Sam Newfield
Encyclopedia
Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, (December 6, 1889 – November 10, 1964) also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American B-movie
director
, with over 250 feature films to his credit, and a large number of shorts, training films, 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 movies were made for PRC
Pictures. This was a film production company that he operated in association with his brother Sigmund Neufeld
. The films PRC produced were low-budget productions, the majority being westerns
, with an occasional horror film
or crime drama.
's films.
{| {| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! No. of films
|-
| 1933||3
|-
| 1934||4
|-
| 1935||7
|-
| 1936||14
|-
| 1937||17
|-
| 1938||15
|-
| 1939||13
|-
| 1940||14
|-
| 1941||13
|-
| 1942||19
|-
| 1943||18
|-
| 1944||12
|-
| 1945||12
|-
| 1946||15
|-
| 1947||3
|-
| 1948||5
|-
| 1949||2
|-
| 1950||4
|-
| 1951||8
|-
| 1952||3
|-
| 1953||-
|-
| 1954||1
|-
| 1955||1
|-
| 1956||3
|-
| 1957||1
|-
| 1958||1
|-
|Total||208
|}
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, with over 250 feature films to his credit, and a large number of shorts, training films, 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 movies were made for PRC
Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was one of the more lower-end Hollywood film studios on Poverty Row from the late '30s to the mid-'40s. PRC, as it was commonly known, made low-budget B-movies for the lower-half of a double bill. A few of its films have gained a respectable reputation over the...
Pictures. This was a film production company that he operated in association with his brother Sigmund Neufeld
Sigmund Neufeld
Sigmund Neufeld was an American film producer. Neufeld produced many films directed by his brother Sam Newfield.- Selected filmography :*The Red Blood of Courage *Aces and Eights *Ghost Patrol...
. The films PRC produced were low-budget productions, the majority being westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, with an occasional horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
or crime drama.
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 PRCProducers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was one of the more lower-end Hollywood film studios on Poverty Row from the late '30s to the mid-'40s. PRC, as it was commonly known, made low-budget B-movies for the lower-half of a double bill. A few of its films have gained a respectable reputation over the...
's films.
Filmography
A detailed filmograph is available at The Films of Sam Newfield. Partial filmography is listed below for the different names used.As Sam Newfield
- The Fighting DeputyThe Fighting Deputy- Cast :*Fred Scott as Deputy Tom Bentley*Phoebe Logan as Alice Denton*Al St. John as Deputy Fuzzy*Marjorie Beebe as Peaches*Charles King as Scar Adams / Jim Denton*Frank LaRue as Sheriff Dan Bentley, Tom's Father*Eddie Holden as Axel...
(1937) - The Fighting RenegadeThe Fighting Renegade- Cast :*Tim McCoy*Joyce Bryant as Marian Willis*Ben Corbett as Magpie*Ted Adams as Link Benson*Budd Buster as Old Dobie*Dave O'Brien as Doctor Jerry Leonard*Forrest Taylor as Professor Lucius Lloyd*Reed Howes as Sheriff*John Elliott as Prospector...
(1939) - Marked MenMarked Men (1940 film)Marked Men is a 1940 American film directed by Sam Newfield.The film is also known as Desert Escape in the USA .- Cast :*Warren Hull as Bill Carver*Isabel Jewell as Linda Harkness*John Dilson as Dr. James Prentiss Harkness...
(1940) - The Mad MonsterThe Mad MonsterThe Mad Monster is an American horror film released in 1942 by P.R.C. , a Poverty Row studio. The film, a B-movie shot in black and white, features a mad scientist and a werewolf as the main characters. Directed by Sam Newfield and written by Fred Myton, the film—Poverty Row's only Werewolf...
(1942) - Tiger FangsTiger Fangs-External links:**...
(1943) - I Accuse My ParentsI Accuse My ParentsI Accuse My Parents is an American exploitation film dealing with juvenile delinquency. Produced by PRC, the film was used to teach morals, specifically that parents should take an interest in their children's lives, as well as the consequences of child neglect...
(1944) - Swing HostessSwing HostessSwing Hostess is a 1944 American musical comedy film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Martha Tilton, Iris Adrian, Charles Collins, Betty Brodel, Cliff Nazarro and Harry Holman.- Plot summary :...
