Rudolf Schündler

Rudolf Ernst Paul Schündler (17 April 1906, in Leipzig – 12 December 1988, in Munich) was a German actor and director. Schündler appeared in over 250 film and television productions between 1924 and his death, often in supporting roles as a character actor. Additionally, he directed more than two dozen film and television productions during the 1950s and 1960s.

One of his early film roles was in Fritz Lang's The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933). One of his best-known roles to German audiciences was the befuddled teacher Dr. Arthur Knörz in the school comedy film series Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank ("The Slackers from the Front Row") during the late 1960s and the 1970s. Among his international roles were Karl in The Exorcist (1973) and Professor Milius in Suspiria (1977), both horror film classics of that time.

On stage, he appeared in comical roles and as a kabarettist. He co-ounded the political cabaret "Die Schaubude" in Munich in the post-war era, but it had to close after just three years in 1948.

Shortly after finishing the film The Nasty Girl, Schündler died of a heart attack in Germany, aged 82. The film was released in 1990, two years after his death.

Filmography

Director The Violin Maker of Mittenwald (1950) Victoria and Her Hussar (1954) The Faithful Hussar (1954) The Happy Village (1955) The Beautiful Master (1956) Greetings and Kisses from Tegernsee (1957) Mikosch, the Pride of the Company (1958) Gräfin Mariza (1958) (1959) Willy the Private Detective (1960) Always Trouble with the Bed (1961) Café Oriental (1962) Wild Water (1962)

