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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0002087
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q262479
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Filmography (Movies)
Films to Die For
Character:(archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:23/10/2025
A Fuller Life
Character:Self
Release Date:28/08/2013
Scene Missing
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2012
Nuits transparentes
Character:
Release Date:14/04/2011
Sodankylä Forever
Character:Self
Release Date:05/08/2010
Carmel
Character:
Release Date:12/07/2009
Filmmakers in Action
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:15/09/2006
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
Character:War Correspondent (uncredited)
Release Date:03/05/2005
The Real Glory: Reconstructing 'The Big Red One'
Character:Himself (archive footage)
Release Date:03/05/2005
Necro not(to b)e
Character:Sé stesso
Release Date:15/08/2003
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
Character:Self
Release Date:02/07/2002
The End of Violence
Character:Louis
Release Date:12/09/1997
The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera
Character:Self
Release Date:28/06/1996
Somebody to Love
Character:Sam Silverman
Release Date:27/09/1994
Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made
Character:Self
Release Date:25/03/1994
Un Américain en Normandie
Character:Himself
Release Date:01/01/1994
Anything for John
Character:Self
Release Date:06/09/1993
Golem: The Petrified Garden
Character:Sam
Release Date:01/01/1993
Golem, the Spirit of Exile
Character:Elimelek
Release Date:24/09/1992
La Vie de Bohème
Character:Gassot
Release Date:27/02/1992
Where Is Musette?
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1992
Shock Corridor
Character:himself
Release Date:01/01/1992
The Madonna and the Dragon
Character:Chef de bureau Newsweek
Release Date:01/09/1990
Motion and Emotion: The Films of Wim Wenders
Character:Self
Release Date:25/04/1990
Sons
Character:Father
Release Date:01/01/1990
Street of No Return
Character:Police Commissioner
Release Date:17/05/1989
Tell me Sam - Encounters with Sam Fuller
Character:Himself
Release Date:09/01/1989
Falkenau, the Impossible
Character:Samuel Fuller
Release Date:05/10/1988
Mer de Chine: Le pays pour mémoire
Character:Le capitaine américain
Release Date:08/09/1988
Helsinki Napoli All Night Long
Character:Boss
Release Date:13/11/1987
A Return to Salem's Lot
Character:Van Meer
Release Date:11/09/1987
Midnight Sun Film Festival
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1987
The Bleeding Star
Character:The Man in the Bar
Release Date:01/01/1987
Hooray For Holyrood
Character:Self
Release Date:13/08/1986
A Travelling is a Moral Affair
Character:Himself
Release Date:01/01/1986
Report from Hollywood
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1985
Thieves After Dark
Character:Zoltan
Release Date:27/02/1984
Sam Fuller & the Big Red One
Character:Self
Release Date:04/02/1984
Slapstick of Another Kind
Character:Colonel Sharp
Release Date:09/12/1982
White Dog
Character:Charlie Felton
Release Date:07/07/1982
Hammett
Character:Old Man in Pool Hall
Release Date:09/06/1982
The State of Things
Character:Joe
Release Date:22/03/1982
Sam Fuller: Writings with a Camera
Character:Himself
Release Date:01/01/1981
The Big Red One
Character:War Correspondent (uncredited)
Release Date:28/05/1980
1941
Character:Interceptor Commander
Release Date:14/12/1979
Cinématon
Character:N°602
Release Date:20/12/1978
The American Friend
Character:The American
Release Date:24/06/1977
Scott Joplin
Character:Impresario
Release Date:11/02/1977
The Young Nurses
Character:Doc Haskell
Release Date:01/03/1973
The Last Movie
Character:Sam
Release Date:29/09/1971
Cinéastes de notre temps : Samuel Fuller
Character:Interviewee
Release Date:30/09/1967
Brigitte and Brigitte
Character:Self
Release Date:17/12/1966
Pierrot le Fou
Character:Samuel Fuller (uncredited)
Release Date:05/11/1965
House of Bamboo
Character:Japanese policeman (uncredited)
Release Date:01/07/1955
Television Appearances
Images
