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Sam Newfield

Real name:
Samuel Neufeld / Neufeldt

1899 - 1964

Known as: "America's most prolific sound film director."


(Courtesy of Wheeler Winston Dixon)



(Courtesy of Wheeler Winston Dixon)

From left to right are Bert Sternbach (production manager), Sam Newfield (director), Sigmund Neufeld (producer) and Jack Greenhalgh (cinematographer) at Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). A crop/blowup of Sam Newfield is shown at the top of this page.






Ben Judell (1891 - 1974) formed Progressive Pictures, Producers Pictures, and PDC (Producers Distributing Corporation) in the 1930s. But his B film empire collapsed in early 1940 due to financial issues. Pathé was among the creditors and the succession plan for Judell's companies resulted in the formation of Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). Judell was not part of that new PRC organization.

Sigmund Neufeld (1896 - 1979) worked for Ben Judell and wound up as the PRC production boss overseeing most everything including their cowboy films. And quite often, those were directed by his brother, Sam Newfield (real name: Samuel Neufeld). Newfield had been involved in films and directing since the silent days, and had a reputation for doing quickies, cheapies, really low-budget flicks. Sam had also worked for Judell.

In the mid 1930s, Sam began specializing in B-westerns, and his directorial work included oaters starring Bob Steele, Johnny Mack Brown, Fred Scott, Kermit Maynard, Rex Bell, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, James Newill, Tex Fletcher, Lee Powell, Herb Jeffries, and others. Brother Sigmund was involved in the production on some of these. And yes! Newfield did direct the Jed Buell Midgets in the 1938 THE TERROR OF TINY TOWN.

It appears that the brothers had a close relationship and enjoyed working together. In 1940, Sigmund and Sam were on PRC's payroll. And Sam quickly became one of the more important and prolific of PRC's "house directors". Some speculation - when Sigmund became a power at the new PRC, nepotism occurred and he hired his brother. And more speculation - Sam was comfortable working for/with Sigmund and realized the benefits would be regular work and paychecks.

Over an approximate seven year period - from 1940 through late 1946 - the brothers were responsible for a Tim McCoy series, the half dozen Frontier Marshal trio westerns, the Lone Rider adventures with George Houston and Bob Livingston, Bob Steele portraying Billy the Kid, and the Buster Crabbe Billy the Kid/Billy Carson westerns. There were also some non-westerns.

Interestingly, Newfield worked under his own name as well as the pseudonyms of "Sherman Scott" and "Peter Stewart". Why his own name along with the Scott and Stewart aliases? Couple possibilities:



Newfield's busiest period at PRC occurred in 1942 and 1943 when he cranked out about three dozen films, mostly westerns.

OUTLAWS OF THE PLAINS was released in September, 1946 and was the last of Buster Crabbe's Billy the Kid / Billy Carson oaters at PRC. It was also Sam Newfield's last series western.

Newfield wasn't the only one doing sagebrush adventures at PRC. And PRC didn't completely abandon their cowboy films with the demise of the Crabbe series. In 1945 - 1946, they experimented with Cinecolor in Eddie Dean singing cowboy oaters which were produced and directed by Bob Tansey (and three of the Deans featured Al LaRue before he became Lash). After five in Cinecolor, the Dean series reverted to the traditional - and cheaper - B&W. And due to positive fan response, PRC put LaRue in his own series in 1947 where he portrayed a lawman named "Cheyenne Davis". Ray Taylor directed the LaRues. And during that same 1945 - 1946 period, Bob Steele did his last four starring sagebrush adventures for director Harry L. Fraser and producer Art Alexander (who with his brother Max Alexander had earlier run the Beacon and Colony Pictures production companies). Prior to the Steele quartet, Alexander was in charge of PRC's long running Texas Rangers trio (with Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, and later, Tex Ritter replacing Newill).

Circa 1947, the PRC name disappeared when the company was merged/absorbed into the Eagle-Lion film organization. A few years later, the B western era was over - and no one seemed to notice or care as they were too busy being mesmerized by newfangled television.

