Samuel Fuller

Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) worked as a film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and actor. He built a reputation on low-budget genre films that tackled controversial subjects, often produced outside the major Hollywood studio system. His movies had a strong impact on French New Wave directors, especially Jean-Luc Godard, who cast him in a cameo for *Pierrot le Fou* (1965).

Fuller was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Jewish parents Rebecca (née Baum) and Benjamin Fuller. The family, originally named Rabinovitch, changed their surname to Fuller after immigrating to the United States—possibly inspired by a Pilgrim doctor who arrived on the *Mayflower*. In his autobiography *A Third Face* (2002), Fuller claimed he did not speak until nearly age five, and his first word was "Hammer!" His father died in 1923, when Samuel was 11. The family then moved to New York City, where at 12 he started working as a newspaper copyboy. By 17, he was a crime reporter for the *New York Evening Graphic* and broke the story of actress Jeanne Eagels' death. He also wrote pulp novels, including *The Dark Page* (1944), later adapted into the 1952 film *Scandal Sheet*. Late in life, he remarked that if reporters earned what directors did, he would still be in journalism.

During World War II, Fuller served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman with the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. He saw heavy combat in Africa, Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. In 1945, he was present at the liberation of a German concentration camp in Falkenau and shot 16-mm footage called *V-E +1*, later used in the French documentary *Falkenau: The Impossible* (1988). In 2014, the Library of Congress selected *V-E +1* for preservation in the National Film Registry. Fuller earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Infantryman Badge, reaching the rank of corporal. His wartime experiences fueled his films, especially *The Big Red One* (1980), named after the 1st Infantry Division's nickname. After the war, he co-wrote a regimental history of the 16th Infantry.

Fuller's first screenwriting credit came with *Hats Off* (1936). He wrote many scripts, including *Gangs of the Waterfront* (1945). Dissatisfied with Douglas Sirk's direction of his *Shockproof* screenplay, he decided to become a writer-director. Independent producer Robert Lippert asked him to write three films; Fuller agreed on the condition he could direct them for no extra fee. Lippert accepted. Fuller's directorial debut was *I Shot Jesse James* (1949), followed by *The Baron of Arizona* with Vincent Price. His third film, *The Steel Helmet*, made him a major figure. It was the first movie about the Korean War, produced just six months into the conflict, and drew heavily on Fuller's WWII experiences and reports from Korea. Reporter Victor Riesel attacked it as "pro-Communist" and "anti-American," and critic Westford Pedravy claimed it was secretly financed by "the Reds." Fuller also clashed with the U.S. Army over a scene showing American characters executing a prisoner of war; he argued he had witnessed such acts in service. A compromise was reached where the lieutenant threatens the sergeant with a court martial. The film marked the first collaboration with actor Gene Evans, whom Fuller insisted on casting over a more prominent star like John Wayne, valuing Evans's authentic portrayal of a soldier.

After *The Steel Helmet*'s success, major studios pursued Fuller. Most offered advice on tax shelters, but Darryl F. Zanuck of 20th Century-Fox said, "We make better movies"—the answer Fuller wanted. Zanuck signed him for a seven-film contract, starting with another Korean War film, *Fixed Bayonets!*, to fend off imitators. The Army assigned Medal of Honor recipient Raymond Harvey as technical advisor; they became friends, and Harvey later advised on *Verboten!*. A proposed seventh film, *Tigrero*, based on a book by Sasha Siemel, was never made but became the subject of a 1994 documentary by Mika Kaurismäki, *Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made*, featuring Fuller and Jim Jarmusch scouting Amazon locations. Footage Fuller shot there later appeared in *Shock Corridor*.

Fuller's favorite film was *Park Row*, a story about American journalism. Zanuck wanted to adapt it as a musical, but Fuller refused. Instead, he used his own profits to start a production company and make the film independently.