Schell, Maximilian 1930–

views updated May 21 2018

SCHELL, Maximilian 1930–

(Maximillian Schell)

PERSONAL

Born December 8, 1930, in Vienna, Austria; raised in Switzerland; son of Hermann Ferdinand (a pharmacy owner, writer, and poet) and Margarethe (an actress; maiden name, Noe von Nordberg) Schell; brother of Maria Schell and Immy Schell (both actresses), and Karl Schell (an actor); married Natasha Andreichenko (an actress; name sometimes cited as Natalya Andrejchenko or Natalia Andreichenko), 1985; children: Nastia (daughter). Education: Attended the universities of Zurich, Basel, and Munich. Avocational Interests: Playing the piano, conducting.

Addresses:

Agent—The Blake Agency, 1327 Ocean Ave., Suite J, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

Career:

Actor, director, producer, and writer. Volkstheater, Munich, West Germany (now Germany), director, beginning 1981. Military service: Swiss Army, 1948–49, became corporal.

Awards, Honors:

New York Film Critics Circle Award, best actor, 1961, Academy Award, best actor, Golden Globe Award, best motion picture actor—drama, Film Award nomination, best foreign actor, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and nomination for Golden Laurel Award, top male dramatic performance, Laurel awards, Producers Guild of America, all 1962, all for Judgment at Nuremberg; Golden Laurel Award, top male new personality, 1962; Ondas Award, best international television actor, 1965; Silver Seashell, San Sebastian International Film Festival, 1970, Filmband in Gold, best picture, Swiss Film Award, best picture, Panama Film Festival Award, best director, special award of the jury, Cartagena Film Festival, and Academy Award nomination, best foreign film, all 1971, all for Erste Liebe; Chicago Film Critics Award, best foreign film, and Silver Sirene Award, best picture, Sorrento and Naples Film Festival, both 1973, Golden Globe Award, best foreign film, Golden Cup (Germany), best picture, and Academy Award nomination, best foreign film, all 1974, and other international awards, all for Der Fussgaenger; Silver Seashell, 1975, and Filmband in Silver, best picture, 1979, both for Der Richter und sein Henker; Academy Award nomination, best actor, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best actor in a motion picture—drama, both 1976, for The Man in the Glass Booth; New York Film Critics Circle Award, best supporting actor, 1977, Academy Award nomination, best supporting actor, 1978, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best motion picture actor in a supporting role, 1978, all for Julia; Golden Hugo Award, best foreign film, Chicago Film Festival, 1979, Filmband in Silver, best picture, 1980, and Oxford Film Festival Award, best screenplay, 1980, all for Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald; Silver Bear, best picture, Berlin Film Festival, and Golden Federation Award of Germany, best actor, both 1984, for Morgen in Alabama; New York Film Critics Circle Award, National Board of Review Award, and Academy Award nomination, best documentary, all 1984, for Marlene; honorary German Film Award, outstanding individual contributions to German film, 1990; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or special, 1992, for "Miss Rose White," Hallmark Hall of Fame; honorary doctorate, University of Chicago, 1992; Golden Globe Award, best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, miniseries, or movie made for television, Annual CableACE Award, best supporting actor in a movie or miniseries, National Cable Television Association, and Emmy Award nomination, outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or special, all 1993, for Stalin; Silver Lion, Venice Film Festival, 1994, for Little Odessa; Akira Kurosawa Award, outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry, International Press Academy, 1999; Lifetime Achievement Award, Method Fest, 1999; Platin Romy, Romy Gala, 1999; Mary Pickford Award, Golden Satellite awards, International Press Academy, 2000; Actor of the Millennium Award, Baltic Pearl Film Festival, 2000; Lifetime Achievement Award, Bambi awards, 2002.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Deserter, Kinder, Muetter und ein General (also known as Children, Mother, and the General), 1955.

Mitglied des Kreisauer Kreises, Der 20. Juli (also known as The Plot to Assassinate Hitler), 1955.

