Samuel Bronston facts for kids

Samuel Bronston (born March 26, 1908 – died January 12, 1994) was a famous American film producer and director. He was born in Bessarabia, which was part of the Russian Empire. Bronston became well-known for making big, epic movies.

About Samuel Bronston

Samuel Bronston was born in Kishinev, Bessarabia. This area is now known as Moldova. He studied at the Sorbonne in France.

He started his career working for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in Paris. Later, in the 1940s, he began working as an independent film producer. This meant he started his own company to make movies.

Early Movies

Bronston produced some early films for Columbia Pictures. These included The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942) and City Without Men (1943).

His own company, Samuel Bronston Productions, made its first film, Jack London, in 1943. It was released by United Artists. He also worked on A Walk in the Sun.

Epic Films

A large scene being filmed for El Cid in the 1950s. It was shot at the Castle of Belmonte in Spain.

Samuel Bronston became famous for making huge, epic movies. He was one of the first producers to film these big movies in Spain. This helped to lower the very high costs of making such large productions.

He had great success with his epic films. Some of his most well-known movies include:

• John Paul Jones (1959)
• King of Kings (1961)
• El Cid (1961)
• 55 Days at Peking (1963)
• The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

In 1962, he won a special Golden Globe Award for his film El Cid. This award inspired him to build very large film studios. These studios were located in Las Rozas, near Madrid, Spain.

Bronston often worked with the same talented people. This team included director Anthony Mann and screenwriters Philip Yordan and Jesse Lasky Jr.. He also liked to cast Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren as his main actors.

Later Years and Challenges

Building the new film studios was very expensive. Also, his last epic movie, The Fall of the Roman Empire, did not earn much money. These things caused Samuel Bronston to have serious financial problems.

In 1964, his company had to stop all its business activities. Samuel Bronston Productions filed for bankruptcy. This means the company could not pay its debts.

Later, he faced a legal issue about what he said in court. He was asked about his company's bank accounts in Europe. He said the company had an account in Zürich for six months. He said no to other questions about Swiss bank accounts.

It was later found that he had a personal bank account in Geneva. This account was very active when he was making films in Europe. The court case was about whether his answer was misleading, even if it was technically true. The U.S. Supreme Court later decided that his answer, while tricky, was not a lie that could be punished. This decision became an important rule for future court cases.

These financial and legal problems greatly affected his film career. He made Circus World (1964) with John Wayne before his company went bankrupt. After that, he made only a few more films:

• Savage Pampas (1966)
• Dr. Coppelius (1966)
• Fort Saganne (1984)

The street Calle Samuel Bronston in Las Rozas, Spain, is named after him.

Samuel Bronston passed away in 1994 in Sacramento, California. He died from pneumonia due to Alzheimer's disease. He is buried in Las Rozas, Spain. He had five children.

Filmography

• The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942)
• City Without Men (1943)
• Jack London (1943)
• A Walk in the Sun (1945)
• John Paul Jones (1959)
• King of Kings (1961)
• El Cid (1961)
• 55 Days at Peking (1963)
• The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
• Circus World (1964)
• Savage Pampas (1966)
• Dr. Coppelius (1966)
• Brigham (1977)
• Fort Saganne (1984)

See also

In Spanish: Samuel Bronston para niños