Sam Spiegel

Sam Spiegel was an American producer, born on November 11, 1901, into a Jewish family in Jarosław (Austria-Hungary, now Poland) and died on December 31, 1985, on the island of Saint Martin. Born in Germany he went to America some time before the second World War and spent a year in Hollywood read... More

Sam Spiegel was an American producer, born on November 11, 1901, into a Jewish family in Jarosław (Austria-Hungary, now Poland) and died on December 31, 1985, on the island of Saint Martin. Born in Germany he went to America some time before the second World War and spent a year in Hollywood reading foreign scripts after which he returned to Berlin where he set up his own company to organise the remaking of foreign films into German language versions. One he handled was 'All Quiet on the Western Front', an anti war film that became a kind of personal crusade for him. On the opening night the Nazi's, then in power, put a bomb in the cinema. When the Nazis came into power he left Germany and divided his time between Britain, France and America. He changed his name to the more international sounding S.P. Eagle but changed it back when with 'On the Waterfront' he realised he'd made a film to which any man would be proud to put his name.