Reifende Jugend (also known as Ripening Youth), 1955.

Dr. Hauser, Die Ehe des Dr. med. Danwitz (also known as Marriage of Dr. Danwitz), 1956.

Wolfgang Thomas, Ein Herz kehrt heim, 1956.

Lieutenant Alexander "Alex" Haller, Ein Maedchen aus Flandern (also known as The Girl from Flanders), 1956, released in United States, 1963.

Lorenz Darrandt, Die Letzten werden die Ersten sein (also known as The Last Ones Shall Be First), 1957.

Toni Schellenberg, Taxichauffeur Baenz (also known as Taxi Driver Baenz), 1957.

Der Meisterdieb, 1957.

Captain Hardenberg, The Young Lions, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1958.

Josef Ospel, Kinder der Berge (also known as Ein Wunderbarer Sommer), 1958.

Die Sechste Frau, 1958.

Eine Dummheit macht Auch der Gescheiteste, 1959.

Hans Rolfe, Judgment at Nuremberg, United Artists, 1961.

Walter, Five Finger Exercise, Columbia, 1961.

Giuseppe Desa, The Reluctant Saint (also known as Joseph Desa and Cronache di un convento), Columbia, 1962.

Franz, I sequestrati di Altona (also known as The Condemned of Altona and Les sequestres d'Altona), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1963.

Walter Harper, Topkapi, United Artists, 1964.

Letters of Mozart, 1964.

Stanislaus Pilgrin, Return from the Ashes, United Artists, 1965.

Dieter Freey, The Deadly Affair, Columbia, 1967.

General Schiller, Counterpoint, Universal, 1968.

Himself, Flash 14 (short documentary film), Television Espanola, 1968.

Captain Chris Hanson, Krakatoa, East of Java (also known as Volcano), Cinerama, 1969.

"K," Das Schloss (also known as The Castle), Continental, 1969.

Marek, The Desperate Ones (also known as Beyond the Mountains and Mas alla de las montanas), Commonwealth United, 1969.

L'assoluto naturale, 1969.

Simon Bolivar (also known as La epopeya de Bolivar), 1969.

Father, Erste Liebe (also known as First Love and First Love—Die Geschichte einer Liebe), UMC Pictures, 1970.

Brother Adrian, Pope Joan (also known as The Devil's Imposter), Columbia, 1972.

Count Michel Cantarini, Paulina 1880, 1972.

Trotta (also known as Trotta—Die Kapuzinergruft), 1972.

Andreas Giese, Der Fussgaenger (also known as The Pedestrian), Cinerama, 1973.

The Rehearsal (also known as I Dokimi), 1974.

Arthur Goldman, The Man in the Glass Booth, American Film Theatre, 1975.

Djuro Sarac (some sources cite Shastar), Sarajevski atentat (also known as Assassination in Sarajevo, The Day That Shook the World, Atentat u Sarajevu, Der Tag, der die Welt veraenderte, and Sarajevsky atentat), 1975.

Eduard Roschmann, The Odessa File (also known as Der Fall Odessa and Die Akte Odessa), Columbia, 1975.

Dr. John Constable, St. Ives, Warner Bros., 1976.

Hauptmann Stransky, Cross of Iron (also known as Steiner—Das Eiserne Kreuz), Avco–Embassy, 1977.

Johann, Julia, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1977.

Lieutenant general Wilhelm Bittrich, A Bridge Too Far, United Artists, 1977.

Nikolai Bunin, Avalanche Express, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1978.

Gesprache mit Jedermann, 1978.

Dr. Hans Reinhardt, The Black Hole, Buena Vista, 1979.

Giovanni, Amo non amo (also known as I Love You, I Love You Not and Together?), New Line Cinema, 1979.

Marco, Players, Paramount, 1979.

Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (also known as Tales from the Vienna Woods), 1979, subtitled version released in the United States by Cinema 5 Distributing.

