Samuel Fuller
Directing
Born: August 12, 1912 · Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Died: October 30, 1997 (aged 85)
Highest Rated
Biography
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.
Known for
Pierrot le Fou
1965
1941
1979
The American Friend
1977
The Big Red One
1980
Pickup on South Street
1953
A Return to Salem's Lot
1987
White Dog
1982
Shock Corridor
1963
Targets
1968
The Naked Kiss
1964
La Vie de Bohème
1992
Forty Guns
1957
Photos (1)
Movies (32)
1941
Interceptor Commander
The American Friend
The American
Pierrot le Fou
Samuel Fuller (uncredited)
The Big Red One
War Correspondent (uncredited)
White Dog
Charlie Felton
House of Bamboo
Japanese policeman (uncredited)
A Return to Salem's Lot
Van Meer
The End of Violence
Louis
The Last Movie
Sam
Somebody to Love
Sam Silverman
Hammett
Old Man in Pool Hall
La Vie de Bohème
Gassot
The State of Things
Joe
Slapstick of Another Kind
Colonel Sharp
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
War Correspondent (uncredited)
Helsinki Napoli All Night Long
Boss
The Bleeding Star
The Man in the Bar
Carmel
2009
Street of No Return
Police Commissioner
Golem: The Petrified Garden
Sam
Thieves After Dark
Zoltan
The Young Nurses
Doc Haskell
Golem, the Spirit of Exile
Elimelek
Scott Joplin
Impresario
Sons
Father
Cinématon
N°602
Films to Die For
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Mer de Chine: Le pays pour mémoire
Le capitaine américain
Nuits transparentes
2011
Falkenau, the Impossible
Samuel Fuller
The Madonna and the Dragon
Chef de bureau Newsweek
Necro not(to b)e
Sé stesso
TV Shows (1)
Self / Appearances (16)
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self · 1 eps
Sodankylä Forever
Self · 4 eps
Filmmakers in Action
Self (archive footage)
Scene Missing
Self
A Fuller Life
Self
Sam Fuller & the Big Red One
Self
The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera
Self
Where Is Musette?
Self
The Real Glory: Reconstructing 'The Big Red One'
Himself (archive footage)
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
Self
Anything for John
Self
Brigitte and Brigitte
Self
Sam Fuller: Writings with a Camera
Himself
Motion and Emotion: The Films of Wim Wenders
Self
Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made
Self
Shock Corridor
himself
Directing (33)
Scene of the Crime
Director
The Virginian
Director
The Dick Powell Show
Director
Chillers
Director
Pickup on South Street
Director
The Big Red One
Director
White Dog
Director
House of Bamboo
Director
The Steel Helmet
Director
The Crimson Kimono
Director
Forty Guns
Director
China Gate
Director
Merrill's Marauders
Director
The Naked Kiss
Director
Verboten!
Director
Run of the Arrow
Director
Hell and High Water
Director
Fixed Bayonets!
Director
The Baron of Arizona
Director
Shock Corridor
Director
The Meanest Men in the West
Director
Shark
Director
I Shot Jesse James
Director
Underworld U.S.A.
Director
Park Row
Director
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
Director
Street of No Return
Director
Thieves After Dark
Director
Dogface
Director
The Day of Reckoning
Director
Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
Director
V-E +1
Director
The Madonna and the Dragon
Director
Writing (57)
Scene of the Crime
Writer
The Virginian
Writer
Rebel Highway
Writer
Chillers
Writer
Pickup on South Street
Screenplay
The Big Red One
Writer
White Dog
Screenplay
Targets
Screenplay
The Steel Helmet
Writer
The Crimson Kimono
Writer
Forty Guns
Screenplay
China Gate
Screenplay
Merrill's Marauders
Screenplay
The Naked Kiss
Writer
Verboten!
Writer
Let's Get Harry
Story
Girls in Prison
Writer
Run of the Arrow
Writer
Hell and High Water
Screenplay
A Fuller Life
Book
The Deadly Trackers
Story
Fixed Bayonets!
Screenplay
The Command
Writer
The Baron of Arizona
Writer
Bowery Boy
Original Story
Shock Corridor
Screenplay
The Meanest Men in the West
Screenplay
Shark
Screenplay
The Klansman
Screenplay
I Shot Jesse James
Writer
Shockproof
Writer
Scandal Sheet
Novel
Underworld U.S.A.
Writer
Park Row
Writer
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
Writer
The Cape Town Affair
Writer
Street of No Return
Dialogue
Street of No Return
Screenplay
Gangs of Chicago
Screenplay
Adventure in Sahara
Story
Thieves After Dark
Writer
It Happened in Hollywood
Screenplay
Confirm or Deny
Story
Margin for Error
Screenplay
Hats Off
Story
Hats Off
Screenplay
Power of the Press
Story
Dogface
Writer
Federal Man-Hunt
Story
The Tanks Are Coming
Story
The Day of Reckoning
Screenplay
Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
Writer
She Married a Cop
Writer
Gangs of the Waterfront
Story
Gangs of New York
Screenplay
Gangs of New York
Story
The Madonna and the Dragon
Screenplay
Producing (10)
The Steel Helmet
Producer
The Crimson Kimono
Producer
Forty Guns
Producer
China Gate
Producer
The Naked Kiss
Producer
Run of the Arrow
Producer
Shock Corridor
Producer
Underworld U.S.A.
Producer
Park Row
Producer
Dogface
Producer
