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Samuel Bronston is a Director and Producer American born on 26 march 1908 at Chișinău (Moldavie)

Samuel Bronston

Samuel Bronston
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Nationality USA
Birth 26 march 1908 at Chișinău (Moldavie)
Death 12 january 1994 (at 85 years) at Sacramento (USA)
Creator of Samuel Bronston Productions

Samuel Bronston (Samuel Bronshtein, March 26, 1908, Bessarabia – January 12, 1994, Sacramento, California) was a Bessarabian-born American film producer, film director, and a nephew of socialist revolutionary figure, Leon Trotsky. He was also the petitioner in a U.S. Supreme Court case that set a major precedent for perjury prosecutions when it overturned his conviction.

Bronston was born in Kishinev, Bessarabia, Russian Empire (present day Moldova) and educated at the Sorbonne. He worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's French unit in Paris before setting up as an independent film producer by the 1940s. His first film for his new production company, Samuel Bronston Productions, was Jack London, (1943) followed by a series of epic films: John Paul Jones (1959), King of Kings (1961), El Cid (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). In 1962, he was awarded a Special Merit Golden Globe Award for El Cid.

He was a pioneer in the practice of locating epic-scale productions in Spain to reduce the massive costs involved. The success of his films inspired him to help build gigantic studios in Las Rozas near Madrid.

Bronston frequently worked with a regular team of creative artists: the director Anthony Mann, the screenwriters Philip Yordan and Jesse Lasky Jr., the composer Miklós Rózsa, the co-producers Jaime Prades, Alan Brown and Michal Waszynski, the cinematographer Robert Krasker and film editor Robert Lawrence. He also favoured Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren as his leading actors.

The cost of the construction of the film studios and the box-office failure of his last epic, The Fall of the Roman Empire combined to leave Bronston in financial difficulties and, in 1964, he had to stop all business activities. Samuel Bronston Productions filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 5, 1964 stating he owed a debt of $5,647,758 to his creditor Pierre S. du Pont. His company declared bankruptcy in June of that year. A petition in August 1964 stated Bronston Distributors, Inc. (a separate company) owed Paramount $6,750,000 and Pierre S. Du Point $323,191.

Two years later, he was asked under oath by a lawyer for one of his creditors a series of questions about the many bank accounts the company had had in Europe. One of them concerned whether he had had an account in Switzerland. "The company had an account in Zurich for six months", he replied, and answered all other questions concerning Swiss bank accounts in the negative.

Later, it was discovered that he had indeed had a very active personal bank account in Geneva during the years he had been producing films in Europe. He was convicted of perjury by federal prosecutors who argued that his answer, while truthful in and of itself, was intended to mislead or evade. After the appeals court upheld the conviction, Bronston v. United States reached the Supreme Court, which overturned the conviction on January 10, 1973. Its ruling, that literally truthful yet technically misleading answers cannot be prosecuted as perjury, has formed an important part of jurisprudence on the matter ever since, even being invoked by President Bill Clinton's attorneys when he was charged with perjury during his impeachment.

The bankruptcy and criminal prosecution devastated his film career. He had completed the 1964 Circus World with John Wayne just before the bankruptcy, and after that he made only three films: Savage Pampas (1966), filmed in Argentina with Robert Taylor; Dr. Coppelius (1966); and Fort Saganne (1984), a French film with Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve. A planned epic on the life of Isabella of Spain never materialised.

Bronston died in 1994 of pneumonia secondary to Alzheimer's disease at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. He is buried in Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain. He was survived by a son Dr William Bronston.