Fabrice, Les iles (also known as The Islands), 1982.

Professor David Malter, The Chosen, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1982.

The Great Hamlets, 1983.

David Landau, Morgen in Alabama (also known as Man under Suspicion and Tomorrow in Alabama), Futura Film, c. 1983, subtitled version released in the United States by International Spectrafilm, c. 1984.

Himself, Marlene (documentary; also known as Marlene Dietrich—Portraet eines Mythos), Futura Film, 1984, subtitled version, Alive Films, 1986.

Colonel Mueller, The Assisi Underground, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer/United Artists, 1985.

Aaron Reichenbacher, The Rose Garden (also known as Der Rosengarten), Cannon, 1989.

Larry London, The Freshman, TriStar, 1990.

Himself, Labyrinth, 1991.

Colonel Mopani Theron, A Far Off Place, Buena Vista, 1993.

Isaak Kohler, Justiz (also known as Justice), 1993.

Arkady Shapira, Little Odessa, Fine Line Features, 1995.

Rodan, The Vampyre Wars, 1996.

Carl Stern, Zwischen Rosen, 1997.

Dr. Istvan Jonas, Telling Lies in America, Banner Entertainment, 1997.

Father Simeon, The Eighteenth Angel, Rysher Entertainment, 1997.

Mr. Silberschmidt, Left Luggage (also known as 2 koffers vol), 1997, Castle Hill Productions, 2000.

Cardinal Alba, Vampires (also known as John Carpenter's "Vampires" and Vampire$), Sony Pictures Releasing, 1998.

Jason Lerner, Deep Impact, Paramount, 1998.

Hochberg, Wer liebt, dem wachsen Fluegel… (also known as On the Wings of Love), Concorde Film-verleih, 1999.

Himself, Mein liebster Feind–Klaus Kinski (documentary; also known as My Best Fiend, Mein liebster Feind, and 25. tunti: Klaus Kinski), 1999, subtitled version released in the United States by New Yorker Films.

Himself, Hamlet in Hollywood (documentary), 2000.

Poser, Fisimatenten (also known as Just Messing About), Next Film/Saarlaendischer Rundfunk, 2000.

Walter Ekland, I Love You Baby, Warner Bros., 2000.

Viktor Kovner, Festival in Cannes, Paramount Classics, 2001.

Himself, Meine Schwester Maria (documentary; also known as My Sister Maria), 2002, subtitled version, Rainbow Releasing/Kirchmedia Entertainment, 2004.

Himself, Ninth November Night (short documentary film), Lohneranger, 2004.

(In archive footage) Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (documentary), Anker Productions, 2004.

Film Director:

Erste Liebe (also known as First Love and First Love—Die Geschichte einer Liebe), UMC Pictures, 1970.

Der Fussgaenger (also known as The Pedestrian), Cinerama, 1973.

The Clown (also known as Ansichten eines Clowns), 1975.

Der Richter und sein Henker (also known as Deception, The End of the Game, Getting Away with Murder, Murder on the Bridge, and Assassinio sul ponte), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1976.

Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (also known as Tales from the Vienna Woods), 1979, subtitled version released in the United States by Cinema 5 Distributing.

Marlene (documentary; also known as Marlene Dietrich—Portraet eines Mythos), Futura Film, 1984, subtitled version, Alive Films, 1986.

Meine Schwester Maria (documentary; also known as My Sister Maria), 2002, subtitled version, Rainbow Releasing/Kirchmedia Entertainment, 2004.

Film Producer:

(With Rudolf Noelte) Das Schloss (also known as The Castle), Continental, 1969.

Erste Liebe (also known as First Love and First Love—Die Geschichte einer Liebe), UMC Pictures, 1970.

Der Fussgaenger (also known as The Pedestrian), Cinerama, 1973.

The Clown (also known as Ansichten eines Clowns), 1975.

