prince who captures children and sells them as slaves ...

Yes, Giorgio
1982
Director
A famous opera singer, Giorgio Fini, loses his voice during an American tour. He goes to a female throat specialist, Pamela Taylor, whom he falls in l...

Sphinx
1981
Director, Executive Producer
Egyptologist Erica Baron finds more than she bargained for during her long-planned trip to The Land of the Pharoahs - murder, theft, betrayal, love, a...

The Boys from Brazil
1978
Director
Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.

Islands in the Stream
1977
Director
An isolated sculptor is visited by his three sons just before the start of WWII.

Papillon
1973
Director, Producer
A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his esca...

The Magnificent Rebel
1973
as Self
Documentary short featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the 1973 film "Papillon." The film stars Steve McQueen and is based on the life story of Henr...

Nicholas and Alexandra
1971
Director
Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

Patton
1970
Director
"Patton" tells the tale of General George S. Patton, famous tank commander of World War II. The film begins with Patton's career in North Africa and p...

Planet of the Apes
1968
Director
Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds him...

The Double Man
1967
Director
In a complex piece of espionage the Russian secret service attempts to kidnap a high ranking officer in the CIA and replace him with a one of its own.

Planet of the Apes Test Reel
1966
Director
A make-up test to determine the feasibility of 'Planet of the Apes' (1968).

The War Lord
1965
Director
A knight in the service of a duke goes to a coastal village where an earlier attempt to build a defensive castle has failed. He begins to rebuild the ...

The Best Man
1964
Director
The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority as the first ballot closes and the front-ru...

The Stripper
1963
Director
An aging former movie starlet whose Hollywood career went nowhere, now reduced to dancing with a third-rate touring show, finds herself stranded in a ...
Big Deal in Laredo
1962
Executive Producer
A timid man with money problems gets into a big card game with some high-rollers.
A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy
1962
Director
Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy was a television special featuring the First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy on a tour...

The Velvet Alley
1959
Director
Ernie Pandish has tried to be a writer for years and has never made much money out of it. But now he seems likely to hit the big-time.

The Great Gatsby
1958
Director
Adaptation of the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald for "Playhouse 90." A Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his wealthy neighbor, who obsesses over...
Nightmare at Ground Zero
1958
Director
After the first atom bomb test, scientists realize the bomb was more powerful than they expected - which may have terrible results.

High Tor
1956
Director
High Tor is a 1936 play by Maxwell Anderson. Twenty years after the original production, Anderson adapted it into a television musical with Arthur Sch...
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
1955
Director, Screenplay
When a US Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardizes the ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial...

Twelve Angry Men
1954
Director
Twelve Angry Men is a 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose for the Studio One anthology television series. Initially staged as a CBS live production on 20 S...

The Strike
1954
Director
Major Gaylord grapples with a vexing command in the Korean War. Aired by Studio One in Hollywood, sponsored by Westinghouse.

Dark Possession
1954
Director
A woman is accused by a poison-pen letter of murdering her husband.
Mark of Cain
1953
Director
A man is released from prison only to find a new kind of prison: society's judgment of an ex-con's continuing guilt. He now lives with his mother, his...

The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus
1952
Director
The birth of Jesus and the serene Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.

The Kill
1952
Director
Jeff and his family just moved into a small, rural community. When two sinister locals tamper with Jeff's water pump, a fight breaks out among the thr...

Pontius Pilate
1952
Director
The story, set 15 years after the Crucifixion, of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who is depicted as a victim of circumstances.

The Man Who Had Influence
1950
Director
Business mogul's son David Grant uses his father's power to extricate himself from problems - until implication in a woman's death tests David's willi...
Miracle in the Rain
1950
Director
A lonely man and woman meet on rainy afternoon in New York. Studio One, Season 2, Episode 34

Jane Eyre
1949
Director
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she mee...