Best films

El Cid (1961)
(Producer)
King of Kings (1961)
(Producer)
Fort Saganne (1984)
(Director)
55 Days at Peking (1963)
(Producer)
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
(Producer)
Circus World (1964)
(Producer)

Usually with

Philip Yordan
Philip Yordan
(4 films)
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray
(3 films)
Alain Corneau
Alain Corneau
(1 films)
José Nieto
José Nieto
(4 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Samuel Bronston (12 films)

Display filmography as list

Director

Fort Saganne, 3h
Directed by Alain Corneau, Samuel Bronston
Origin France
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes French war films, La colonisation française, Political films, Le désert, Histoire de France
Actors Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, Sophie Marceau, Michel Duchaussoy, Roger Dumas
Rating62% 3.143363.143363.143363.143363.14336
In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne (Gérard Depardieu) enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh (Philippe Noiret). Saganne attracts the attentions of Madeleine (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of the regional administrator. In the Sahara, Saganne earns the respect of the Arabs, including Amajan, an independent warrior. After several campaigns, Saganne travels to Paris on a diplomatic mission. After having an affair with a journalist in Paris, Saganne returns to Africa, where he leads a valliant defense against Sultan Omar. He is awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, and marries Madeleine. The onset of World War I puts his success and happiness at risk.