(With Arlene Sellers) Der Richter und sein Henker (also known as Deception, The End of the Game, Getting Away with Murder, Murder on the Bridge, and Assassinio sul ponte), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1976.

Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (also known as Tales from the Vienna Woods), 1979, subtitled version released in the United States by Cinema 5 Distributing.

Morgen in Alabama (also known as Man under Suspicion and Tomorrow in Alabama), Futura Film, c. 1983, subtitled version released in the United States by International Spectrafilm, c. 1984.

Marlene (documentary; also known as Marlene Dietrich—Portraet eines Mythos), Futura Film, 1984, subtitled version, Alive Films, 1986.

Executive producer, Meine Schwester Maria (documentary; also known as My Sister Maria), 2002, subtitled version, Rainbow Releasing/Kirchmedia Entertainment, 2004.

Television Appearances; Series:

Amado Guzman, Wiseguy, CBS, 1990.

Fuerst Thorwald, Der Fuerst und das Maedchen, [Germany], beginning 2003.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Don Rodrigo, Der Seidene Schuh, 1965.

Commentator, Bernstein/Beethoven, PBS, 1981.

Title role, Peter the Great, NBC, 1986.

Frederick the Great, Young Catherine, TNT, 1991.

Vladimir Lenin, Stalin (also known as Sztalin), HBO, 1992.

Pharaoh, Abraham (also known as The Bible: Abraham, Die Bibel—Abraham, and La Bible: Abraham), TNT, 1994.

Cardinal Vittorio, The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, CBS, 1996.

Narrator, Sex and the Silver Screen, Showtime, 1996.

Brother John Le'Maitre, Joan of Arc (also known as Jeanne d'Arc), CBS, 1999.

Franz Steininger, Liebe, Luegen, Leidenschaft (also known as Love, Lies, Passions), 2002.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Herzog Albrecht von Bayern, Die Bernauerin, 1958.

The Fifth Column, 1959.

Herr Richard Sessemann, Heidi (also known as Heide kehrt heim), 1968.

Sandor Korvin (title role), The Phantom of the Opera, CBS, 1983.

Colonel Arkush, Candles in the Dark, The Family Channel, 1993.

Wunsch, "The Song of the Lark," Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 2000.

Casimir Michaelstadt, Coast to Coast, Showtime, 2004.

Pater Christoph, Die Liebe eines Priesters, ARD (Germany), 2005.

Television Appearances; Specials:

D'Artagnan, The Three Musketeers, 1960.

Title role, Hamlet (also known as Hamlet, Prinz von Daenemark), Germany, 1960, then United States, 1962.

Narrator, The Beautiful Blue and Red Danube (documentary), ABC, 1967.

Hamlet, 1970.

Otto Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank, NBC, 1980.

Mordecai Weiss, "Miss Rose White," Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1992.

Claudio Abbado: The Silence That Follows the Music, 1996.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

The 34th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1962.

Presenter, The 35th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1963.

50th Annual Golden Globe Awards, TBS, 1993.

51st Annual Golden Globe Awards, TBS, 1994.

The 70th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1998.

The 75th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2003.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Hans Rolfe, "Judgment at Nuremberg," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1959.

Hans, "Perilous," Desilu Playhouse (also known as Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse), CBS, 1959.

"Child of Our Time," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1959.

Peter Gerard, "Turn the Key Deftly," Sunday Showcase, NBC, 1960.

Sarrail, "The Observer," Alcoa Theatre, NBC, 1960.

Himself, Here's Hollywood, NBC, 1961, 1962.

Hans Rolfe, scene from Judgment at Nuremberg, The Ed Sullivan Show (also known as Toast of the Town), CBS, 1962.

August Holland, "A Time to Love," Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater, NBC, 1967.

Guest, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, 1970.

Himself, V.I.P.—Schaukel, 1978.

Himself, "Festival de Berlin 1984," Etoiles et toiles, 1984.

Guest, "Wetten, dass …? aus Dresden," Wetten, dass …?, 2001.

