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Samuel Fuller

Samuel Fuller

Director · 1912 – 1997 · Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

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.

Movies24

  • Movie5.8

    1941

    1979 · 736 votes

  • Movie7.3

    Pierrot le fou

    1965 · 966 votes

  • Movie6.7

    The Big Red One

    1980 · 356 votes

  • Movie5.4

    The End of Violence

    1997 · 79 votes

  • Movie5.9

    A Return to Salem's Lot

    1987 · 326 votes

  • Movie6.6

    White Dog

    1982 · 312 votes

  • Movie7.5

    La Vie de Bohème

    1992 · 155 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Der amerikanische Freund

    The American Friend

    1977 · 461 votes

  • Movie6.2

    House of Bamboo

    1955 · 75 votes

  • Movie5.7

    The Last Movie

    1971 · 68 votes

  • Movie6.2

    Hammett

    1982 · 81 votes

  • Movie3.1
  • Movie5.9
  • Movie5.2

    Somebody to Love

    1994 · 17 votes

  • Movie5.3

    Les Voleurs de la nuit

    Thieves After Dark

    1984 · 9 votes

  • Movie5.2

    Street of No Return

    1989 · 21 votes

  • Movie7.2

    Cineastes en acció

    Filmmakers in Action

    2006 · 5 votes

  • Movie6.6

    A Fuller Life

    2013 · 12 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Carmel

    2009 · 6 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Der Stand der Dinge

    The State of Things

    1982 · 85 votes

  • Movie
  • Movie8.4
  • Movie7.2
  • Movie5.3

    Sons

    1990 · 4 votes

Series3

  • TV6.0
  • TV6.4

    Sodankylä ikuisesti: Elokuvan vuosisata

    Sodankylä Forever

    2010 · 5 votes

  • TV8.5

    David Lansky

    1989 · 2 votes