Sam Spiegel

Producer

November 11, 1901 (84 years)

† December 31, 1985

Jaroslau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Jaroslaw, Podkarpackie, Poland]

Biography

Born in Germany he went to America some time before the second World War and spent a year in Hollywood reading foreign scripts after which he returned to Berlin where he set up his own company to organise the remaking of foreign films into German language versions. One he handled was 'All Quiet on the Western Front', an anti war film that became a kind of personal crusade for him. On the opening night the Nazi's, then in power, put a bomb in the cinema. When the Nazis came into power he left Ger…

Filmography

8.0

Lawrence of Arabia

During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.

7.8

The Bridge on the River Kwai

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.

7.9

On the Waterfront

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.

7.1

The Chase

The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.

7.4

The African Queen

At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.

7.3

The Swimmer

A man spends a summer day swimming home via all the pools in his quiet suburban neighborhood.

7.3

Suddenly, Last Summer

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

6.8

The Night of the Generals

A German intelligence officer investigates a prostitute's killing in Warsaw during World War II. He lands on three major Nazi generals as suspects, two of whom are also involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler.

7.2

The Stranger

An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi, who may be hiding out in a small town in the guise of a distinguished professor engaged to the Supreme Court Justice’s daughter.

7.0

Nicholas and Alexandra

Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

6.3

The Last Tycoon

Monroe Stahr, a successful movie producer, pursues a beautiful and elusive young woman — all the while working himself to death.

6.3

We Were Strangers

China Valdes joins the Cuban underground after her brother is killed by the chief of the secret police, Ariete. She meets and falls in love with American expatriate Tony Fenner. Tony develops a plan to tunnel under the city's cemetery to a plot owned by a high official, assassinate him, and blow up the whole Cuban hierarchy at the ensuing state funeral. Together with a band of dedicated revolutionaries, they begin digging.

6.8

The Prowler

Los Angeles, California. A cop who, unhappy with his job, blames others for his work problems, is assigned to investigate the case of a prowler who stalks the home of a married woman.

6.3

The Happening

A group of young drifters kidnap wealthy businessman Roc Delmonico just for kicks. They keep him captive, demanding a ransom for his safe release. However there is no one - wife, Mafia associates or mother - willing to part with the $200,000 ransom. Demonico is dismayed that no one appears unduly concerned about his fate and joins forces with the kidnappers to plot his revenge, blackmailing his once nearest and dearest into parting with $3,000,000 in hush money.

6.5

Tales of Manhattan

Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed by its tailor has on those who wear it. The video release features a W.C. Fields segment not included in the original theatrical release.

7.3

When I Grow Up

Josh is a young boy who feels neglected and misunderstood at home. Preparing to run away, he chances across an old diary once kept by his grandfather. Leafing through the yellowed pages, Josh discovers that Grandpa went through many of the same childhood travails that he is enduring at that moment. Armed with a renewed understanding of and appreciation for his elders, Josh decides to stick around for a while and see how things develop.

6.1

Betrayal

An affair between a literary agent and his best friend's wife, unfolding in reverse-chronological order.

6.5

The Strange One

A military school student develops a destructive power over his fellow cadets.

6.0

Melba

Rural Australian Nellie Melba becomes an opera star in 1900s Europe and the United States.

4.0

The Invader

A bumbling yachtsman sails to the South of Spain with a fiery seductress, only to become the pawn in her dangerous game of love.