Himself, "An Interview with Maximilian Schell," Leute heute, 2002.

Himself, "Aus Cannes," Leute heute, 2002.

Himself, "Premiere: Meine Schwester Maria," Seitenblicke, 2002.

Himself, Beckmann, 2003.

Himself, Die Johannes B. Kerner Show, 2003.

Himself, Menschen bei Maischberger, 2004.

Himself, Tavis Smiley, PBS, 2005.

Also appeared in Willemsens Woche, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen.

Television Appearances; Other:

Karl Steingraf, Der Bestseller—Mord auf italienisch, [Austria and Germany], 2002.

Xaver Schoenborn, Alles Glueck dieser Erde, [Austria], 2003.

Fernando Hereira, The Return of the Dancing Master (also known as Die Rueckkehr des Tanzlehrers), [Austria and Germany], 2004.

Television Director; Movies:

Candles in the Dark, The Family Channel, 1993.

Stage Appearances:

Leonce, Berlin Theatre am Kurfurstendamn, Berlin, Germany, 1957.

Philotas, Berlin Theatre am Kurfurstendamn, 1957.

Paul, Interlock, American National Theatre and Academy, New York City, 1958.

Der Turn, Salzburg Festival, Salzburg, Austria, 1959.

Sappho, Hamburg, West Germany (now Germany), 1959.

Hamlet, 1961.

A Patriot for Me, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1965, then Bremen, West Germany (now Germany), 1966.

Herostrat, Bochum, West Germany (now Germany), 1966.

The Venetian Twins, Josefstadt, Vienna, Austria, 1966.

Title role, Hamlet, Munich, West Germany (now Germany), 1968.

Alfred Redl, A Patriot for Me, Imperial Theatre, New York City, 1969.

Old Times, Vienna, Austria, 1973.

Everyman, Salzburg Festival, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982.

Der seidene Schuh, 1982.

Poor Murderer, Berlin, Germany, 1982.

Ernst Janning, Judgment at Nuremberg, Longacre Theatre, New York City, 2001.

Appeared in productions of Don Carlos, Mannerhouse, and The Prince of Homburg.

Stage Director:

All the Best, Bremen, West Germany (now Germany), then Vienna, Austria, both 1966.

Hamlet, Munich, West Germany (now Germany), 1968.

Pygmalion, Dusseldorf, West Germany (now Germany), 1970.

La Traviata (opera), 1975.

Tales from the Vienna Woods, National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, London, 1977.

The Undiscovered Country, Salzburg Festival, Salzburg, Austria, 1979 and 1980.

Coronet, Deutsche Opera, Berlin, Germany, 1985.

Der seidene Schuh, Salzburg Festival, 1985.

Lohengrin (opera), Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Music Center, Los Angeles, 2001.

Der Rosenkavalier (opera), Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Music Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 2005.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

(As Maximillian Schell) Himself, In Conversation: Abby Mann and Maximillian Schell (short documentary), Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Home Entertainment, 2004.

WRITINGS

Screenplays:

Das Schloss (also known as The Castle), Continental, 1969.

(With John Gould) Erste Liebe (also known as First Love and First Love—Die Geschichte einer Liebe), UMC Pictures, 1970.

Trotta (also known as Trotta–Die Kapuzinergruft), 1972.

Der Fussgaenger (also known as The Pedestrian), Cinerama, 1973.

(With Friedrich Duerrenmatt) Der Richter und sein Henker (also known as Deception, The End of the Game, Getting Away with Murder, Murder on the Bridge, and Assassinio sul ponte), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1976.

Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (also known as Tales from the Vienna Woods), 1979, subtitled version released in the United States by Cinema 5 Distributing.

Marlene (documentary; also known as Marlene Dietrich—Portraet eines Mythos), Futura Film, 1984, subtitled version, Alive Films, 1986.

Meine Schwester Maria (documentary; also known as My Sister Maria), 2002, subtitled version, Rainbow Releasing/Kirchmedia Entertainment, 2004.