Actor

Roulette (1924) as Reginald Only on the Rhine (1930) Annemarie, die Braut der Kompanie (1932) as Leutnant Williams The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) as Hardy Hundred Days (1935) as Gaillard Joan of Arc (1935) Savoy Hotel 217 (1936) as Geschäftsführer des 'Savoy' Moscow-Shanghai (1936) as Galgenvogel Intermezzo (1936) as Rundfunk-Reporter Romance (1936) as Hartwig – Sekretär Ride to Freedom (1937) as Polnischer Student Heiratsinstitut Ida und Co (1937) as Peter – Riedingers Neffe Das Schweigen im Walde (1937) as Martin, Diener Gewitterflug zu Claudia (1937) as Kloemkes – Bordfunker Mit versiegelter Order (1938) as Holzmann – Legationsrat The Stars Shine (1938) as Versicherungsmann The Woman at the Crossroads (1938) as Graup By a Silken Thread (1938) as Von Tettenboom Scheidungsreise (1938) as Young Lawyer Napoleon Is to Blame for Everything (1938) as Rundfunkreporter Dreizehn Mann und eine Kanone (1938) Adventure in Love (1939) as Sekretär des Polizeipräsidenten The Green Emperor (1939) (uncredited) Ich verweigere die Aussage (1939) Robert and Bertram (1939) as Gäst bei Ipelmeyer Woman Without a Past (1939) as Kriminalassistent Semmler Bachelor's Paradise (1939) as Lawyer (uncredited) Kitty and the World Conference (1939) as Rundfunkreporter The Golden Mask (1939) as Olden Alarm at Station III (1939) as Inspektor Henning Hurrah! I'm a Father (1939) as Freund von Peter Der Stammbaum des Dr. Pistorius (1939) as Freiherr von Bekker Ursula Under Suspicion (1939) as Gast bei Tweels Weißer Flieder (1940) as Max Mohr, Reklamezeichner bei Rössler Tip auf Amalie (1940) as Herr Schmitz Golowin geht durch die Stadt (1940) as Jüngling Meine Tochter tut das nicht (1940) Herz ohne Heimat (1940) as Peter Brack Achtung! Feind hört mit (1940) as Zeichner Herbert Grelling Kleider machen Leute (1940) as Konfektionshändler Melcher-Böhni in Goldach Der Herr im Haus (1940) as Ferdinand von Schwarzendorff Alarm (1941) as Produzent des Werbefilms The Swedish Nightingale (1941) Riding for Germany (1941) as Generaldirektor Brenner Immer nur Du (1941) as Komponist Sechs Tage Heimaturlaub (1941) as Schütze, Graphologe im Zivilberuf His Son (1942) as Der 'Elegante' Juwelendieb und Einbrecher Das große Spiel (1942) as Kretschmann Front Theatre (1942) as Walter Hülsen With the Eyes of a Woman (1942) as Werner A Waltz with You (1943) as Schmalfuß, Angestellter im Furioso-Verlag Love Premiere (1943) as Der Regisseur The Eternal Tone (1943) as Schneidermeister Circus Renz (1943) as Litfaß Kollege kommt gleich (1943) as Ein entfernter Verwandter von Lilo A Man With Principles? (1943) as Peter Ordner, der "Verlobte" Christls The Impostor (1944) as Junger Mann Ein schöner Tag (1944) Das schwarze Schaf (1944) Ich hab von Dir geträumt (1944) Zimmer zu vermieten (1945) Leuchtende Schatten (1945) Der Fall Molander (1945) Das Mädchen Juanita (1945, uncredited) (1948) as Oskar Tromba (1949) Nothing But Coincidence (1949) as Polizeikommissar I'll Make You Happy (1949) as Herr Stock (1949) as Dr. Roedel Royal Children (1950) as Tintsch One Night Apart (1950) as Tobias Nickelmann Who Is This That I Love? (1950) as Stefan Vier Treppen rechts (1950) as Rudi Love on Ice (1950) as Dr. Siegfried Bergmann Theodore the Goalkeeper (1950) as Choleriker Sensation im Savoy (1950) as Hotelportier Kissing Is No Sin (1950) Die Sterne lügen nicht (1950) as Der Journalist unterm Regenschirm Begierde (1951) Das späte Mädchen (1951) Eyes of Love (1951) as Dr. Bertram The Lady in Black (1951) as Polizeiinspektor Polter In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus (1951) as Gottlieb Bömmchen House of Life (1952) as Dr. Blümel The Blue and White Lion (1952) as Herr von Kleewitz We're Dancing on the Rainbow (1952) as Kriminalassistent Captain Bay-Bay (1953) as Wüllmann Marriage for One Night (1953) as Turnegger Mask in Blue (1953) as Inspizient When The Village Music Plays on Sunday Nights (1953) Heute Nacht passiert's (1953) as Steuerberater Pagel The Last Waltz (1953) as Jerome Thibaut Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne (1955) as Herr im Laden IA in Oberbayern (1956) as Detektiv Isola Bella (1961) as Dr. Bergmann Hochzeit am Neusiedler See (1963) as Emanuel Paulini Legend of a Gunfighter (1964) as Rufus Harper (1964) as Prof. Krusius The Sinister Monk (1965) as Alfons Short (1965) as Schützenkönig Aunt Frieda (1965) as Onkel Rudolf