Sam Newfield

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For other people named Peter Stewart, see Peter Stewart (disambiguation).
Sam Newfield
Born
Samuel Neufeld

(1899-12-06)December 6, 1899
New York City[1]
DiedNovember 10, 1964(1964-11-10) (aged 64)
Los Angeles, California[1]
NationalityAmerican
Other namesSherman Scott, Peter Stewart
OccupationDirector
Years active1923-1958[2]
Employermainly PRC
Known for"America's most prolific sound film director"
StyleB-movies
Spouse(s)Violet Newfield [3]
ChildrenJacqueline Newfield, Joel Newfield [4]
Parent(s)Simon Neufeld (father), Josephine Neufeld (mother)[5]
RelativesMurray, Morris, Sadie and Sigmund Neufeld (siblings)

Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, (December 6, 1899 - November 10, 1964), also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American B-movie 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 films, industrial films, TV episodes and pretty much anything anyone would pay him for.[6] 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.[2] Many of Newfield's films were made for PRC Pictures. This was a film production company headed by his brother Sigmund Neufeld. The films PRC produced were low-budget productions, the majority being westerns, with an occasional horror film or crime drama.

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.

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.[7]

Partial filmography[]

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

As Sam Newfield[]

As Sherman Scott[]

As Peter Stewart[]

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.[6]

1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945
3 4 7 14 17 15 13 14 13 19 18 12 12
1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958
15 3 5 2 4 8 3 0 1 1 3 1 1

See also[]

  • Fred Olen Ray, another B movie director who has used many of these pseudonyms

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "B-Western - Sam Newfield". Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Wheeler Winston Dixon (November 2007). "Fast Worker: The Films of Sam Newfield". Senses of Cinema (45). Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  3. ^ 1940 US Census
  4. ^ 1940 US Census
  5. ^ 1930 US Census
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Films of Sam Newfield". Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  7. ^ "Sam Newfield at Allmovie".

External links[]

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