George Froeschel (9 March 1891 – 22 November 1979) was an Austrian novelist and screenwriter. In 1943, he received two

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for co-writing screenplays for ''

Mrs. Miniver ''Mrs. Miniver'' is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel '' Mrs. Miniver'' by Jan Struther, it shows how the life of an unassuming British h ...

'' and ''

Random Harvest ''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...

''. He won the Academy Award for ''Mrs. Miniver''.

Biography

Georg Froeschel was born in 1891, the son of a Jewish banker in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He wrote his first novel during his time at grammar school, ''Ein Protest'' (''A Protest''). After his postgraduate studies he was

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he wrote reports for the k.u.k. army. Following he wrote several novels, of which some were adapted for films in the 1920s. In the 1920s he worked for the

Ullstein-Verlag The ''Ullstein Verlag'' was founded by Leopold Ullstein in 1877 at Berlin and is one of the largest publishing companies of Germany. It published newspapers like '' B.Z.'' and '' Berliner Morgenpost'' and books through its subsidiaries ''Ullstein ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. In 1936 he emigrated to the United States, where he first worked in the editorial office of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's ''Coronet'' magazine. His efforts to find a job in Hollywood's

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, p ...

were not successful until April 1939, when Sidney Franklin of

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

engaged him as screenwriter.

Films

* 1921: ''

Roswolsky's Mistress ''Roswolsky's Mistress'' (german: Die Geliebte Roswolskys) is a 1921 German silent film, silent drama film directed by Felix Basch and starring Asta Nielsen, Paul Wegener, and Wilhelm Diegelmann. It was based on a novel by George Froeschel. The f ...

'' (GER,

Felix Basch Felix Basch (1885–1944) was an American-Austrian actor, screenwriter and film director. He first acted in Vienna, and he was a producer and director for the German film production company UFA GmbH, U. F. A. Following the Nazi takeover of powe ...

; based on a novel by G. Froeschel) * 1921: ''Der Schlüssel zur Macht'' (AUT, ? ; based on a novel by G. Froeschel) * 1927: ''Der Anwalt des Herzens'' (GER,

Wilhelm Thiele Wilhelm Thiele (1890–1975) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He directed over 40 films between 1921 and 1960. Life and career Thiele started his show career as a stage actor. He got his start in Austrian and German film during t ...

; based on a novel by G. Froeschel) * 1928: ''Weib in Flammen'' (GER,

Max Reichmann Max Reichmann (1884-1958) was a German film director active during the silent and early sound eras. Before making his own films, Reichmann worked as an assistant director on several E.A. Dupont productions. After graduating to directing, he dire ...

; based on a novel by G. Froeschel) * 1929: ''

Scandal in Baden-Baden ''Scandal in Baden-Baden'' (German: ''Skandal in Baden-Baden'') is a 1929 German silent film directed by Erich Waschneck and starring Brigitte Helm, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur and Henry Stuart.Bock & Bergfelder p.33 The film's sets were designed by t ...

'' (GER,

Erich Waschneck Erich John Waschneck (29 April 1887, in Grimma, Kingdom of Saxony – 22 September 1970, in Berlin) was a German cameraman, director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Erich was the son of Karl Hermann Waschneck, a blacksmith, and hi ...

; based on a novel by G. Froeschel)

Screenwriter

* 1923: ''

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

'' (GER,

Berthold Viertel Berthold Viertel (28 June 1885 – 24 September 1953) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director, known for his work in Germany, the UK and the US. Early career Viertel was born in Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but later ...

) * 1940: ''

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at t ...

'' (United States, Mervyn LeRoy) * 1940: ''

The Mortal Storm ''The Mortal Storm'' is a 1940 American drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; June 22, 1940, page 98. It was directed by Frank Borzage and stars Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. The film shows the ...

'' (United States, Frank Borzage) * 1942: ''

'' (United States,

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of ...

) * 1942: ''

'' (United States, Mervyn LeRoy) * 1942: ''We Were Dancing'' (United States,

Robert Z. Leonard Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star Mae Murray with the two formin ...

) * 1943: ''Madame Curie'' (United States, Mervyn LeRoy) * 1944: '' The White Cliffs of Dover'' (United States,

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...

) * 1948: '' Command Decision'' (United States,

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as '' A Night at the Opera'', '' A Day at the Races'', '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', '' ...

) * 1950: '' The Miniver Story'' (United States, H.C. Potter) * 1951: ''The Unknown Man'' (United States, Richard Thorpe) * 1952: ''

Scaramouche Scaramouche () or Scaramouch (; from Italian Scaramuccia , literally "little skirmisher") is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte (comic theatrical arts of Italian literature). The role combined characteristics of the ...

'' (United States,

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive backgr ...

) * 1953: ''

The Story of Three Loves ''The Story of Three Loves'' (also known as ''Equilibrium'') is a 1953 American Technicolor romantic anthology film made by MGM. It consists of three stories, "The Jealous Lover", "Mademoiselle", and "Equilibrium". The film was produced by Si ...

'' (United States,

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals '' Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), '' An American in Paris'' (1951), ' ...

Gottfried Reinhardt Gottfried Reinhardt (20 March 1913 – 19 July 1994) was an Austrian-born American film director and producer. Biography Reinhardt was born in Berlin, the son of the Austrian theater director Max Reinhardt (until 1904: Max Goldmann), manage ...

) * 1953: '' Never Let Me Go'' (United States,

Delmer Daves Delmer Lawrence Daves (July 24, 1904 – August 17, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He worked in many genres, including film noir and warfare, but he is best known for his Western movies, especially '' Broke ...

) * 1954: ''

Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career ultimately spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night ...

'' (United States, Mervyn LeRoy) * 1954: '' Betrayed'' (United States, Gottfried Reinhardt) * 1955: ''

The Adventures of Quentin Durward ''The Adventures of Quentin Durward'', known also as ''Quentin Durward'', is a 1955 British historical film released by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The screenplay was by Robert Ardrey, adapted by Geo ...

'' (United States, Richard Thorpe) * 1956: '' Gaby'' (United States, Curtis Bernhard) * 1958: ''Me and the Colonel'' (United States,

Peter Glenville Peter Glenville (born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne; 28 October 19133 June 1996) was an English film and stage actor and director. Biography Born in Hampstead, London, into a theatrical family, Glenville was the son of Shaun Glenville (born J ...

) * 1960: ''

I Aim at the Stars I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' (United States/GER,

J. Lee Thompson John Lee Thompson (1 August 1914 – 30 August 2002) was a British film director, active in London and Hollywood, best known for award-winning films such as ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'', ''Ice Cold in Alex'' and '' The Guns of Navarone'' along w ...

)

Awards and nominations

References

* Rudolf Ulrich: ''Österreicher in Hollywood.'' Verlag Filmarchiv Austria, Vienna 2004, , p. 148 and 149 (German)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Froeschel, George 1891 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Austrian screenwriters 20th-century Austrian male writers American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Austrian Jews Austrian emigrants to the United States Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Jewish American writers Austrian male screenwriters 20th-century American Jews