Writings for the Stage:

Murder on the Bridge, 1975.

(With Christopher Hampton) Tales from the Vienna Woods, National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, London, 1977.

Nonfiction:

Anni und Josef Albers: Eine Retrospektive, Stuck–Jugendstil–Verein, 1989.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Authors, Volume 116, Gale, 1986.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, fourth edition, St. James Press, 2000.

Periodicals:

Starlog, April, 1980, pp. 43–47.

Electronic:

Playbill Online, http://www.playbill.com, August 31, 2000; March 1, 2001.

Schell, Maximilian

views updated May 23 2018

SCHELL, Maximilian



Nationality: Swiss. Born: Vienna, Austria, 8 December 1930; brother of the actress Maria Schell; became Swiss citizen. Education: Attended the universities of Zurich and Munich. Military Service: Swiss Army. Family: Married Natalya Andreichenko, 1985, one child. Career: Following military service, actor in London, Germany, and Switzerland; 1955—film debut in Kinder, Mütter, und ein General; 1958—English-language role in The Young Lions brought international attention; stage debut in New York in Interlock; 1959—in Hamlet on American television; followed by other film, stage, and television roles; 1968—produced the film Das Schloss; 1970—directed the film Erste Liebe; also stage director; 1977—directed the stage plays Tales from the Vienna Woods, London, and The Undiscovered Country, London, 1979; 1986—in TV mini-series Peter the Great; 1990—in TV series Wiseguy; 1991—in TV mini-series Young Catherine. Awards: Best Actor Academy Award, and Best Actor, New York Film Critics, for Judgment at Nuremberg, 1961; Best Supporting Actor, New York Film Critics, for Julia, 1977; Deutscher Filmpreis for Best Actor, 1984, and for Career, 1989–90. Address: Keplerstrasse 2, 8000 Munich 80, Germany.

Films as Actor:

1955

Kinder, Mütter, und ein General (Benedek); Der 20 Juli (Harnak); Reifende Jugend (Erfurth)

1956

Ein Mädchen aus Flandern (The Girl from Flanders) (Kautner); Die Ehe des Dr. Med. Danwitz (Rabenalt); Ein Herz kehrt Heim (York)

1957

Die Letzten werden die Ersten sein (Hansen); Taxichauffeur Bänz (Dueggelin) (as Toni Schellenberg)

1958

Das Gluck auf der Alm (Ein wunderbaren Sommer) (Tressler); The Young Lions (Dmytryk) (as Capt. Hardenberg)

1960

Hamlet (Wirth) (title role)

1961

Judgment at Nuremberg (Kramer) (as Hans Rolfe)

1962

Five Finger Exercise (Delbert Mann) (as Walter); The Reluctant Saint (Dmytryk) (as Giuseppe Desa); I sequestri di Altona (The Condemned of Altona) (De Sica) (as Franz)

1964

Topkapi (Dassin) (as William Walter)

1965

Return from the Ashes (J. Lee Thompson) (as Stanislaus Pilgrim)

1966

John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums (Herschensohn—doc) (as narrator)

1967

The Deadly Affair (Lumet) (as Dieter Foey); Más allá de las montañas (Beyond the Mountains; The Desperate Ones) (Ramati) (as Marek); Counterpoint (Nelson) (as Schiller)

1968

Heidi (Delbert Mann—for TV) (as Herr Sesseman)

1969

Krakatoa, East of Java (Volcano) (Kowalski) (as Captain Chris Hanson); Simon Bolivar (Blasetti); L'assoluto naturale (Bolognini)

1972

Paulina 1880 (Bertucelli) (as Count); Pope Joan (The Devil's Imposter) (Anderson) (as Adrian)

1974

The Odessa File (Neame) (as Eduard Roschmann)

1975

The Man in the Glass Booth (Hiller) (as Arthur Goldman); The Days that Shook the World (Atentat u Sarajevu; Assasination at Sarajevo; Assassination) (Bulajic) (as Djuro Sarac)

