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 |