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Samuel Fuller

Samuel Fuller

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.

A Fuller Life

2013

as Self

Scene Missing

2012

as Self

Nuits transparentes

2011

Sodankylä Forever

2010

as Self

Carmel

2009

Filmmakers in Action

2006

as Self (archive footage)

Edge of Outside

2006

as Self (archive footage)

The Big Red One : The Reconstruction

2005

as War Correspondent (uncredited)

The Real Glory: Reconstructing 'The Big Red One'

2005

as Himself (archive footage)

The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller

2002

as Self

The End of Violence

1997

as Louis

The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera

1996

as Self

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies

1995

as Self

Somebody to Love

1994

as Sam Silverman

Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made

1994

as Self

Un Américain en Normandie

1994

as Himself

Anything for John

1993

as Self

Golem: The Petrified Garden

1993

as Sam

Golem, l'esprit de l'exil

1992

as Elimelek

La Vie de Bohème

1992

as Gassot

Where Is Musette?

1992

as self

Shock Corridor

1992

as himself

The Madonna and the Dragon

1990

as Chef de bureau Newsweek

Motion and Emotion: The Films of Wim Wenders

1990

as Self

Sons

1990

as Father

Street of No Return

1989

as Police Commissioner

David Lansky

1989

Tell me Sam - Encounters with Sam Fuller

1989

as Himself

Falkenau, the Impossible

1988

as Samuel Fuller

Mer de Chine: Le pays pour mémoire

1988

as Le capitaine américain

Helsinki Napoli All Night Long

1987

as Boss

A Return to Salem's Lot

1987

as Van Meer

Midnight Sun Film Festival

1987

The Bleeding Star

1987

Hooray For Holyrood

1986

as Self

A Travelling is a Moral Affair

1986

as Himself

Report from Hollywood

1985

Thieves After Dark

1984

as Zoltan

Sam Fuller & the Big Red One

1984

as Himself

Slapstick of Another Kind

1982

as Colonel Sharp

White Dog

1982

as Charlie Felton

Hammett

1982

as Old Man in Pool Hall

The State of Things

1982

as Joe

The Big Red One

1980

as War Correspondent (uncredited)

1941

1979

as Interceptor Commander

Cinématon

1978

as N°602

The American Friend

1977

as The American

Scott Joplin

1977

as Impresario

The Young Nurses

1973

as Doc Haskell

The Last Movie

1971

as Sam

Cinéastes de notre temps : Samuel Fuller

1967

as Interviewee

Brigitte and Brigitte

1966

as Self

Pierrot le Fou

1965

as Samuel Fuller (uncredited)

House of Bamboo

1955

as Japanese policeman (uncredited)