Samuel Goldwyn Biography Quotes 46 Report mistakes

Early Life and Emigration
Samuel Goldwyn, born Szmuel Gelbfisz in Warsaw when it was part of the Russian Empire, came of age in a world far removed from the American movie business he would later help shape. As a young man he left Eastern Europe for London and then crossed the Atlantic to the United States, joining the current of immigrants who remade their lives in the early 20th century. In America he anglicized his name to Samuel Goldfish and found work in the glove trade, eventually becoming an accomplished salesman. The discipline and polish he learned selling gloves would become hallmarks of his approach to films: careful craftsmanship, attention to packaging, and an eye for what audiences might embrace.

Entering Motion Pictures
Goldfish entered the film business not as an artist but as a partner and organizer. In 1913 he joined Jesse L. Lasky to form the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, which brought in Cecil B. DeMille to direct its first feature, The Squaw Man. The fledgling enterprise merged into a larger constellation led by Adolph Zukor, and friction followed. Goldfish preferred autonomy and soon struck out on his own. In 1916 he partnered with stage impresarios Edgar and Archibald Selwyn to create Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, its name an enduring portmanteau of Goldfish and Selwyn. The roaring lion trademark that later became synonymous with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer first appeared with Goldwyn Pictures, with publicist Howard Dietz instrumental in crafting its image.

Goldwyn Pictures and the Birth of MGM
Even as the Goldwyn banner gained visibility, control of the company shifted among financiers, and Goldfish found himself increasingly at odds with backers. In 1918 he legally changed his surname to Goldwyn, embracing the identity the company had popularized. By the early 1920s he was no longer in charge of Goldwyn Pictures. In 1924 that company merged with Metro Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions under the aegis of Marcus Loew to form MGM. Despite the new studio bearing his name, Samuel Goldwyn had no role in running MGM. The irony followed him for the rest of his life: his best-known films were not MGM productions, and his reputation was built elsewhere.

Independent Producer
Goldwyn responded to loss of corporate control by doing what suited him best: producing independently. Through Samuel Goldwyn Productions he allied with distributors such as United Artists and, later, RKO to bring carefully curated features to market. He pursued high production values, engaged top writers and directors, and built films around strong stories and bankable stars.

His work with director William Wyler was particularly fruitful. Together they made Dodsworth, adapted by Sidney Howard from the Sinclair Lewis novel; Wuthering Heights, photographed by Gregg Toland in a style that gave the gothic romance unusual depth; and The Little Foxes, adapted from Lillian Hellman. Goldwyn also backed Dead End, bringing the gritty Broadway play to the screen. His insistence on polish extended to casting and music: Alfred Newman became a key musical collaborator, and Goldwyn did not hesitate to reshoot scenes or replace personnel to get the effect he wanted.

Goldwyn showed a flair for musical comedy. He produced star vehicles for Eddie Cantor in the early 1930s, filled with elaborate routines staged by Busby Berkeley, and later built a cycle of films around Danny Kaye, often working with Kaye's wife and creative partner, Sylvia Fine. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Kid from Brooklyn, Wonder Man, and Hans Christian Andersen demonstrated Goldwyn's belief that spectacle, melody, and a distinctive performer could anchor enduring entertainment. He also nurtured the Goldwyn Girls chorus, which became a training ground and showcase for rising talent.

Wartime and Postwar Achievements
During the 1940s Goldwyn combined prestige with popular appeal. Pride of the Yankees immortalized baseball icon Lou Gehrig with Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright, the latter under Goldwyn contract and loaned to other studios when it suited production and publicity. The Little Foxes gave Bette Davis one of her signature roles, while Ball of Fire paired Barbara Stanwyck with Gary Cooper under the direction of Howard Hawks.

His crowning achievement, The Best Years of Our Lives, reunited him with William Wyler to tell the story of American veterans returning from World War II. Written by Robert E. Sherwood from a work by MacKinlay Kantor, and featuring Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy, and Harold Russell, it earned broad acclaim and the Academy Award for Best Picture. Goldwyn's willingness to treat contemporary issues with seriousness, while retaining his emphasis on finely tooled production, set a model for independent producers competing with the vertically integrated studios.

Style, Reputation, and Collaborators
Goldwyn's name became synonymous with meticulous production and a particular brand of glamour. He was demanding, sometimes abrasive, and famously decisive about story and casting. He cultivated first-rate collaborators: writers such as Ben Hecht, Lillian Hellman, Sidney Howard, and Robert E. Sherwood; directors including William Wyler, Howard Hawks, King Vidor, and later Joseph L. Mankiewicz; and craftspeople like cinematographer Gregg Toland. Tales of Goldwynisms, the quips and malapropisms attributed to him, circulated widely in Hollywood, whether or not they were strictly accurate, reinforcing the idea of a producer with both a sharp instinct and an idiosyncratic tongue.

Later Productions
Goldwyn continued to mount large-scale productions into the 1950s. Guys and Dolls brought Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, and Jean Simmons together in a carefully produced adaptation of the Broadway hit, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. With Porgy and Bess he undertook a technically ambitious and contentious project based on the Gershwin opera, enlisting Otto Preminger to direct and casting Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge. These late works underscored his persistence in tackling material that required substantial resources and careful negotiation with rights holders and artists.

Personal Life and Legacy
Goldwyn married twice and raised a family that remained active in film; his son, Samuel Goldwyn Jr., went on to produce and distribute independent features, reflecting the elder Goldwyn's commitment to independence. Teresa Wright's early career under Goldwyn's wing, including the strategic loan that led to her acclaimed role in Mrs. Miniver, illustrated his talent for developing and positioning performers. Though he never ran MGM, his own company's output became a touchstone of American cinema, combining literary adaptations, star performances, and high craftsmanship.

Samuel Goldwyn died in 1974 in Los Angeles after a career that spanned the silent era to widescreen musicals. An immigrant who became a defining American producer, he proved that independence could coexist with scale and polish. The pathway he cleared for producers working outside the studio system, his collaborations with figures like William Wyler, Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, Danny Kaye, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and the continued life of films such as Wuthering Heights and The Best Years of Our Lives ensure his place in the lineage of Hollywood's most influential creators.

Our collection contains 46 quotes who is written by Samuel, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Motivational - Wisdom - Love - Writing.

Other people realated to Samuel: Cecil B. DeMille (Producer), Anzia Yezierska (Novelist), Tony Goldwyn (Actor), Sam Goldwyn (Businessman), Sam Wood (Director), Ronald Colman (Actor)