Sam Newfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samuel Neufeld (1899-12-06)December 6, 1899 |
| Died | November 10, 1964(1964-11-10) (aged 64) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Sherman Scott, Peter Stewart |
| Occupation | Director |
| Years active | 1923–1958[2] |
| Employer | mainly PRC |
| Known for | "America's most prolific sound film director" |
| Spouse | Violet Newfield[3] |
| Children | 2[4] |
Sam Newfield, bornSamuel Neufeld (December 6, 1899 – November 10, 1964), also known asSherman Scott orPeter Stewart, was an Americandirector, one of the most prolific in American film history—he is credited with directing over 250 feature films in a career which began during thesilent era and ended in 1958. In addition to his staggering feature output, he also directed one- and two-reel comedyshorts,training films,industrial films, TV episodes and pretty much anything anyone would pay him for.[5] 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 thesound era.[2]
Many of Newfield's films were made forPRC Pictures. It was a film production company headed by his brotherSigmund Neufeld. The films PRC produced were low-budget productions, the majority beingwesterns, with occasionalhorror films orcrime drama.
Newfield completed one year of high school, according to the1940 US census. His brother Morris Neufeld was a stage actor, according to the1930 US census.
Sam Newfield was credited asSherman Scott andPeter Stewart on a number of films he made for the PRC. He used these names in order to hide the fact that one person was responsible for so many ofPRC's films.[6]
Partial filmography is listed below for the different names he used.
Between 1923 and 1930 Newfield directed over 50 comedies. Feature films statistics per year, starting with 1933, are summarised in the following table.[5]
| 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 |
