Sam Neufeld
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Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, (December 6, 1899 - November 10, 1964), also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American
B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...
director, one of the most prolific in American film history—he is credited with directing over 250 feature films in a career which began during the silent era and ended in 1958. In addition to his staggering feature output, he also directed one -and two-reel comedy shorts,
training film A training film is a form of educational film – a short subject documentary movie, that provides an introduction to a topic. Both narrative documentary and dramatisation styles may be used, sometimes both in the same production. While most ...
s, industrial films, TV episodes and pretty much anything anyone would pay him for. Because of this massive output—he would sometimes direct more than 20 films in a single year—he has been called the most prolific director of the sound era. Many of Newfield's films were made for PRC Pictures. This was a film production company headed by his brother
Sigmund Neufeld Sigmund Neufeld (May 3, 1896 – March 21, 1979) was an American B movie producer. He spent many years at Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corporation where he mainly produced films directed by his brother Sam Newfield. When PRC was taken o ...
. The films PRC produced were low-budget productions, the majority being westerns, with an occasional
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...
or
crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...
.


Family and education

Newfield completed one year of high school, according to the 1940 US census. Brother Morris Neufeld was a stage actor, according to the
1930 US census The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during ...
.


Pseudonyms

Sam Newfield was credited as ''Sherman Scott'' and ''Peter Stewart'' on a number of films he made for PRC. He used these names in order to hide the fact that one person was responsible for so many of PRC's films.


Partial filmography

Partial filmography is listed below for the different names he used.