In the updated version of the late Don Miller's book Hollywood Corral (by Packy Smith and Ed Hulse; Riverwood Press, 1993), there's a chapter on the costs and financing of the B-western - "The Bottom Line: Low Finance in the Reel West" was authored by Karl Thiede and mentions a Buster Crabbe/Sam Newfield PRC western on page 417:

"... PRC's PRAIRIE RUSTLERS (1945) was budgeted at $22,500 and was shot in six days for $23,304.12. Star Buster Crabbe was paid $3,000; sidekick Fuzzy St. John got $1,000. Producer Sigmund Neufeld received $1,200; his brother, Sam Newfield, directed the film for $1,250. Scripter Fred Myton got $1,000 for his original screenplay."

That $23,304.12 also includes the salary figures for heroine Evelyn Finley; more than a dozen support/bit players including Karl Hackett, I. Stanford Jolley, Bud Osborne and Kermit Maynard; cameraman Jack Greenhalgh; music director Lee Zahler; various production crew members; et al.

Was $23,304.12 about the right price for a 1945 B-western? The answer is nope! PRC had to do them on the cheap in order to make a profit from their distribution and film rentals. And Newfield had to function within those limitations.

For comparison, the negative costs for the 1938 - 1940 George O'Brien RKO oaters were $75,000+ per film and Dick Foran's 1935 - 1937 Warners series were $50,000+ each (those figures are also from the Karl Thiede chapter in Hollywood Corral). Jack Mathis has negative costs for Republic westerns in his Republic Confidential, Volume 1, The Studio (Jack Mathis Advertising, 1999). A few examples from Jack's book: the costs for the eight 1935 - 1936 John Waynes ran between $16,346.00 to $24,198.00; the twenty seven Red Ryder adventures ranged from $42,640.00 to $62,591.00 per film; and costs of the fifty one Three Mesquiteers of 1936 - 1943 varied from $22,750.00 - $43,516.00 per film.

Sam's film output dropped significantly in 1947 and there's a film quantity by year listing at the bottom of this webpage. Why the slowdown? Tradepapers had the answer - Newfield was hired by producer Sam Katzman to direct THE SEA HOUND (Columbia, 1947) cliffhanger, but was seriously injured in a May, 1947 accident:

May 20, 1947 issue of Motion Picture Daily: "Director Sam Newfield is in critical condition in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital here following cranial surgery for injuries in a fall Friday."

May 31, 1947 issue of Showmen's Trade Review had details about the accident: "Sam Newfield ... was seriously hurt while directing a serial for Sam Katzman. The veteran director suffered a fractured skull, internal injuries and possible concussion when he fell down a hatch on a schooner in Catalina. It occurred while he was directing 'The Sea Hound.' Latest hospital reports had Newfield out of immediate danger."

(Mack V. Wright and Walter B. "Mike" Eason wound up co-directing THE SEA HOUND (Columbia, 1947) which starred Buster Crabbe.)

In later years, Sam continued to direct, but not in the quantities or hectic pace as he had done at PRC. Examples of his later work are: THE LOST CONTINENT (Sigmund Neufeld Prod/Lippert, 1951) starring Cesar Romero; SKIPALONG ROSENBLOOM (Eagle-Lion, 1951) with former boxing champ Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom; and OUTLAW WOMEN (Ron Ormond/Lippert, 1952) with Marie Windsor.

In the mid 1950s, Sam was busy helming TV shows. He directed a few of Crabbe's CAPTAIN GALLANT OF THE FOREIGN LEGION; about a dozen of the Jon Hall RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE; and many episodes of HAWKEYE AND THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, which starred John 'Lone Ranger' Hart and Lon Chaney, Jr.

Was Sam Newfield a "bad" director? The answer is a qualified no! He was a director who survived (thrived) in the world of programmer features, and was able to churn out scores of films - some good and some bad - under extreme budgetary and time constraints.

Don't judge Sam Newfield and his entire career based on THE TERROR OF TINY TOWN ... or mediocrity like THE MAD MONSTER (PRC, 1942) which had Glenn Strange as the monster ... or WHITE PONGO (PRC, 1945) with Ray 'Crash' Corrigan in his gorilla costume. Instead, watch Bob Steele in ARIZONA GUNFIGHTER (A. W. Hackel/Republic, 1937) and RIDIN' THE LONE TRAIL (A. W. Hackel/Republic, 1937) along with Buster Crabbe and Fuzzy St. John in HIS BROTHER'S GHOST (PRC, 1945). Add some popcorn, turn the lights out, and get ready for a pleasant experience. Newfield did some pretty good westerns, and on a subsequent webpage, you'll find a listing with a couple dozen recommendations for your viewing pleasure.

