Samuel Fuller is one of the greatest directors of all time, but sadly his name is not generally spoken in the same breath as auteurs such as Hitchcock, Kubrick or Truffaut. His films showcase realism and social awareness years ahead of their time, informed by his service with the U.S. Army during World War II. The only combat veteran to become a Hollywood director, Fuller’s experiences on the front line shaped his life and the films he made. His career as a journalist played just as big of a role, contributing a to-the-point, direct nature to his work that is unlike any other director. His films are largely forgotten, but they rank among some of the best cinema that has to offer. Martin Scorsese once said, “If you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you just don’t like cinema.” Truer words have never been spoken. Thanks to the work of people at Criterion, the Warner Archive and Sony, a number of his previously unavailable films are now within reach.
This page will serve as a hub for all of my reviews of his films.
Now that I’ve completed reviewing all of Fuller’s directorial films, I’ve worked up a list of my 10 favorites!
As Director:
The 1940s
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| I Shot Jesse James | 02/26/1949 |
The 1950s
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| The Baron of Arizona | 03/04/1950 |
| The Steel Helmet | 02/02/1951 |
| Fixed Bayonets! | 12/XX/1951 |
| Park Row | 08/12/1952 |
| Pickup on South Street | 05/29/1953 |
| Hell and High Water | 02/06/1954 |
| House of Bamboo | 07/01/1955 |
| China Gate | 05/22/1957 |
| Run of the Arrow | 09/05/1957 |
| Forty Guns | 12/05/1957 |
| Verboten! | 03/25/1959 |
| The Crimson Kimono | 10/XX/1959 |
The 1960s
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Underworld U.S.A. | 05/13/1961 |
| Merrill’s Marauders | 06/13/1962 |
| Shock Corridor | 09/11/1963 |
| The Naked Kiss | 10/29/1964 |
| Shark! AKA Caine [Disowned] | 10/08/1969 |
The 1970s
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street Feature-length film for German TV Program: Tatort |
01/07/1973 |
The 1980s
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| The Big Red One | 07/18/1980 |
| White Dog | 07/07/1982 |
| Thieves After Dark | 02/27/1984 |
| Street of No Return | 05/17/1989 |
The 1990s
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| The Madonna and the Dragon TV Movie |
09/XX/1990 |
Related Documentaries
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Falkenau, the Impossible | Emil Weiss | 10/05/1988 |
| Tell Me Sam | Emil Weiss | XX/XX/1989 |
| Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made | Mika Kaurismäki | 12/21/1994 |
| An American in Normandy [Unavailable: Please contact me if you have this!] |
Jean-Louis Comolli | XX/XX/1994 |
| The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera | Adam Simon | 06/28/1996 |
| A Fuller Life | Samantha Fuller | 2013 |
Television Episodes
Directed by Fuller
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| 330 Independence S.W. From the TV Program: The Dick Powell Theatre |
03/20/1962 |
| It Tolls for Thee From the TV Program: The Virginian |
11/21/1962 |
| High Devil From the TV Program: Iron Horse |
09/26/1966 |
| The Man from New Chicago From the TV Program: Iron Horse |
11/14/1966 |
| Hellcat From the TV Program: Iron Horse |
12/26/1966 |
| Volcano Wagon From the TV Program: Iron Horse |
01/16/1967 |
| Banner with a Strange Device From the TV Program: Iron Horse |
02/06/1967 |
| The Red Tornado From the TV Program: Iron Horse |
02/20/1967 |
| The Day of Reckoning From the TV Anthology Program: Chillers |
05/26/1990 |
Works written by Fuller
(or derived from his original scripts,
more info will be in the reviews)
The 1930s
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Hats Off | Boris Petroff | 12/06/1936 |
| It Happened in Hollywood | Harry Lachman | 09/07/1937 |
| Gangs of New York | James Cruze | 05/23/1938 |
| Adventure in Sahara | D. Ross Lederman | 11/15/1938 |
| Federal Man-Hunt | Nick Grinde | 12/26/1938 |
The 1940s
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Bowery Boy | William Morgan | 12/27/1940 |
| Confirm or Deny | Archie Mayo | 12/12/1941 |
| Power of the Press | Lew Landers | 01/28/1943 |
| Margin for Error | Otto Preminger | 02/10/1943 |
| Gangs of the Waterfront | George Blair | 07/03/1945 |
| Shockproof | Douglas Sirk | 01/25/1949 |
The 1950s
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Tanks Are Coming | Lewis Seiler | 10/31/1951 |
| Scandal Sheet | Phil Karlson | 01/16/1952 |
| The Command | David Butler | 02/13/1954 |
The 1960s
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Cape Town Affair (Remake of Pickup on South Street No other Fuller connection) |
Robert D. Webb | 09/29/1967 |
The 1970s
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Deadly Trackers | Barry Shear | 12/21/1973 |
| Klansman | Terence Young | 11/13/1974 |
The 1980s
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Let’s Get Harry | Stuart Rosenberg | 10/31/1986 |
The 1990s
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Girls in Prison | John McNaughton | 08/19/1994 |
Other Related Films
| Title | Director | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| A Return to Salem’s Lot | Larry Cohen | 05/XX/1987 |
For anyone unfamiliar with Fuller’s work;
I’d consider and recommend to begin with the following that I would call his ‘essential films’. This list isn’t necessarily my personal favorites or even his best films but I think captures Sam Fuller’s style and topics that were most impactful to viewers and himself.