Producer

Fort Saganne, 3h
Directed by Alain Corneau, Samuel Bronston
Origin France
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes French war films, La colonisation française, Political films, Le désert, Histoire de France
Actors Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, Sophie Marceau, Michel Duchaussoy, Roger Dumas
Roles Producer
Rating62% 3.143363.143363.143363.143363.14336
In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne (Gérard Depardieu) enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh (Philippe Noiret). Saganne attracts the attentions of Madeleine (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of the regional administrator. In the Sahara, Saganne earns the respect of the Arabs, including Amajan, an independent warrior. After several campaigns, Saganne travels to Paris on a diplomatic mission. After having an affair with a journalist in Paris, Saganne returns to Africa, where he leads a valliant defense against Sultan Omar. He is awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, and marries Madeleine. The onset of World War I puts his success and happiness at risk.
Savage Pampas, 1h52
Directed by Hugo Fregonese
Genres Drama, Adventure, Western
Actors Robert Taylor, Ron Randell, Marc Lawrence, Ty Hardin, Dieter Eppler, Ángel del Pozo
Roles Producer
Rating57% 2.8546052.8546052.8546052.8546052.854605
During the 1870s, a tough Captain of the Argentine Army doggedly battles a band of outlaws composed of a mixture of Indians and Argentine deserters.
The Fall of the Roman Empire, 3h8
Directed by Anthony Mann
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Historical, Peplum
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films
Actors Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Mel Ferrer
Roles Producer
Rating66% 3.3475853.3475853.3475853.3475853.347585
In the winter of 180 A.D., the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (Guinness) fights to keep Germanic barbarians from invading his northern territories on the Danube frontier. His deputies are the Greek ex-slave Timonides (Mason), a closet Christian, and the stern and honest general Gaius Livius (Boyd). Livius has close connections with the imperial family, being the lover of Aurelius' philosopher daughter Lucilla (Loren) and a friend of her brother Commodus (Plummer). Nevertheless, he is amazed to hear that Aurelius wants to make him his heir. Despite his military obligations the emperor has egalitarian ideals, dreaming of a day when Rome grants equal rights to men of all nations. He knows that he will not live to achieve this end, and trusts Livius to do so more than his charismatic but brutal son. The discovery that his father has effectively disinherited him hurts Commodus immensely, and damages the almost brotherly relationship he had enjoyed with Livius.
Circus World, 2h16
Directed by Henry Hathaway, Richard Talmadge
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Western
Themes Circus films
Actors John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale, Rita Hayworth, Lloyd Nolan, John Smith, Richard Conte
Roles Producer
Rating61% 3.050263.050263.050263.050263.05026
In 1901, Matt Masters (John Wayne), a Wild West circus star in the mold of Buffalo Bill Cody, bought a bankrupt circus in 1885 and successfully rebuilt it into a combination three ring and Wild West extravaganza, mixing Wild West Show acts with conventional circus acts in a winning combination. He has successfully toured the United States for more than a decade. Now that the century is about to turn, he wants to take his show to Europe.
55 Days at Peking, 2h34
Directed by Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton, Guy Green
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical
Actors Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson, Burt Kwouk, John Ireland
Roles Producer
Rating67% 3.352043.352043.352043.352043.35204
55 Days in Peking is a dramatization of the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Peking (now known as Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion which took place from 1898-1900 in China. It is based on the book by Noel Gerson.
El Cid
El Cid (1961)
, 3h4
Directed by Anthony Mann
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Biography, Action, Historical, Romance
Themes Films set in Africa
Actors Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Geneviève Page, John Fraser, Hurd Hatfield
Roles Producer
Rating71% 3.5969653.5969653.5969653.5969653.596965
General Ibn (pronounced Ben) Yusuf (Herbert Lom) of the Almoravid dynasty has summoned all the Emirs of Al-Andalus to North Africa and chastises them for their complacency in dealing with the infidels and reveals his plan for Islamic world domination.
King of Kings, 2h48
Directed by Nicholas Ray, Noël Howard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Historical, Peplum
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Films based on the Bible, Portrayals of Jesus in film, Films about virginity
Actors Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhán McKenna, Robert Ryan, Hurd Hatfield, Ron Randell, Viveca Lindfors
Roles Producer
Rating69% 3.499993.499993.499993.499993.49999
In 63 BC, Pompey conquers Jerusalem and the city is sacked. He enters the Temple to seize the treasure of Solomon and massacres the priests there. He discovers that the treasure is only a collection of scrolls of the Torah. These he holds over a fire until an old priest reaches for them imploringly. Pompey relents and hands them to the old man.
John Paul Jones, 2h6
Directed by John Farrow
Origin USA
Genres War, Biography, Action, Adventure, Historical, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Political films
Actors Robert Stack, Bette Davis, Marisa Pavan, Peter Cushing, Erin O'Brien, Charles Coburn
Roles Producer
Rating62% 3.1483853.1483853.1483853.1483853.148385
The film begins with a United States Navy officer, telling sailors the story of John Paul Jones.
A Walk in the Sun, 1h57
Directed by Lewis Milestone
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War
Themes Political films, Children's films
Actors Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, John Ireland, George Tyne, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Benedict
Roles Producer
Rating68% 3.441853.441853.441853.441853.44185
In 1943, the diverse group of fifty-three soldiers comprising a lead Platoon of the Texas Division anxiously await their upcoming Allied invasion of Italy on a beach near Salerno, Italy. A landing barge carries them to their objective during the pre-dawn hours, and the increasing danger of their situation is demonstrated when their young platoon leader, Lieutenant Rand (Robert Lowell), is wounded by a shell fragment that destroys half of his face. Platoon Sergeant Pete Halverson (Matt Willis) takes over command and orders Sgt. Eddie Porter (Herbert Rudley) to lead the men to the beach while he tries to find the company commander and confirm their orders.
Jack London, 1h34
Directed by Alfred Santell
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Action, Adventure, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Michael O'Shea, Susan Hayward, Virginia Mayo, Osa Massen, Harry Davenport, Frank Craven
Roles Producer
Rating51% 2.5673452.5673452.5673452.5673452.567345
The film follows the adventures of the writer-adventurer Jack London (Michael O'Shea) who was, among other things, oyster pirate, hobo, sailor, prospector and war correspondent.
The Adventures of Martin Eden, 1h27
Directed by Sidney Salkow
Origin USA
Genres Adventure
Themes Films about writers, Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, Stuart Erwin, Frank Conroy, Evelyn Keyes, Ian MacDonald
Roles Producer
Rating59% 2.9554352.9554352.9554352.9554352.955435
Martin Eden (Glenn Ford) wants to be a writer but embarks as a sailor on a merchant ship. A storm hits the ship, which sinks. Martin escapes and decides to write about the experience.