Franz Antel (born June 28, 1913) is a veteran Austrian filmmaker.
Antel and his wife in 2002
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 in weekend afternoon programming ever since.
Around 1970, 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).
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 till after the end of the war, Der Bockerer is about a Viennese butcher called 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 SS 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 Dubcek's Prague Spring of 1968.
Antel still leads an active social life. Recently, he has confirmed an old anecdote about his person which says that, 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.
