Samuel Fuller
Director
91
Movies
8
TV Shows
Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American screenwriter, novelist and film director known for low-budget genre movies with controversial themes.
He was born Samuel Michael Fuller in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Benjamin Rabinovitch, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, and Rebecca Baum, a Jewish immigrant from Poland. After immigrating to America, the family's surname was changed from Rabinovitch to "Fuller" possibly by inspiration of a Doctor who arrived in America on the Mayflower. At the age of 12, he began working in journalism as a newspaper copyboy. He became a crime reporter in New York City at age 17, working for the New York Evening Graphic. He broke the story of Jeanne Eagels' death. He wrote pulp novels and screenplays from the mid-1930s onwards. Fuller also became a screenplay ghostwriter but would never tell interviewers which screenplays that he ghost-wrote explaining "that's what a ghost writer is for".
During World War II, Fuller joined the United States Army infantry. He was assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, and saw heavy fighting. He was involved in landings in Africa, Sicily, and Normandy and also saw action in Belgium and Czechoslovakia. In 1945 he was present at the liberation of the German concentration camp at Falkenau and shot 16 mm footage which was used later in the documentary Falkenau: The Impossible. For his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart. Fuller used his wartime experiences as material in his films, especially in The Big Red One (1980), a nickname of the 1st Infantry Division.
After his controversial film "White Dog" was shelved by Paramount pictures, Fuller moved to France, and never directed another American film. Fuller eventually returned to America. He died of natural causes in his California home. In November 1997, the Directors Guild held a three hour memorial in his honor, hosted by Curtis Hanson, his long time friend and co-writer on White Dog. He was survived by his wife Christa and daughter Samantha.
Behind the Camera
Tatort
Director, Escritor
The Virginian
Escritor, Director
Rebel Highway
Escritor
The Dick Powell Show
Director
Chillers
Director, Escritor
The Klansman
Guionista
Míralos morir
Guionista
Dragones de la violencia
Director, Guionista, Productor
Shock Corridor
Director, Guionista, Productor
Pickup on South Street
Director, Guionista
El Escuadrón Gran Rojo
Director, Escritor
Shockproof
Escritor
Park Row
Director, Productor, Escritor
Bowery Boy
Original Story
The Naked Kiss
Director, Escritor, Productor
Perro blanco
Guionista, Director
Shark
Director, Guionista
Hell and High Water
Guionista, Director
Girls in Prison
Escritor
Corredor hacia China
Director, Guionista, Productor
Los Invasores
Director, Guionista
Made in U.S.A
Thanks
La casa del sol naciente
Director, Additional Dialogue
The Meanest Men in the West
Director, Guionista
The Command
Escritor
Scandal Sheet
Novela
The Baron of Arizona
Escritor, Director
Let's Get Harry
Historia
The Steel Helmet
Escritor, Director, Productor
Gangs of New York
Guionista, Historia
As Actor/Actress
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1941
Interceptor Commander
Pierrot le fou
Samuel Fuller (uncredited)
Der amerikanische Freund
The American
Cinématon
N°602
Regreso a Salem's Lot
Van Meer
Hammett
Old Man in Pool Hall
Missä on Musette?
Self
El Escuadrón Gran Rojo
War Correspondent (uncredited)
The End of Violence
Louis
Carmel
Scene Missing
Self
Perro blanco
Charlie Felton
The Last Movie
Sam
La casa del sol naciente
Japanese policeman (uncredited)
David Lansky
Anything for John
Self
La Vie de Bohème
Gassot
Cineastes en acció
Self (archive footage)
Somebody to Love
Sam Silverman
Der Stand der Dinge
Joe
Slapstick of Another Kind
Colonel Sharp
Sodankylä ikuisesti: Elokuvan vuosisata
Self
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
Self
Helsinki Napoli All Night Long
Boss
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
War Correspondent (uncredited)
A Fuller Life
Self
The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera
Self
Scott Joplin
Impresario
Sons
Father