1976

St. Ives (J. Lee Thompson) (as Dr. John Constable)

1977

A Bridge Too Far (Attenborough) (as Gen. Wilhelm Bittrich); Cross of Iron (Peckinpah) (as Stransky); Julia (Zinnemann) (as Johann)

1978

Amo non Amo (Together; I Love You, I Love You Not) (Balducci) (as John)

1979

Avalanche Express (Robson) (as Bunin); The Black Hole (Nelson) (as Dr. Hans Reinhardt); Players (Harvey) (as Marco)

1980

The Diary of Anne Frank (Sagal—for TV)

1982

The Chosen (Kagan) (as Professor David Malter)

1983

Phantom of the Opera (Markovic—for TV)

1984

The Assisi Underground (Ramati) (as Col. Mueller); Morgen in Alabama (Man under Suspicion) (Kuckelmann) (as lawyer Landau)

1989

The Rose Garden (Rademakers) (as Aaron Reichenbacher)

1990

The Freshman (Andrew Bergman) (as Larry London)

1992

Labyrinth (Jires) (as himself); Miss Rose White (Sargent—for TV) (as Mordechai); Stalin (Passer—for TV) (as Lenin)

1993

A Far Off Place (Salomon) (as Col. Mopani Theron); Justiz (Justice) (Geissendörfer) (as Isaak Kohler)

1994

Little Odessa (Gray) (as Arkady Shapira); Abraham (Sargent—for TV) (as Pharao)

1996

The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (Dobson—for TV) (as Cardinal Vittorio)

1997

Zwischen Rosen (as Carl Stern); The Eighteenth Angel (Bindley) (as Father Simeon); Telling Lies in America (Ferland) (as Dr. Istvan Jonas)

1998

Left Luggage (Krabbé) (as Chaya's Father); Deep Impact (Leder) (as Jason Lerner); Vampires (Carpenter) (as Cardinal Alba)

1999

Fisimatenten (Kuhn); Wer liebt, dem wachsen Flügel (On the Wings of Love) (Barylli); Joan of Arc (Duguay—for TV) (as Brother John Le'Maitre)

2000

I Love You Baby (Lyon) (as Walter Ekland); Fisimatenten (Kuhn)



Films as Producer:

1968

Das Schloss (The Castle) (Noelte) (+ ro as "K")

1976

Einsichten eines Clowns (co-pr)

Films as Director:

1970

Erste Liebe (First Love) (+ co-pr, co-sc, ro as the father)

1974

Der Fussgänger (The Pedestrian) (+ co-pr, sc, ro as Andreas Giese)

1975

Der Richter und sein Henker (Murder on the Bridge; End of the Game; Getting Away with Murder) (+ co-pr, co-sc)

1981

Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (Tales from the Vienna Woods) (+ pr, sc)

1984

Marlene (doc) (+ co-sc, ro as interviewer)

1993

Candles in the Dark (for TV) (+ ro as Colonel Arkush)



Film as Scriptwriter:

1971

Trotta (Schaaf)



Publications


By SCHELL: books—

Odon von Horvath, Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald, Frankfurt, 1979.

Anni und Josef Albers: eine Retrospektive, Munich, 1989.


By SCHELL: articles—

Interview with G. Flatley, in New York Times, 16 September 1977.

Interview with T. Buckley, in New York Times, 3 March 1978.

"Maximilian Schell akteur en kineast," interview with R. Pede, in Film en Televisie (Brussels), October 1980.

Interview with C. Chase, in New York Times, 31 December 1981.

Interview with B. Reisfeld, in Photoplay (London), January 1985.

"Europe at the fin de siecle," interview, by Schell, with Vaclav Havel, in Society, September/October 1995.


On SCHELL: articles—

Current Biography 1962, New York, 1962.

Spelman, F., "The Explosive Schell Family," in Show (Hollywood), January 1963.