(1944) - Outlaws of the Plains (1946)
- Money MadnessMoney Madness- Plot summary :Steve Clark rides on a Los Angeles-bound bus and gets off in a small town on the way. He first hides a large amount of cash he had been carrying in his suitcase. Then, he obtains a job, which leads him to a chance encounter with Julie Saunders , a local woman in her twenties. Julie...
(1948) - Lost ContinentLost Continent (1951 film)The Lost Continent is an American science fiction film, starring Cesar Romero and Hillary Brooke directed by Sam Newfield and produced by his brother Sigmund Neufeld. This low budget independent film was shot in eleven days. The footage on the plateau where the dinosaurs lived was printed with...
(1951) - Scotland Yard Inspector (1952)
- The Gambler and the LadyThe Gambler and the LadyThe 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...
(1952) - Outlaw Women (1952)
- Thunder over Sangoland (1955)
- The Wild Dakotas (1956)
- The Three Outlaws (1956)
- Frontier GamblerFrontier gamblerThe Frontier Gambler is one of the most recognizable stock characters of the American West. Usually presented as a gentlemanly southerner living outside of the law, gamblers were historically of both sexes, were of many different nationalities, and were part of a well-respected profession. One of...
(1956) - Last of the Desperadoes (1956)
- Wolf DogWolf DogWolf Dog is a Western movie, directed and produced by Sam Newfield and released by Regal Films. In August 1957, Newfield and a camera crew filmed the movie in and around Markdale, Ontario, near Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. The movie co-starred Hollywood actors Jim Davis, Allison Hayes and John...
(1958) - Flaming Frontier (1958)
As Sherman Scott
- Hitler, Beast of BerlinHitler, Beast of BerlinHitler, Beast of Berlin was one of the most popular "hiss and boo" films of the World War II era, based on the novel Goose Step by Shepard Traube. The film was the first production of Producers Releasing Corporation. It was recut and released as Beasts of Berlin the same year, having been banned...
(1939) - I Take This OathI Take This OathI Take This Oath is a 1940 American film directed by Sam Newfield. The film is also known as Police Rookie .- Cast :*Gordon Jones as Steve Hanagan*Joyce Compton as Betty Casey*Craig Reynolds as Joe Kelly...
(1940) - Billy the Kid's Gun JusticeBilly the Kid's Gun Justice-Cast:*Bob Steele as Billy the Kid*Al St. John as Fuzzy*Louise Currie as Ann Roberts*Carleton Young as Jeff Blanchard*Charles King as Henchman Ed Baker*Rex Lease as Henchman Buck*Kenne Duncan as Henchman Bragg*Forrest Taylor as Tom Roberts...
(1940) - Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals (1941)
- Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns (1942)
- The Flying SerpentThe Flying SerpentThe Flying Serpent is a 1946 American film directed by Sam Newfield.The film is also known as Killer with Wings .- Cast :*George Zucco as Prof. Andrew Forbes*Ralph Lewis as Richard Thorpe*Hope Kramer as Mary Forbes...
(1946) - Lady at Midnight (1948)
- The Strange Mrs. Crane (1948)
- The Wild Weed (1949)
As Peter Stewart
- Adventure IslandAdventure Island (film)Adventure Island is a 1947 American action/adventure film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Rory Calhoun and Rhonda Fleming. The film is a remake of the 1937 film Ebb Tide, based on the novel of the same name.- Cast :*Rory Calhoun as Mr. Herrick...
(1947) - The CounterfeitersThe CounterfeitersThe Counterfeiters may refer to:* The Counterfeiters * The Counterfeiters...
(1948) - Black Mountain Stage (1940)
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.{| {| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! No. of films
|-
| 1933||3
|-
| 1934||4
|-
| 1935||7
|-
| 1936||14
|-
| 1937||17
|-
| 1938||15
|-
| 1939||13
|-
| 1940||14
|-
| 1941||13
|-
| 1942||19
|-
| 1943||18
|-
| 1944||12
|-
| 1945||12
|-
| 1946||15
|-
| 1947||3
|-
| 1948||5
|-
| 1949||2
|-
| 1950||4
|-
| 1951||8
|-
| 1952||3
|-
| 1953||-
|-
| 1954||1
|-
| 1955||1
|-
| 1956||3
|-
| 1957||1
|-
| 1958||1
|-
|Total||208
|}