As Sam Newfield

*'' Big Time or Bust'' (1933) *'' Reform Girl'' (1933) *''
The Important Witness ''The Important Witness'' is an American 1933 pre-Code crime drama directed by Sam Newfield which stars Noel Francis, Dorothy Burgess, and Donald Dillaway. Cast list * Noel Francis as Ellen Kelly * Dorothy Burgess as Ruth Dana * Donald Di ...
'' (1933) * '' Beggar's Holiday'' (1934) *'' Undercover Men'' (1934) *'' Marrying Widows'' (1934) *'' Bulldog Courage'' (1935) *'' Racing Luck'' (1935) *'' Timber War'' (1935) *'' The Traitor'' (1936) * '' The Lion's Den'' (1936) *''
The Fighting Deputy ''The Fighting Deputy'' is a 1937 American western directed by Sam Newfield and produced by Jed Buell for Spectrum Pictures. Plot Sheriff Dan Bentley (Frank LaRue) and Deputy Tom Bentley ( Fred Scott) are after Scar Adams / Jim Denton ( Charles ...
'' (1937) *'' The Gambling Terror'' (1937) *'' Trail of Vengeance'' (1937) *'' The Feud Maker'' (1938) *'' The Terror of Tiny Town'' (1938) *''
Six-Gun Trail ''Six-Gun Trail'' is a 1938 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield.Engald, Jerry., 2008. Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas. Echo Press. pg 143 Cast *Tim McCoy as Capt. William 'Lightning Bill' Carson *Nora Lane as Midge *Ben Corbett as ...
'' (1938) * ''
The Invisible Killer ''The Invisible Killer'' is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Grace Bradley, Roland Drew and William Newell.Gates p.96 It was one of the earliest films made by Producers Releasing Corporation, a low-budget outfi ...
'' (1939) *'' The Fighting Renegade'' (1939) *''
Frontier Crusader ''Frontier Crusader'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Tim McCoy, Dorothy Short and Lou Fulton.Darby p.200 Cast * Tim McCoy as Trigger Tim Rand * Dorothy Short as Jenny Mason * Lou Fulton as 'Lanky' Lint ...
'' (1940) *'' Marked Men'' (1940) * '' Secrets of a Model'' (1940) *'' Texas Renegades'' (1940) *''
The Mad Monster ''The Mad Monster'' is a 1942 American black and white horror film, produced and distributed by "Poverty Row" studio Producers Releasing Corporation. The melodrama was produced by Sigmund Neufeld, directed by Sam Newfield, written by Fred Myton, a ...
'' (1942) *'' Tiger Fangs'' (1943) *'' The Black Raven'' (1943) *'' I Accuse My Parents'' (1944) *''
Swing Hostess ''Swing Hostess'' is a 1944 American musical comedy film directed by Sam Newfield for Producers Releasing Corporation and starring Martha Tilton, Iris Adrian, Charles Collins, Betty Brodel, Cliff Nazarro and Harry Holman. The film's sets were ...
'' (1944) *'' The Monster Maker'' (1944) *'' His Brother's Ghost'' (1945) *'' Shadows of Death'' (1945) *''
The Lady Confesses ''The Lady Confesses'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Sam Newfield. Plot While on the verge of being divorced, Norma Craig disappears. Seven years later, when her husband, Larry Craig, plans to marry a girl Vicki McGuire, Norma returns ...
'' (1945) *''
Rustlers' Hideout ''Rustlers' Hideout'' is a 1944 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield. In 1940 Crabbe had followed and replaced Bob Steele in the role of Billy the Kid in a series of B-Westerns. After 19 films as Billy, the character was renamed Bill ...
'' (1945) *''
Apology for Murder ''Apology for Murder'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Sam Newfield and starring Ann Savage, Hugh Beaumont, Russell Hicks and Charles D. Brown. The plot of ''Apology for Murder'' is a blatant rip-off of the seminal film noir '' Double ...
'' (1945) *''
White Pongo ''White Pongo'', also known as ''Adventure Unlimited'' in the United Kingdom, is a 1945 American film directed by Sam Newfield released by Producers Releasing Corporation. Plot summary In the jungles of the Belgian Congo, a group of natives a ...
'' (1945) * ''
Gas House Kids ''Gas House Kids'' is a 1946 American comedy-drama film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Robert Lowery, Billy Halop and Teala Loring. It was followed by two sequels, ''Gas House Kids Go West'' and ''Gas House Kids in Hollywood'', both relea ...
'' (1946) *''
Fight That Ghost ''Fight That Ghost'' is a 1946 feature horror comedy film. It is considered one of the earliest horror films with an all Black cast. It was directed by Sam Newfield. It was a Toddy Pictures Company release. Bill Dillard portrayed Jim Brown in the ...
'' (1946) * '' House-Rent Party (film)'' (1946) * ''
Outlaws of the Plains ''Outlaws of the Plains'' is a 1946 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John and Patti McCarty.Vermilye p.168-69 Cast * Buster Crabbe as Billy Carson * Al St. John as Fuzzy Q. Jone ...
'' (1946) *''
Jungle Flight ''Jungle Flight'' is a 1947 American adventure film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Whitman Chambers. The film stars Robert Lowery, Ann Savage, Barton MacLane, Douglas Fowley, Robert Kent and Curt Bois. The film was released on August ...
'' (1947) *'' Money Madness'' (1948) *''
Western Pacific Agent ''Western Pacific Agent '' is a 1950 Sigmund Neufeld Productions crime drama directed by Sam Newfield and starring Kent Taylor, Sheila Ryan, and Mickey Knox. The picture was written by Fred Myton based on a story by Milton Raison. It was release ...
'' (1950) * ''
Skipalong Rosenbloom ''Skipalong Rosenbloom'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Eddie Forman and Dean Riesner. Starring Max Rosenbloom, Max Baer, Jackie Coogan, Fuzzy Knight, Hillary Brooke and Jacqueline Fontaine, it was relea ...
'' (1951) *''
Lost Continent Lost lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during pre-history, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. Legends of lost lands often originated as scholarly or scientific theor ...
'' (1951) *''
Lady in the Fog ''Lady in the Fog'' is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Cesar Romero, Lois Maxwell and Bernadette O'Farrell. It is based on a BBC serial by Lester Powell as scripted by Orville H. Hampton, . It was made by Lipper ...
'' (aka ''Scotland Yard Inspector'') (1952) *''
The Gambler and the Lady ''The Gambler and the Lady'' is a 1952 British crime film directed by Patrick Jenkins and Sam Newfield and starring Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron and Naomi Chance. It was made by Hammer Films. Plot An American gambler, Forster (Clark), aspires to ...
'' (1952) * ''
Outlaw Women ''Outlaw Women'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and Ron Ormond and starring Marie Windsor, Richard Rober and Carla Balenda.Pitts p.239 It is set in a remote small town run entirely by women. The film was made in Cinecol ...
'' (1952) *''Thunder over Sangoland'' (1955) *''The Wild Dakotas'' (1956) *''
The Three Outlaws ''The Three Outlaws'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Neville Brand as Butch Cassidy, Alan Hale Jr. as the Sundance Kid, and Bruce Bennett.Pitts p.353 Plot Cast * Neville Brand as Butch Cassidy * Alan ...
'' (1956) *''
Frontier Gambler ''Frontier Gambler'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Orville H. Hampton. The film stars John Bromfield, Coleen Gray, Kent Taylor, Jim Davis, Margia Dean and Veda Ann Borg. The film was released on July ...
'' (1956) *''Last of the Desperadoes'' (1956) *''
Wolf Dog ''Wolf Dog'', also known as ''A Boy and His Dog'', is a 1958 Western film directed and produced by Sam Newfield and produced by Regal Films. The film stars Jim Davis and Allison Hayes. Cast *Jim Davis Production In August 1957, Newfield and a ...
'' (1958) *''Flaming Frontier'' (1958)


