Cast & creator
Samuel Fuller
Best known for Scene of the Crime, Scene of the Crime, The Virginian
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.
Also known as: Sam Fuller, 사무엘 풀러, 새뮤얼 풀러, Samuel Michael Fuller
148
film credits
11
television credits
57
1936–2026 · acting roles
6.4
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (159)
Showing 159 of 159 credits
Scene of the Crime
Director
1970Scene of the Crime
Writer
1970
The Virginian
Director
1962The Virginian
Writer
1962
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975
The Dick Powell Show
Director
1961
Rebel Highway
Writer
1994
Chillers
Director
1990Chillers
Writer
1990
1941
Interceptor Commander
1979
Pierrot le Fou
Samuel Fuller (uncredited)
1965
Sodankylä Forever
Self
2010
Underworld U.S.A.
Producer
1961Underworld U.S.A.
Director
1961Underworld U.S.A.
Writer
1961
The Big Red One
War Correspondent (uncredited)
1980The Big Red One
Director
1980The Big Red One
Writer
1980
The End of Violence
Louis
1997
Pickup on South Street
Screenplay
1953Pickup on South Street
Director
1953
White Dog
Charlie Felton
1982White Dog
Screenplay
1982White Dog
Director
1982
David Lansky
1989
A Return to Salem's Lot
Van Meer
1987
Hell and High Water
Director
1954Hell and High Water
Screenplay
1954
The American Friend
The American
1977
Let's Get Harry
Story
1986
Run of the Arrow
Writer
1957Run of the Arrow
Director
1957Run of the Arrow
Producer
1957
La Vie de Bohème
Gassot
1992
Targets
Screenplay
1968
Somebody to Love
Sam Silverman
1994
Girls in Prison
Writer
1994
Slapstick of Another Kind
Colonel Sharp
1982
The Naked Kiss
Director
1964The Naked Kiss
Producer
1964The Naked Kiss
Writer
1964
Forty Guns
Screenplay
1957Forty Guns
Director
1957Forty Guns
Producer
1957
Hammett
Old Man in Pool Hall
1982
House of Bamboo
Japanese policeman (uncredited)
1955House of Bamboo
Director
1955House of Bamboo
Additional Dialogue
1955
The State of Things
Joe
1982
The Meanest Men in the West
Director
1978The Meanest Men in the West
Screenplay
1978
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
Self
2002
The Deadly Trackers
Story
1973
The Road to Jericho
2026
Cinématon
N°602
1978
Shock Corridor
Director
1963Shock Corridor
Screenplay
1963Shock Corridor
Producer
1963
Scott Joplin
Impresario
1977
Margin for Error
Screenplay
1943
The Last Movie
Sam
1971
Thieves After Dark
Zoltan
1984Thieves After Dark
Writer
1984Thieves After Dark
Director
1984
Scene Missing
Self
2012
Carmel
2009
A Fuller Life
Self
2013A Fuller Life
Book
2013
The Baron of Arizona
Writer
1950The Baron of Arizona
Director
1950
Films to Die For
(archive footage) (uncredited)
2025
Power of the Press
Story
1943
China Gate
Director
1957China Gate
Screenplay
1957China Gate
Producer
1957
The Cape Town Affair
Writer
1967
Street of No Return
Police Commissioner
1989Street of No Return
Director
1989Street of No Return
Dialogue
1989Street of No Return
Screenplay
1989
Helsinki Napoli All Night Long
Boss
1987
Merrill's Marauders
Screenplay
1962Merrill's Marauders
Director
1962
Fixed Bayonets!
Director
1951Fixed Bayonets!
Screenplay
1951
Confirm or Deny
Story
1941
I Shot Jesse James
Director
1949I Shot Jesse James
Writer
1949
The Klansman
Screenplay
1974
The Steel Helmet
Writer
1951The Steel Helmet
Director
1951The Steel Helmet
Producer
1951
Sam Fuller & the Big Red One
Self
1984
Verboten!
Writer
1959Verboten!
Director
1959
Made in U.S.A
Thanks
1967
Scandal Sheet
Novel
1952
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
War Correspondent (uncredited)
2005The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
Director
2005The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
Writer
2005
The Crimson Kimono
Producer
1959The Crimson Kimono
Writer
1959The Crimson Kimono
Director
1959
It Happened in Hollywood
Screenplay
1937
The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera
Self
1996
She Married a Cop
Writer
1939
Bowery Boy
Original Story
1940
Shockproof
Writer
1949
Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
Director
1972Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
Writer
1972
The Young Nurses
Doc Haskell
1973
Filmmakers in Action
Self (archive footage)
2006
The Madonna and the Dragon
Chef de bureau Newsweek
1990The Madonna and the Dragon
Director
1990The Madonna and the Dragon
Screenplay
1990
The Command
Writer
1954
Golem: The Petrified Garden
Sam
1993
The Bleeding Star
The Man in the Bar
1987
Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made
Self
1994
The Real Glory: Reconstructing 'The Big Red One'
Himself (archive footage)
2005
Shark
Director
1969Shark
Screenplay
1969
Golem, the Spirit of Exile
Elimelek
1992
Gangs of New York
Screenplay
1938Gangs of New York
Story
1938
The Tanks Are Coming
Story
1951
Sons
Father
1990
Dogface
Director
1959Dogface
Writer
1959Dogface
Producer
1959
Adventure in Sahara
Story
1938
Gangs of the Waterfront
Story
1945Midnight Sun Film Festival
1987
The Day of Reckoning
Director
1990The Day of Reckoning
Screenplay
1990
Motion and Emotion: The Films of Wim Wenders
Self
1990
Shock Corridor
himself
1992
Sam Fuller: Writings with a Camera
Himself
1981
Where Is Musette?
Self
1992
Gangs of Chicago
Screenplay
1940Report from Hollywood
1985
Mer de Chine: Le pays pour mémoire
Le capitaine américain
1988
Anything for John
Self
1993A Travelling is a Moral Affair
Himself
1986Tell me Sam - Encounters with Sam Fuller
Himself
1989
Necro not(to b)e
Sé stesso
2003Cinéastes de notre temps : Samuel Fuller
Interviewee
1967
Park Row
Writer
1952Park Row
Director
1952Park Row
Producer
1952
Falkenau, the Impossible
Samuel Fuller
1988
Brigitte and Brigitte
Self
1966
Federal Man-Hunt
Story
1938Un Américain en Normandie
Himself
1994
V-E +1
Director
1945Hooray For Holyrood
Self
1986
Nuits transparentes
2011
Hats Off
Story
1936Hats Off
Screenplay
1936