Samuel Newfield (Samuel Neufeld / Neufeldt) was born December 7, 1899 in New York City and passed away on November 10, 1964 in Los Angeles. His brother Sigmund Neufeld died on March 21, 1979.


Newfield Links

The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), California Death Index, Social Security Death Index (SSDI), and other sources have information on Sam Newfield:

Find A Grave has a photo of the grave marker for Samuel Newfield who is interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195008334/samuel-newfield#

At the Senses of Cinema website, there's a great article titled "Fast Worker: The Films of Sam Newfield" by author and film historian Wheeler Winston Dixon which covers the personal life and career of director Sam Newfield as well as Sam's producer brother, Sigmund Neufeld: http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/feature-articles/sam-newfield/

The Astounding B Monster website includes an interview by Tom Weaver with comic actor Sid Melton. Melton includes some remembrances of Sam Newfield and the filming of LOST CONTINENT (Lippert, 1951): http://www.bmonster.com/profile38.html

Neil Roughley has updated his extensive commentary and listing of Sam Newfield's film and TV credits: http://dukefilmography.com/sam_newfield.html

You can download or stream quite a few of Newfield's films from the Internet Archive website: https://archive.org/details/moviesandfilms?tab=collection&query=%22sam+newfield%22

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on:

     Director Sam Newfield (Sam Neufeld): https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0627864/
     Sam's brother, producer Sigmund Neufeld: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0626892/




(Courtesy of Mark Heller)

Above is a cast and crew shot from the mountie adventure UNDERCOVER MEN (J. R. Booth/Dominion, 1935). This was filmed in Canada as part of the "British Quota System" and distributed in the U.S. by Columbia Pictures.

Standing from left to right are: unidentified woman, director Sam Newfield, heroine Adrienne Doré, unidentified man, a very young Kenne Duncan (in hat and suit, and billed as Kenneth Duncan), unidentified woman, and Wheeler Oakman.

Left to right kneeling in the front row are: unidentified man, Charles Starrett, unidentified man (may be actor Eric Clavering; definitely not I. Stanford Jolley), and actor Phil Brandon (who portrayed one of the mounties).




(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above from left to right are Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, youngster Joel Newfield, Dave O'Brien and Choti Sherwood in a scene from BILLY THE KID WANTED (PRC, 1941). In his "Fast Worker: The Films of Sam Newfield" (link above), Wheeler Winston Dixon confirms that young Joel Newfield was Sam Newfield's son and he later became a graphic artist for the Los Angeles Times newspaper. Joel worked in three Crabbe PRCs: BILLY THE KID WANTED (PRC, 1941), BILLY THE KID'S SMOKING GUNS (PRC, 1942) and THE CONTENDER (PRC, 1944). All were directed by Joel's father. In addition to Joel, the Newfields had a daughter named Jacqueline (Jackie). And what ever happened to leading lady Choti Sherwood - seems this was her only film appearance.



Newfield Film Statistics by Year - updated: 3/12/2022
For this chart, we begin with year 1933. Film quantities include westerns and non-westerns.

Not included in the chart are Sam's silent film work. He also directed a few earlier (non-western) sound films and those are not included either.

Sam and his association with the B-western began in the mid 1930s when he helmed the made-in-Canada UNDERCOVER MEN (J. R. Booth / Dominion, 1935), a mountie adventure with Charles Starrett. That same year, Sam did mountie / Northwoods yarns starring Kermit Maynard, Johnny Mack Brown oaters for A. W. Hackel's Supreme Pictures, and Tim McCoy's western series for Puritan.

Newfield was very busy circa 1936-1946. During that eleven year period, he directed 164 films (which averages out to about 15 films per year).

Sam was at his workaholic peak in 1942 - 1943, churning out three dozen films at PRC.

Note the significant drop in his film work beginning in 1947, which was the year when he was seriously injured during the filming of the Buster Crabbe serial, THE SEA HOUND (Columbia, 1947).

In the 1950s, Sam directed some films, but most of his time was helming TV programs including RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE, CAPTAIN GALLANT OF THE FOREIGN LEGION, and HAWKEYE AND THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Thanks to Les Adams for the above pressbook ad for UNDERCOVER MEN.
YearNewfield
directed
films
19334
19343
193510
193614
193717
193815
193913
194014
194113
194220
194316
194413
194512
194617
19474
19485
19492
1950-195921
Total213



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