Sam Spiegel
Encyclopedia
Sam Spiegel was an Austrian-born American independent film producer
.
, Austria-Hungary
(now in Poland
) as Samuel P. Spiegel to a German-Jewish father and Polish
mother and educated at the University of Vienna
. His brother was Shalom Spiegel, a professor of medieval Hebrew poetry. Spiegel worked briefly in Hollywood in 1927 following a stint serving with Hashomer Hatzair
in Palestine. He then went to Berlin
to produce German
and French
adaptations of Universal
films until 1933 when he fled Germany
. As an independent producer, Spiegel was behind a number of European films. In 1938, he emigrated to Mexico
and subsequently the United States
. Between 1935 and 1954, Spiegel billed himself as S.P. Eagle. After that he used his real name.
"...Spiegel a decidedly flawed protagonist, as well as the wit, sophistication, and Old World charm that make him a titanic figure the likes of which the movie industry will not see again."
He won the Academy Award for Best Picture
for Elia Kazan
's On the Waterfront
and a further two times for his two collaborations with British
director
David Lean
, The Bridge on the River Kwai
(1957) and Lawrence of Arabia
(1962). In 1963, he was awarded the prestigious Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at that year's Academy Awards
for his many contributions to cinema.
Spiegel maintained a connection with the Israel
i nation throughout his life, particularly with such personalities as Golda Meir
, Ariel Sharon
, Jerusalem Foundation president Ruth Cheshin, and his close friend, then Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek
. Spiegel also contributed to various Zionist causes. He spoke seven languages fluently: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Polish.
In his last years, he returned to his Jewish and Zionist roots. He steadfastly met each week with a rabbi
, and willed a significant amount of his personal fortune to the city of Jerusalem.
His heirs and the administrators of his estate, son Adam Spiegel, daughter Alisa Freedman, niece Judge Raya Dreben, and Adv. David Bottoms, decided to transfer Spiegel's impressive art collection to the Israel Museum
in Jerusalem. From 1996, they have made an annual contribution, through the Jerusalem Foundation, to the film school in Jerusalem bearing his name since that time — the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, Jerusalem
. This annual contribution is the largest in the history of Israeli cinema.
In 2005, the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, the Jerusalem Municipality complied with a request from the school's founder-director Renen Schorr
to mark the occasion by declaring the lane in the Talpiot industrial section where the school is located "The Sam Spiegel Alley." The street sign's inscription: "Sam Spiegel – Jewish-American Film Producer and Oscar-winner. Pioneer. Lover of Zion."
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
Life and career
Spiegel was born in Jarosław, GaliciaKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(now in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) as Samuel P. Spiegel to a German-Jewish father and Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
mother and educated at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. His brother was Shalom Spiegel, a professor of medieval Hebrew poetry. Spiegel worked briefly in Hollywood in 1927 following a stint serving with Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
in Palestine. He then went to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to produce German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
adaptations of Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
films until 1933 when he fled Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. As an independent producer, Spiegel was behind a number of European films. In 1938, he emigrated to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and subsequently the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Between 1935 and 1954, Spiegel billed himself as S.P. Eagle. After that he used his real name.
"...Spiegel a decidedly flawed protagonist, as well as the wit, sophistication, and Old World charm that make him a titanic figure the likes of which the movie industry will not see again."
He won the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
for Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
's On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
and a further two times for his two collaborations with British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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:...
David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
, The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
(1957) and Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
(1962). In 1963, he was awarded the prestigious Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at that year's Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for his many contributions to cinema.
Spiegel maintained a connection with the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i nation throughout his life, particularly with such personalities as Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
, Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, Jerusalem Foundation president Ruth Cheshin, and his close friend, then Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek
Teddy Kollek
Theodor "Teddy" Kollek was mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1989...
. Spiegel also contributed to various Zionist causes. He spoke seven languages fluently: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Polish.
In his last years, he returned to his Jewish and Zionist roots. He steadfastly met each week with a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, and willed a significant amount of his personal fortune to the city of Jerusalem.
His heirs and the administrators of his estate, son Adam Spiegel, daughter Alisa Freedman, niece Judge Raya Dreben, and Adv. David Bottoms, decided to transfer Spiegel's impressive art collection to the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
in Jerusalem. From 1996, they have made an annual contribution, through the Jerusalem Foundation, to the film school in Jerusalem bearing his name since that time — the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, Jerusalem
The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, Jerusalem
The Sam Spiegel Film & Television School, Jerusalem was founded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Jerusalem Foundation in 1989, has become Israel's leading school of film and television, achieving international acclaim and standing....
. This annual contribution is the largest in the history of Israeli cinema.
