Born in Vienna Austria-Hungary (now Austria). Playwright and screenwriter who entered films in his late teens as an assistant to Alexander Korda and later contributed screenplays for numerous Austrian and German productions. Leaving Germany at the advent of the Nazis, he returned to Austria, then worked briefly in England before moving on to Hollywood in 1938. In the US, Reisch's writing credits, alone of in collaboration, include THE COUNTESS OF MONTE CRISTO, TWO HEARTS IN WALTZ TIME and UNFINISHED SYMPHONY (all 1934), THE DIVINE SPARK, ESCAPADE, and EPISODE (also producer & director) (all 1935), MEN ARE NOT GODS (1936 also director), GATEWAY and THE GREAT WALTZ (both 1938), NINOTCHKA (1939), MY LOVE CAME BACK and COMRADE X (both 1940), THAT HAMILTON WOMAN and THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING (both 1941), SOMEWHERE I'LL FIND YOU and SEVEN SWEETHEARTS (both 1942), THE HEAVENLY BODY and GASLIGHT (both 1944), SONG OF SCHEHERAZADE (1947, also director), THE FAN (1949), THE MATING SEASON and THE MODEL AND THE MARRIAGE BROKER (both 1951), NIAGARA (1953), THE GIRL IN THE RED VELVET SWING (1955), TEENAGE REBEL (1956), STOPOVER TOKYO (1957, also producer), and THE REMARKABLE MR. PENNYPACKER and JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (both 1959). Reisch's film DIE MÜCKE, made in West Germany, was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.

Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1939: NINOTCHKA (w. Billy Wilder & Charles Brackett)  Nominated for Writing (Original Story) 1940: COMRADE X  Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1944: GASLIGHT (w. John L. Balderston & John Van Druten)  Writing (Story and Screenplay) 1953: TITANIC (w. Charles Brackett & Richard L. Breen) 4 nominations, 1 Award