1) The Steel Helmet: The film that got Fuller’s directorial career to garner attention from the big companies. A raw style that covers controversial topics at the time.
2) Park Row: A personal favorite of Samuel Fuller and a interesting back story on how difficult it was to even get this film made.
3)Pickup on South Street: Many critics consider to be his ‘Best’ film, not quite as complicated as some of his later plots so perhaps easier to digest for folks unfamiliar with Fuller.
4)Shock Corridor/ 5)Naked Kiss- Grouped these two together because they were made and produced on the same deal and both were more experimental/unique story wise which produced iconic Fuller ‘moments’ in both.
6) The Big Red One: The film Fuller waited years to make and is essentially an autobiography about his time serving in World War II. A movie that would influence many future war movies.
Great list, those are definitely the essential Fuller films!
I would say The Steel Helmet and Pickup on South Street are the two best “entry-level” Fuller films. My firsts were Shock Corridor and Naked Kiss, when I was a teenager, and I simply wasn’t ready for them. I thought they were OK, but I couldn’t understand why they were seen as “great films.” It wasn’t until I saw The Steel Helmet a few years later that I became a fan.
I agree. I think Steel Helmet followed up by Pickup On South Street would be best way to go. My list was just in chronological order.
My first two Fuller movies were also Shock Corridor and Naked Kiss via Criterion’s edition. I was confused yet fascinated. Watching the ‘The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera’ in the special features really got me more interested and wanting to see more. I saw Steel Helmet on TCM the following week and loved it.
Oh, no disrespect to your list at all, I just wanted to chime in as well.
That’s interesting that we both saw Shock Corridor and Naked Kiss and were intrigued enough to watch more and become fans, and that Steel Helmet was the one to seal the deal. I imagine many took a similar path, as the availability of his films was pretty bad until just a few years ago with all the DVD releases.
Not sure where to post this….
But I recently received and watched Olive Films recent release of ‘Shark!’. First time seeing the movie. Not sure if you’ve seen it yet, Will. I wont spoil the movie but a couple thoughts.
Knowing the back story and how Fuller disowned this film after the producers re-cut/edit it I had very low expectations. But being a bit of a Fuller completest it is nice to see it and have in my Fuller collection. Granted I don’t see myself revisiting it very often unlike the rest of the Fuller filmography.
-The title of this movie should of remained ‘Caine.’ Sharks play a very minimal role of this film its more about Burt Reynolds character, Caine then anything to do with sharks.
-It was nice to see Barry Sullivan working with Fuller again. (also was the male lead in Forty Guns)
– The movie wasn’t as horrible as I had feared, but it isn’t very good either. However, that is no fault to Sam Fuller.
It is at times discombobulated and even boring thanks to the editing. But you can see obvious Fuller moments and shots (even the little boy’s character) that make you see the potential and wish it was kept as Fuller had wished. I think had it not been butchered it may have a been another great Fuller film.
I’d say this is as good a place as any at the moment; thanks for your thoughts. I have just received that release as well, but I have yet to watch it. I haven’t seen the film before either, so thanks for not spoiling anything. 🙂
I have equally low expectations for it because of the disowning, but I’m very intrigued by the film. I look forward to reading that section of A Third Face after watching. Hopefully, Fuller offers some idea of what the film might have been without intrusion. Glad to hear there’s at least a few Fuller moments.
In other news, I’m considering shifting some things around so that I can deliver the rest of these Sam Fuller reviews a bit quicker than I have been. Basically, every October I do an all horror month, and I’d like to burn through the rest of the Fuller stuff before then. We’ll see. If nothing else, I have an Underworld USA review for this Thursday!
Also, I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’ve seen any of the films that Fuller only wrote. If you have, do you think they’re worthy of a look? Thanks.
Excellent news. Looking forward to your Underworld USA review. Also curious to hear how you digest Shark!
As far as the films Fuller has written credits for. I have the Samuel Fuller Collection set released by Sony/Columbia. It includes Underworld USA and Crimson Kimono that he directed as well as four films he was credited for writing. Adventure in Sahara, It Happened in Hollywood, Power of the Press, Scandal Sheet, and Shockproof
Despite Fuller’s disappointment in how they turned out mostly because it wasnt his vision, Shockproof and Scandal Sheet stand out as definitely worth watching and entertaining.
Power of the Press isn’t bad as it has a Fuller feel/subject. The other two are earlier credits (pre ww2) and not as good as the previous 3. Those are the only ones ive seen.
Those were the ones I was wondering about specifically. Sounds like they’d be worth checking out, I’ll have to do them as an epilogue to the series. Thanks!