64 Facts About Samuel Bronston

Samuel Bronston was a Bessarabian-born American film producer and media executive.

Samuel Bronston's films have earned a total of seven Academy Award nominations.

Samuel Bronston then joined Columbia Pictures, and worked as an associate producer on The Adventures of Martin Eden.

Samuel Bronston next collaborated with Lewis Milestone on the war film A Walk in the Sun and Rene Clair on the mystery film And Then There Were None ; however, Bronston went uncredited as he struggled to raise financing.

Samuel Bronston left Hollywood, and worked as a photographer with the Vatican.

Samuel Bronston relocated Bronston Productions in Madrid, Spain, and raised financial capital by pre-selling his film projects to private investors, including financier Pierre S du Pont III.

In Madrid, Samuel Bronston spearheaded several productions of historical epics, including King of Kings, El Cid, 55 Days at Peking, and The Fall of the Roman Empire.

Samuel Bronston subsequently produced Savage Pampas and Dr Coppelius, albeit uncredited.

Samuel Bronston was convicted on one count of perjury, but was later acquitted in a prominent case before the US Supreme Court, which set a major precedent for perjury prosecutions.

In 1994, Samuel Bronston died in Sacramento, at the age of 85.

Samuel Bronston was born on 7 August 1908, in Kishinev, Bessarabia, Russian Empire to a Jewish family.

Samuel Bronston was the third born of nine siblings, which included five brothers and four sisters.

In Paris, Samuel Bronston studied to become a surgeon but fainted at his first autopsy.

Samuel Bronston instead turned to playing the flute and became an amateur photographer.

Samuel Bronston was educated at the Sorbonne, where he studied history and the visual arts.

In 1932, Samuel Bronston was accused of writing bad checks, and he fled to the Netherlands to avoid a jail sentence.

Samuel Bronston was apprehended by French authorities, and released from police custody.

Samuel Bronston migrated with his family to England in the following year.

In 1937, Samuel Bronston arrived in the United States on boat, at the age of 29.

Samuel Bronston then moved to Washington, DC where he met James Roosevelt, the son of US President Franklin D Roosevelt.

In late April 1941, Samuel Bronston signed with Columbia Pictures to work as an associate producer on The Adventures of Martin Eden.

In 1944, Samuel Bronston enticed director Lewis Milestone away from the studio system and signed him to a multi-picture contract to direct independent film projects, which were be distributed by United Artists.

Samuel Bronston had lured exiled French directors Rene Clair and Julien Duvivier to work for him.

Meanwhile, Samuel Bronston decided to produce a film adaptation of the 1944 book A Walk in the Sun by Harry Brown, after the Zeppo Marx Agency had sent him a copy.

Samuel Bronston subsequently purchased the screen rights to Brown's novel for $15,000.

Duvivier had been set to direct Decision, in which Samuel Bronston agreed to modify the adaptation treatment to secure approval from the OWI.

Samuel Bronston then proceeded with A Walk in the Sun with Milestone as co-producer and director.

Bankrupt, Samuel Bronston withdrew from his producing duties on A Walk in the Sun.

Samuel Bronston had alleged the defendants committed "oppression and fraud" in which Bronston's interest in the film rights that was submitted as collateral were sold without his knowledge.

Samuel Bronston left Hollywood but nevertheless wanted to produce more films.

Samuel Bronston took up the offer, and was given unprecedented access into the Vatican archives.

Samuel Bronston produced a total of 26 documentaries, on behalf of the Chancellery of the Vatican.

Samuel Bronston had pictures of the Vatican published in Life magazine.

Samuel Bronston returned to the idea of a biographical film of John Paul Jones, which he had earlier considered in 1946.

When Samuel Bronston entered the United States as an immigrant, he studied American history in preparation for his citizenship test, and Jones's life resonated with him.

In December 1955, Samuel Bronston announced he was developing the biopic, with John Wayne in mind to star.

At one point, Farrow and Samuel Bronston sent one-dollar US bills to casting agents, asking them to help select an appropriate actor that most resembled him.

The next month, Samuel Bronston announced the project was a religious biographical film of Jesus, tentatively titled Son of Man.

At the Vatican, Samuel Bronston presented the script, credited to Yordan and Italian theologian playwright Diego Fabbri, to Pope John XXIII, who approved it.

For King of Kings, Samuel Bronston continued his pre-selling financial method, in which financing of the film was provided by private investors.

The studio did not provide any financing towards the film, but Samuel Bronston signed guarantee bonds with MGM, ensuring the film's completion.

In July 1960, Samuel Bronston next hired Anthony Mann to direct the film and Philip Yordan to write the final script.

Samuel Bronston had envisioned Sophia Loren in the role as Rodrigo's wife, Chimene.

Samuel Bronston recommended Ben Barzman, a blacklisted screenwriter, to rewrite it.

Samuel Bronston agreed to produce the event into a historical epic due to his support for international unity.

In September 1961, Samuel Bronston announced the film was in development, with a British director in mind to helm the project.

Weeks after his announcement, Samuel Bronston faced another infringement complaint, this time from producer Jerry Wald who went public about his in-development project, tentatively titled The Hellraisers.

Samuel Bronston was enthusiastic about the adaptation; he announced the film's development in September 1961, with Mann to direct and Charlton Heston to star.

Similar to his earlier productions, Samuel Bronston refused to use miniatures or matte paintings, insisting the set be built to life-size scale, where he invited investors and international distributors to visit the set.

Samuel Bronston arranged to have the film marketed and presented in Cinerama.

At this point, Samuel Bronston had pledged to continue filmmaking in Spain, with several projects in development including Battle of the Bulge, Suez, Brave New World, Nightrunners of Bengal, Paris 1900, and The French Revolution.

Samuel Bronston tried to reorganize his studio operations in Madrid, and convinced the Banco Exterior to not foreclose on his mortgage of his properties.

Thanks to his connections with Adolfo Suarez, who was the programme director of the state broadcaster Television Espanola, Samuel Bronston managed to rent his studios to the network.

Yordan, who had worked with Samuel Bronston, decided to remain uninvolved throughout Samuel Bronston's financial struggles.

Samuel Bronston had secured financial backing from a pool of Spanish investors, and the support of Manuel Fraga from the Ministry of Information and Tourism.

In 1971, Samuel Bronston again announced his intentions to produce Isabella of Spain.

Samuel Bronston had opened new production offices in London and Madrid, where filming was scheduled to begin.

Meanwhile, Samuel Bronston found himself in other legal issues, concerning perjury.

Samuel Bronston had an account there for about six months, in Zurich.

The creditors' attorneys later discovered that Samuel Bronston indeed had an active personal bank account in Geneva while he was an active film producer.

At the time, Samuel Bronston had been freed on a $10,000 bond.

On January 10,1973, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction, in which it ruled that while Samuel Bronston's answer was "shrewdly calculated to evade," it did not rise to the level of perjury because he told the literal truth.

Samuel Bronston was first married to Sarah Bogatchek, who was a concert pianist.

On January 12,1994, Samuel Bronston died from pneumonia secondary to Alzheimer's disease in Sacramento, California, at the age of 85.