Special Sub-Topic: Samuel Fuller Click Here To Play: Samuel Fuller

Where was Fuller born?

Worcester, Mass.. Born August 12th, 1912, in Worcester, Fuller was a fellow Bay Stater of such greats as Robert Preston, Bette Davis, Jack Lemmon and director William Wellman.

What nationalities were his parents?

Polish and Russian. Fuller's mother, Rebecca Baum was Polish and his father Benjamin was Russian. Both were Jewish.

How many siblings did Fuller have?

Five. He had three brothers, Ving (for Irving), Tom and Ray, and two sisters, Tina and Evelyn.

What was his first choice for a career?

cartoonist. Fuller loved to draw from childhood, and though Ving was the better artist, Fuller often filled his soldier's journals and letters to his mother with his cartoons during his WW2 service.

Fuller's first line of work was newspaper reporting. How did he enter it?

As a newspaper seller. After his family moved to Manhattan, Fuller earned some money for them hawking papers on New York streets. When he was shown the workings of a press by one of his early bosses, young Sammy was smitten and wanted to be a reporter.

On what paper did he become a copyboy?

New York Journal American. All you comic fans know what the last paper is! William Randolph Hearst owned the Journal American; he, of course inspired Welles' "Citizen Kane". Sammy was first a copy boy, then runner for the paper's legendary editor-in-chief Arthur Brisbane; the two became fast friends.

On what paper did he become a full-time reporter at last?

New York Evening Graphic. Fuller finally achieved his dream on this, one of the first of the "tabloid" papers that printed often shocking stories of scandal and lurid crime. One of his first stories was the death by drug overdose of famed actress Jeanne Eagels.

Fuller also penned a few pulp novels while he was a full-time reporter. What novel did he NOT write?

I Should Have Stayed Home. "I Should Have Stayed Home" was the work of Horace "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" McCoy. The rest are Fuller's, inspired by his experiences as taboid reporter.

Fuller's best known novel "The Dark Page" is set in the newspaper world he knew. When it was made into a movie, he filmed it himself?

false. "Dark Page" was filmed as "Scandal Sheet" by fellow director Phil Karlson. The experience was crucial in Fuller's decision to direct his own scripts.

When did Fuller pen his first screenplay?

1936. Fuller's first script, "Hats Off" was directed by Boris Petroff.

When Fuller enlisted in WW2, what company did he join?

1st U.S. Infantry Division. It was known as "The Big Red One" because of its insignia, and Fuller wold pay tribute to it, first in a novel, then in perhaps his greatest war film. The war would become Fuller's central experience.

What superior did Fuller come to admire when he enlilsted in WW2?

Col. George A. Taylor. Corporal Fuller befriended Taylor. Taylor said, during the D-Day storming of Normandy, "Only two kinds of men will stay here, those who dead and those are going to die! So let's get off this beach and die inland!" Fuller paid tribute to Taylor and his words in "Steel Helmet". He didn't think highly of Patton.

What famous director did he meet in England during the 1940s?

Alfred Hitchcock. Fuller met the Master of Suspense through a cousin of Hitch's who ran a grocery store where Fuller spent his weekends. Hitch was filming a documentary. Fuller also met Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney and was photographed by legendary Robert Capa.

What fellow soldier did Fuller pay tribute to in his films?

Griff. Griff survived a mine explosion. Though he lost his arms and legs, his will to survive kept him going. Among the "Griffs" in Fuller's films are Griff Bonnell in "Forty Guns", Griff in "House of Bamboo" and Mark Hamill's (!) Griff in "The Big Red One". The others are from "Merrill's Marauders" and "China Gate".

What producer backed Fuller's first three efforts as writer-director?

Robert L. Lippert. Lippert took a chance on beginner Fuller and backed his first three films: "I Shot Jesse James", "The Baron of Arizona" and "The Steel Helmet".

Which actor NEVER worked for Fuller?

Robert Mitchum. Evans debuted in "Helmet", Widmark did "Pickup on South Street" and "Hell and High Water" and Stack starred in "House of Bamboo".

After "Steel Helmet", Fuller's next five films were made at Twentieth-Century Fox, except one. Which one was it?

Park Row. "Park Row" was Fuller's personal valentine to the newspaper business he knew and loved. He produced it himself at Uniited Artists. The other three and "House of Bamboo" were made at Fox. Though it wasn't a success, "Park Row" was one of Fuller's favorites of his own films.

How many war films did Fuller do?

Five. They are: "The Steel Helmet", "Fixed Bayonets", "China Gate", set in early Vietnam, "Merrill's Marauders" and "The Big Red One". "Verboten" is set in post-ww2 Germany.

How many westerns did Fuller do?

Four. "I Shot Jesse James", his directorial debut, "The Baron of Arizona", "Run of The Arrow" and "Forty Guns".

T or F: Fuller also worked in televison?

true. Fuller helmed seven TV episodes for 'The Dick Powell Show', and the westerns "The Virginian" and "The Iron Horse". But he preferred film directing.

Fuller also acted in other director's films. What director did he NOT act for?

Scorsese. Fuller acted for Wim Wenders in "Hammett" and "The American Friend", for Godard in "Pierrot le Fou" and played a general in the Spielberg flop "1941".

Which of these actors, who worked with Fuller, never won an Oscar?

Jeff Chandler. Chandler's last role was the title role in "Merrill's Merauders". Ives, who played in Fuller's "White Dog", won for "The Big Country". Marvin, the nameless sargeant of "Big Red One", won for "Cat Ballou". Steiger would win after "Run of The Arrow", for "In The Heat of The Night".

How many times was Fuller married?

2. Fuller's first wed Martha Downes, but the marriage eventually failed. His second wife, Christa Lang, gave him a daughter, Samantha. The marriage lasted until his death in 1997.

T or F: A Spielberg character is named after one of Fuller's?

true. William Chun played Short Round in "Steel Helmet". In an ironic twist, the Short Round in Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" got the name because scripter Willard Huyck named his DOG for the Fuller character!

Complete this quote from "The Big Red One": " _____ is the only glory of war" ?

Surviving. Spoken by Robert Carradine at the end of "One", it could serve as the motto of Fuller's war films. Though it's "thirty" (newspaper lingo for "the end") for this quiz, Fuller's films are still beloved by cineastes the world over.