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Samuel Fuller (1912-1997)



To me it's the emotion, the lies, the double-cross that defines what kind of drama it is.

Filmography
Features
I Shot Jesse James (1949)
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Fixed Bayonets! (1951)
Park Row (1952)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Hell and High Water (1954)
House of Bamboo (1955)
Forty Guns (1957)
China Gate (1957)
Run of the Arrow (1957)
Verboten! (1959)
The Crimson Kimono (1959)
Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
Merril's Marauders (1962)
Shock Corridor (1963)
The Naked Kiss (1964)
Shark (1969)
The Deadly Trackers (1973) [uncredited, with Barry Shear]
The Big Red One (1980)
White Dog (1982)
Les Voleurs de la nuit / Thieves After Dark (1984)
Street of No Return (1989)

Shorts
"V-E +1" (1945)

Television
Dog Face — S01E01 — "Pilot" [unaired] (1959)
The Dick Powell Show — S01E25 — “330 Independence S.W." (1962)
The Virginian — S01E09 — "It Tolls for Thee" (1962)
The Iron Horse — S01E03 — "High Devil" (1966)
The Iron Horse — S01E10 — "Hellcat" (1966)
The Iron Horse — S01E16 — "The Man from New Chicago" (1966)
The Iron Horse — S01E19 — "Volcano Wagon" (1967)
The Iron Horse — S01E22 — "Banner with a Strange Device" (1967)
The Iron Horse — S01E24 — "The Red Tornado" (1967)
Tatort — “Tote Taube in der Beethovenstrasse" (1973)
Chillers — S01E04 — "The Day of Reckoning" (1990)
La Madonne et le dragon (1990)

Books

Forum Discussions

Web Resources

I've seen a few things beginning to appear about this here and there on the web. A new edition of Fuller's 1944 crime novel THE DARK PAGE is due to be published by a UK publisher at the end of September, featuring a new introduction written by WIM WENDERS. I read the novel years ago (got it from the library) and would love to read it again - it's quintessential Fuller, steeped in his newspaper background and blasting along like one of his best films noir, with a great morbidity and dark cackling humour. Imagine one of Weegee's photographs was a book - like that.

He's become one of my favorite filmmakers lately. I plan to see more of his work.

He's got many great films obviously. My two favorites are The Naked Kiss and White Dog.

zedz wrote:

Wittsdream wrote:On TCM in January is Samuel Fuller's "Park Row"

Don't miss this, even if you're a Fuller skeptic. I think it's a strong contender for his best film.

Jonathan Rosenbaum is in agreement with you. This, along with Criterion's plans on releasing "White Dog," will go a long way in shoring up the gaps in Fuller's oeuvre on DVD, or DVD-R, for that matter.

The Fuller that I really want, and that I had on VHS many years ago but lost, is "Run of the Arrow," which I think is as trenchant as anything he's ever done.

I agree with Wittsdream that Run of the Arrow is severely underrated. If you are looking for a copy, I know that a R2 version was issued a couple of years ago, but fear that it may be out of print by now.

TIVOLI wrote:If you are looking for a copy, I know that a R2 version was issued a couple of years ago, but fear that it may be out of print by now.

You're absolutely right about that. I believe Arrow films in the U.K. was supposed to release it a few years ago, but none of the retailers I use for R2 purchases (Amazon.uk/Bensons/Moviemail/CD WOW) ever carried the title. I always feared it was one of those titles that was available for 1 week, then pulled off the shelves for copyright infringement reasons.

I am actively seeking out a DVD-R bootleg of the R2/Arrow Films if, in fact, it ever was released, or just a copy from a VHS or TV broadcast of the film.

Did anyone here ever buy a copy of Run of the Arrow R2 DVD from a few years ago?

VERBOTEN! is out on DVD in France (WB) as ORDRE SECRET AUX ESPIONS NAZIS.

