Synopses & Reviews
The first time in paperback this highly acclaimed book won the Best Non-Fiction for 2002 Award from
Los Angeles Times Book Review.
Samuel Fuller was one of the most prolific and independent writer-director-producers in Hollywood. His 29 tough, gritty films made from 1949 to 1989 set out to capture the truth of war, racism, and human frailties. His years in the army in World War II are captured in his successful pictures The Big Red One, The Steel Helmet, and Merrill's Marauders. Fuller's other films include Pickup on South Street; Underworld U.S.A., a movie that shows how gangsters in the 1960s were seen as "respected" tax-paying executives; Shock Corridor, which exposed the conditions in mental institutions; and White Dog, written in collaboration with Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential), a film so controversial that Paramount's then studio heads Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner refused to release it.
Review
"Detailed, colorful autobiography by one of Americas most creative filmmakers....Fullers life story, told here in scrappy prose, is almost more incredible than some of his scripts....An inspiring tale of a remarkable life." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[A] straightforward, unsentimental account....Always energetic and often gossipy...Fuller's last work is a joy and an important addition to film and popular culture literature." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[T]he inspirational book of the year, if not the decade....His life story, told in the punchy tabloid prose he learned as a 16-year-old crime reporter...seizes you by the scruff and flings you headlong into his harsh, funny, violent universe of independent filmmaking." Clancy Sigal, The L.A. Times Book Review
Review
"A Third Face will burnish [the] legend....It is a lot like one of Fuller's best movies fast-paced, easily readable but with the sting of harsh realism on every page....[Fuller] has finally found and told his best yarn his own." Richard Schickel, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"[A] grand, lively, rambunctious memoir....Although some of this book...sounds politely homogenized, Fuller's trademark frankness generally gives his stories a no-nonsense kick. The best legacy to be found here is his frequent, passionate, oracular advice about directing." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
"A Third Face, like most Fuller movies, is a hell of a good yarn....His wartime experiences...take up a healthy chunk of this 576-page volume, and they are revelatory....[A] great read. Im only sorry Sam isnt still alive to plug his book on the talk-show circuit; hed make almost any other guest seem dull." Leonard Maltin
Review
"Sam Fuller's A Third Face is an extraordinary account of the glory days of Hollywood when passion ruled instead of focus groups and creative accounting. Sam was not only a brilliant director and storyteller, but also a heroic man who fought the real war as a combat infantryman as well as the war against the front offices of the studios. This book will move and excite you, and you will learn what Hollywood is really like from the inside and what war is really like (which Fuller portrays in many of his films). It is aptly subtitled 'My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking.'" David Brown
Review
"[C]rackles with a joyous wit and spirit so evocative that one can imagine sitting on a couch with him as he spins yarns extraordinary enough to be worthy of several lifetimes..." The Oregonian (Portland, OR)
Review
"A Third Face may occasionally lack grace, but it has all of Fuller's manic drive; there isn't a dull or indifferent page in it....He was some kind of great man, and he wrote a book worthy of his life." Houston Chronicle
Synopsis
A THIRD FACE: MY TALE OF WRITING FIGHTING AND FILMMAKING
Synopsis
This is the autobiography of novelist and moviemaker Fuller (19111997), known for films such as The Big Red One and Underworld, U.S.A. Fuller describes his youth in Worcester, Massachusetts; his experiences fighting in World War II; and his career in letters and movies.
About the Author
Samuel Fuller was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1911. He wrote, produced, and directed twenty-nine films and wrote eleven novels. Fuller lived in Los Angeles with his wife and their daughter and died at the age of eighty-five in 1997.
A Third Face was completed by Jerome Rudes, Fuller's longtime friend, and his wife, Christa Lange Fuller.
Jerome Rudes was born in San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas and received a master's degree in film from Northwestern University. In 1984, he created the French-American Film Workshop in Avignon, France (now the Avignon Film Festival), and in 1995 started the Avignon/New York Film Festival. Rudes lives in New York and Provence.
Christa Lange Fuller was born in Winterberg, Germany. As an actress, she appeared in New Wave films directed by Jean-Luc Godard. She graduated from UCLA, where she received a master's degree in French literature. She was married to Samuel Fuller in 1967 and lives in Los Angeles, California, with their daughter, Samantha, and grandchild, Samira.
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Introduction xiii
Part I
1. A Stroke of Good Fortune 3
2. Plunging in Head First 7
3. Mama's Boy 12
4. Manhattan Explorer 17
5. Run Sammy Run 25
6. Flash Like a New Comet 39
7. World of Nevertheless 54
8. Westward Ho 64
9. Chaos and Bewilderment 77
10. Added Zeroes 87
11. Forget About Greatness 98
Part II
12. The Big Red One 109
13. Husky 122
14. Just Stand There 135
15. Impossible to Feel Blessed 147
16. Send a Photo to My Mother 162
17. Detailed Description 176
18. Death Rained Down 178
19. Eggs Off a Woman's Belly 190
20. A River of Tears 200
21. Falkenau 213
22. Earthquake of War 219
Part III
23. The Bubble Will Burst 233
24. The First Adult Western 244
25. Earning Some Clout 251
26. Pursuit of Happiness 267
27. A Little Black-and-White Picture 279
28. Don't Wave the Flag at Me 291
29. Wide-Screen Sub Picture 307
30. Cherry Blossoms and Whirligigs 314
31. Mato Grosso 324
32. Where's Your Pride, Ma? 332
Part IV
33. Grab 'Em. Slap 'Em. Shake 'Em Up 345
34. Stuffed with Phalluses 355
35. I Used My Own Voice 365
36. Los Angeles, Mon Amour 375
37. Breathing Revenge 382
38. The Smell of Truth 391
39. Tempted by Television 398
40. Love Your Country Despite the Ulcers 403
41. Want to Be a Lindy? 415
Part V
42. Two to Tango 427
43. Sharks 440
44. Lean Times 446
45. Off the Radar Screen 450
46. Turmoil and Waste 456
47. Making It All Worthwhile 464
48. The Unmaking of a Klansman 471
49. Let Them Judge for Themselves 475
50. Four-Legged Time Bomb 484
Part VI
51. A Third Face 497
52. Breadwinner in France 505
53. Half Full, Not Half Empty 512
54. Sons and Sonsofbitches 518
55. Being Serious Without Taking It Seriously 526
56. Still Burning Inside 530
57. Metamorphosis of a Melody 537
58. Long, Long Thoughts 543
59. State of Peace 550
60. Kiss Me, Baby 556
Notes 563
The Works of Samuel Fuller 569
Bibliography 575
Acknowledgments 577
Index 579