Born in Jaroslau, Austria and educated at the University of Vienna, Spiegel came briefly to Hollywood in 1927 following a stint serving with a Hitler Youth Group in Palestine. He then went to Berlin to produce German and French adaptations of Universal films until 1933 when he fled Germany. As an independent producer, Spiegel was behind a number of European films. In 1935, he immigrated to the United States. Between then and 1954, Spiegel billed himself as S.P. Eagle. After that he used his real name.