I haven't seen any of his work, but The Steel Helmet looks interesting. I rented it. Hope this is a good place to begin. I like the premise.

aox wrote:I haven't seen any of his work, but The Steel Helmet looks interesting. I rented it. Hope this is a good place to begin. I like the premise.

I'll always remember The Steel Helmet as the movie that ruined Saving Private Ryan for me. I saw the former immediately before the latter and, after Ryan's opening, everything else in the film seemed so pat and cliched after the Fuller movie.

All the films from that Fuller Eclipse set seem pretty prescient these days:

The Steel Helmet --> Saving Private Ryan
I Shot Jesse James --> The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Baron of Arizona --> John McCain's presidential run (sorry, couldn't resist)

The Beev on "Verboten!"

Any Sam Fuller filmography worth its salt should certainly include Mika Kaurismäki's Tigrero - A Film That Was Never Made (1994) - if only because Fuller is in virtually every frame, and on splendidly cigar-chomping form throughout.

And it's just about to come out on a British DVD - definitely PAL, not sure about the region code (my copy's a checkdisc, so probably not reliable).

In the latest "Classic Coming Attractions" column, Barrie Maxwell sez:

Also in the works is a Samuel Fuller Collection that would include The Crimson Kimono, Underworld USA and Scandal Sheet (the latter based on a Fuller novel).

=D> \:D/

Park Row next, please...

aox wrote:I haven't seen any of his work, but The Steel Helmet looks interesting. I rented it. Hope this is a good place to begin. I like the premise.

That was the first Fuller I saw and I've been a Fuller fan ever since. I had to set my alarm to get up at 4AM so I could see it on the old Late Late Show (pre-VCR era). Luckily, I was able to catch all of his other films, plus STEEL HELMET, at revivaI theater showings. I saw Fuller at an event in NYC and I got him to autograph one of the books about him that I have. (This was before his autobiography came out.)

Sgt. Zack rules. Sorry I can't add more than that. I feel envious of someone experiencing The Steel Helmet for the firs time.

RobertAltman wrote:Park Row next, please...

Who owns the rights to this? According to IMDb, it was self-produced and distributed by United Artists, and early '50s UA rights are held by... well, nobody.

Couldn´t wait for the (yet to be announced) upcoming French release of Run of the Arrow, so I decided to import the Italian release. Only after ordering it did I read the technical specs and realized it was a fullscreen presentation. Yesterday it arrived, and the good news is that this is not a fullscreen release. I´m assuming it´s OAR - it looked "correct" to my eyes. The bad news is that it´s not a very good transfer. Non-anamorphic, faded colors, very soft, etc. The print they´ve used is in need of some restoration. The soundtrack isn´t much better, but at least the dialogue is clear. I´ll post some caps if anyone is interested, but I recommend waiting for the upcoming French release. Great movie though.

Who is releasing it in France (Warner or Carlotta I would guess?) and where/when did you find that out?
Outstanding film.

Gregory wrote:Who is releasing it in France (Warner or Carlotta I would guess?) and where/when did you find that out?
Outstanding film.

Wild Side, a label I´m not familiar with.

RobertAltman wrote:

Gregory wrote:Who is releasing it in France (Warner or Carlotta I would guess?) and where/when did you find that out?
Outstanding film.

Wild Side, a label I´m not familiar with.

Wild Side releases a lot of Asian cinema and almost all of the editions have had excellent transfers. Hopefully we could expect the same for their Fuller.

Run of the Arrow is also getting a rare television showing, on TCM in May, as part of a monthlong spotlight on Native Americans in film.

Run of the Arrow ain't happening from Wild Side due to poor elements. Park Row coming from MGM Classics.
Sorry if any duplication but a search didn't throw up this news (x2)

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:Park Row coming from MGM Classics.

GODDAMN IT. A fucking dvd-r for one of Fuller's best films.

I hope someone outside the states gives it a proper release, that's just fucking wrong.