Baxter, B., "Schell Schock," in Films Illustrated (London), January 1974.

"La vedette de la semaine: Maximilian Schell," in Ciné Revue (Paris), 9 October 1975.

"Maximilian Schell," in Ecran (Paris), 15 December 1979.

Dangaard, C., "Maximilian Schell," in Ciné Revue (Paris), 7 February 1980.

Bulnes, J., "Les immortals du cinéma: Maximilian Schell," in Ciné Revue (Paris), 28 July 1983.

Stars (Mariembourg), Autumn 1994.


* * *

The specter of Nazism seems to have haunted Schell throughout his acting career. Although born in Vienna and raised in Switzerland, he is best known for his work in films about World War II and its aftermath, wherein he has most often been cast as a Nazi officer. In fact, his first Hollywood part was that of the devout storm trooper who commanded Marlon Brando's morally troubled German captain in The Young Lions, based on the Irwin Shaw best-seller. He subsequently donned the uniform of the Third Reich in war films as varied as Counterpoint, A Bridge Too Far, and Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron, where he played a scheming German general determined to win the titular medal for valor even if he has to sacrifice his entire command.

In 1961, Schell won the Academy Award as best actor for his intense performance as the German attorney defending Nazis charged with war crimes in Judgment at Nuremburg—a role he had originated on television in the CBS series Playhouse 90 where the Abby Mann drama first appeared. In 1975, more than a decade later, Schell was again nominated for the same award for his role in the American Film Theater's production of The Man in the Glass Booth in which he portrayed a war criminal, based on Adolf Eichmann, brought to justice in an Israeli court after the end of the war. Later, in The Odessa File, he played a similar war criminal, who this time manages to escape justice and is bent on reviving the Third Reich. Still another instance of Schell's interpretation of the Nazi mentality may be found in Zinnemann's Julia. Despite the undeniable quality of his acting, Schell's continued casting as a Nazi has tended to limit his career. For even in roles that do not deal with the World War II experience, he seems to be expected to portray figures with Nazi-like characteristics. For example, in The Black Hole, an artistically and commercially unsuccessful science fiction film released by Disney in 1979, Schell portrayed a mad scientist. Derived obviously from James Mason's treatment of Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, the character created by Schell evinces the same sort of authoritarianism and cold dedication to cause at the expense of humane concerns which marks the stereotype of the Nazi in much film and literature. His performance as Lenin in the made-for-cable docudrama Stalin was cut from the same cloth.

Perhaps because his acting career has been somewhat restricted in breadth, Schell turned to other aspects of filmmaking. In 1968 he produced a treatment of Franz Kafka's The Castle, and in 1970 he directed his first film, First Love, based on a short novel by Ivan Turgenev. In 1974 The Pedestrian, which Schell co-produced, directed, wrote, and acted in, was nominated for an Academy Award as best foreign-language film. But his 1984 documentary Marlene on the life of the legendary film star Marlene Dietrich remains one of his most interesting achievements. Dietrich agreed to cooperate with Schell in the making of the film, but when the cameras started to roll, she turned the tables on him by refusing to appear on camera. His sleight-of-hand in suggesting her presence through the use of silhouettes and other techniques turned what might otherwise have been a standard "talking head" piece into a visually stunning tour de force.

Schell's acting career has not languished with his involvement in production, direction, and screenwriting. After all, two of his Academy Award nominations for acting occurred in the 1970s, after he had taken on other filmmaking responsibilities. Yet it is clear that his place in cinematic history will be more than that of an actor, for his achievements behind the camera will have to enter into the final account. Also, perhaps as the trauma of Nazism recedes more and more into the historical past, the casting of Schell as a Nazi may become less frequent, and he can just play Germans, even sympathetic ones, as he did quite memorably in the television remake of The Diary of Anne Frank as the title character's father.


—William M. Clements, updated by John McCarty

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Maximilian Schell

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