As Sherman Scott

*'' Hitler, Beast of Berlin'' (1939) *''
I Take This Oath ''I Take This Oath'' is a 1940 American crime drama film directed by Sam Newfield under the pseudonym of Sherman Scott. Featuring Gordon Jones and Joyce Compton, it was the first release by Producers Releasing Corporation. In 1952, Pictorial Fil ...
'' (1940) *''
Billy the Kid's Gun Justice ''Billy the Kid's Gun Justice'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield for Producers Releasing Corporation, and 3rd in PRC's Billy the Kid series. Hal Erickson, Rovi.Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940), ''The New York Times''. ...
'' (1940) *''Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals'' (1941) *''Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns'' (1942) *''
The Flying Serpent ''The Flying Serpent'' is a 1946 American fantasy- horror film based on a story by John T Neville. It follows the deranged archaeologist, Dr Andrew Forbes, as he uses his discovery of a killer bird god, the mythical Quetzalcoatl, to murder his ...
'' (1946) *''
Lady at Midnight ''Lady at Midnight'' is a 1948 American mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Richard Denning, Frances Rafferty, and Claudia Drake.Langman p.150 The film's sets were designed by the art director Edward C. Jewell. It was shot at the ...
'' (1948) *''The Strange Mrs. Crane'' (1948) *''
The Wild Weed ''She Shoulda Said No!'' (also known as ''Wild Weed''; ''The Devil's Weed''; ''Marijuana, the Devil's Weed''; and ''The Story of Lila Leeds and Her Exposé of the Marijuana Racket'') is a 1949 exploitation film that follows in the spirit of mora ...
'' (1949)


As Peter Stewart

* ''
Gun Code ''Gun Code'' is a 1940 American western film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Tim McCoy, Inna Gest and Carleton Young.Pitts p.134 It was distributed by the independent company PRC which specialized in handling low-budget second features. T ...
'' (1940) *''Black Mountain Stage'' (1940) *'' Adventure Island'' (1947) *'' The Counterfeiters'' (1948) *'' State Department: File 649'' (1949)


Film statistics

Between 1923 and 1930 Newfield directed over 50 comedies. Feature films statistics per year, starting with 1933, are summarised in the following table.


See also

*
Fred Olen Ray Fred Olen Ray (born September 10, 1954) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter of more than 200 low-to-medium-budget feature films in many genres, including Horror film, horror, science fiction, action film, action/adventure f ...
, another B movie director who has used many of these pseudonyms


References


Review of ''Tiger Fangs''
*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newfield, Sam 1899 births 1964 deaths Film directors from New York City American Jews