In 2005, the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, the Jerusalem Municipality complied with a request from the school's founder-director Renen Schorr
Renen Schorr
Renen Schorr is a film director, screenwriter, film producer. In 1989, he became head of Israel’s first independent, national school for film and television. He then founded the Sam Spiegel Film & TV School – Jerusalem, and has served as its director since that time.-Background:Son of a physician,...
to mark the occasion by declaring the lane in the Talpiot industrial section where the school is located "The Sam Spiegel Alley." The street sign's inscription: "Sam Spiegel – Jewish-American Film Producer and Oscar-winner. Pioneer. Lover of Zion."
Filmography - producer
- BetrayalBetrayal (1983 film)Betrayal is a film adaptation of Harold Pinter's 1978 play of the same name. With a semi-autobiographical screenplay by Pinter, the film was produced by Sam Spiegel and directed by David Jones. It was critically well received, praised notably by New York Times film critic Vincent Canby and by...
(1983) - The Last TycoonThe Last Tycoon (film)The Last Tycoon is a 1976 American dramatic film directed by Elia Kazan and produced by Sam Spiegel, based upon Harold Pinter's screenplay adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon, sometimes known as The Love of the Last Tycoon. It stars Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jack...
(1976) - Nicholas and AlexandraNicholas and AlexandraNicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra....
(1971) - The Happening (1967)
- The Night of the GeneralsThe Night of the GeneralsThe Night of the Generals is a 1967 suspense thriller film directed by Anatole Litvak. Set during World War II, the story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Hans Hellmut Kirst. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret.The...
(1967) - The ChaseThe Chase (1966 film)The Chase is a 1966 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn, about a series of events set into motion by a prison break. Since one of the two escapees is Charlie "Bubber" Reeves , the escape causes a stir in a nearby town where Bubber is a well-known figure.The film deals with themes of racism...
(1966) - Lawrence of ArabiaLawrence of Arabia (film)Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
(1962) - Suddenly, Last SummerSuddenly, Last Summer (film)Suddenly, Last Summer is a 1959 American Southern Gothic mystery film based on the play of the same title by Tennessee Williams. The film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Sam Spiegel from a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Williams. The music score was by Buxton Orr using themes by...
(1959) - The Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
(1957) - The Strange OneThe Strange OneThe Strange One is a 1957 black-and-white film about students faced with an ethical dilemma in a military college in the Southern United States...
(1957) - On the WaterfrontOn the WaterfrontOn the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
(1954) - MelbaMelba (film)Melba is a 1953 musical biographical drama film of the life of Australian-born soprano Nellie Melba, written by Harry Kurnitz and directed by Lewis Milestone for Horizon Pictures, marking the film debut of the Metropolitan Opera's Patrice Munsel....
(1953) - The African Queen (1951) (as S. P. Eagle)
- The ProwlerThe Prowler (1951 film)The Prowler is a 1951 black-and-white thriller film directed by Joseph Losey. It stars Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes. Considered film noir, it was produced by Sam Spiegel .- Plot :...
(1951) (as S.P. Eagle) - When I Grow Up (1951) (as S.P. Eagle)
- We Were StrangersWe Were StrangersWe Were Strangers is a 1949 adventure–drama film directed by John Huston and starring Jennifer Jones and John Garfield.The film, set in 1933, concerns a group of revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the Cuban regime...
(1949) (as S.P. Eagle) - The StrangerThe Stranger (1946 film)The Stranger is an American film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young. The film was based on an Oscar-nominated screenplay written by Victor Trivas. Sam Spiegel was the film's producer, and the film's musical score is by Bronisław Kaper...
(1946) (as S.P. Eagle) - Tales of ManhattanTales of ManhattanTales of Manhattan is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart worked on the six stories in this film.-Cast:...
(1942) (as S. P. Eagle) - Derrière la façade (1939)
- The InvaderThe InvaderThe Invader is a comedy film, starring Buster Keaton, released in the United Kingdom. The film, also known as An Old Spanish Custom, co-stars Lupita Tovar. The film follows the same plot as its remake Pest from the West , with a millionaire setting out to win a local girl in Mexico...
(1935) (co-producer) - Mariage à responsabilité limitée (1933)
- Les requins du pétrole (1933)
- Unsichtbare Gegner (1933)
Literature
- Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni: Sam Spiegel: The incredible life and times of Hollywood's most iconoclastic producer, the miracle worker who went from penniless refugee to show biz legend, and made possible The African Queen, On the waterfront, the bridge over the River Kwai, and Lawrence of Arabia. New York etc.: Simon & Schuster 2003.
External links
- The Making of Lawrence of Arabia, Digitised BAFTA Journal, Winter 1962-3