Waschkühn Sperrbezirk (1966) as Klipitzki Playgirl (1966) as Doktorchen Long Legs, Long Fingers (1966) as Inspektor (1966) Onkel Filser – Allerneueste Lausbubengeschichten (1966) as Professor Liebrecht Mutius Treibgut der Großstadt as (1967) Willi, Bargast The College Girl Murders (1967) as Sergeant Hanfield Love Nights in the Taiga (1967) (1967) as Hauptmann When Night Falls on the Reeperbahn (1967) as Direktor Hanns Henningsen Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank, 1. Teil: Zur Hölle mit den Paukern (1968) as Dr. Knörz The Moment to Kill as Warren (1968) The Duck Rings at Half Past Seven (1968) as Prosecutor Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank, 2. Teil: Zum Teufel mit der Penne (1968) as Oberstudienrat Arthur Knörz (1968, TV miniseries) as Kriminalkommissar The Man with the Glass Eye (1969) as Nuthacher Der Kommissar – Season 1, Episode 5: "Ein Mädchen meldet sich nicht mehr" (1969, TV) as Karl Däubele (1969) as Dr. Krapp-Krapproth Charley's Uncle (1969) as Dr. Bruhn Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank, 3. Teil: (1969) as Dr. Arthur Knörz Heintje: A Heart Goes on a Journey (1969) as Rektor Neumann (1969) as Wolfram Kent Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank, 4. Teil: Hurra, die Schule brennt! (1969) as Studienrat Dr. Knörz Frau Wirtin bläst auch gern Trompete (1970) as Physikus Gentlemen in White Vests (1970) as Diplomingenieur Willy Stademann (1970) as Lawyer Schiller Hotel by the Hour (1970) as Oskar Jennewein (1970) as Dalfour Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank, 5. Teil: Wir hau’n die Pauker in die Pfanne (1970) as Studienrat Dr. Knörz What Is the Matter with Willi? (1970) as Fridolin (1970) as Lorenzen Die Feuerzangenbowle (1970) as Musiklehrer Frau Wirtin treibt es jetzt noch toller (1970) (1970) as Onkel Emmanuel Twenty Girls and the Teachers (1971) as Onkel Theobald Aunt Trude from Buxtehude (1971) as Notary (1971) as Dr. Möbius Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank, 6. Teil: Morgen fällt die Schule aus (1971) as Studienrat Dr. Knörz Our Willi Is the Best (1971) as Ottokar Mümmelmann Das ehrliche Interview (1971) as Theissen (1971) as Onkel Troll (1971) as Dagobert von Kattnig Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank, 7. Teil: (1972) as Oberstudienrat Dr. Arthur Knörz Tatort: (1972, TV) as Kommissar Göbel The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972) as Tobias Wildenbrück Nya hyss av Emil i Lönneberga (1972) as Borgmästaren The Twins from Immenhof (1973) as Lehrer Zwilling The Exorcist (1973) as Karl Engstrom When Mother Went on Strike (1974) as Pastor Hans (1974) as Father Conrad Karl May (1974) as Kreutzmann Derrick – Season 2, Episode 5: (1975, TV) as Max Tolpe (1975, TV miniseries) as Molchow Kings of the Road (1976) as Robert's Father Tatort: (1976, TV) as Schürmann sen. (1976) as Vondenbäumen Suspiria (1977) as Prof. Milius (1977) as Obdachloser Derrick – Season 4, Episode 4: "Offene Rechnung" (1997, TV) as Willi Nell Group Portrait with a Lady (1977) as Otto Hoyser The American Friend (1977) as Gantner The Expulsion from Paradise (1977) as Guest appearance Derrick – Season 5, Episode 3: "Abendfrieden" (1978, TV) as Waldemar Kreuzer (1978, TV series) as Stoffhändler Felten (1978, TV series) as Hubertus Conradi The Man in the Rushes (1978) as Pfarrer Just a Gigolo (1978) as Oberst Gustav von Przygodski Flamme empor (1979 TV film) Derrick – Season 6, Episode 7: "Lena" (1979, TV) as Kunsthändler Aktion Abendsonne (1979, TV film) (1979, TV film) The Old Fox – Season 3, Episode 11: "Eine große Familie" (1979, TV) as Dr. Pistralek (1979, TV series) as Der Älteste Un-Ruhestand – Episode 4: "Baldauf" (1980, TV) The Old Fox – Season 4, Episode 4: "Die tote Hand" (1980, TV) as Alois Bettler The Old Fox – Season 5, Episode 1: "Freispruch" (1981, TV) as Herr Berthold Sternensommer (1981, TV series) as Lodeweik Tatort: (1982, TV series) as Vater Henschel The Old Fox – Season 6, Episode 4: "Hass" (1082, TV) as Butler Georg The Old Fox – Season 6, Episode 9: "Ich werde dich töten" (1982, TV) as Walter Falk Das Traumschiff – Episode 10 (1983, TV) as Karl Krause The Sandman (1983m TV film) Rote Erde (1983, TV series) as Hermann Rewandowski Mabuse im Gedächtnis (1984, Short) Der Unsichtbare (1987) as Onkel Josef Ätherrausch (1987) The Nasty Girl (1990) as The archivist (final film role)