A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Filmmaking [Paperback]

Samuel Fuller (Author), Christa Lang Fuller (Author), Jerome Henry Rudes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

Winner of Best Non-Fiction for 2002 Award from the 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, and incorporate some of his own experiences. His film Park Row was inspired by his years in the New York newspaper business, where his beat included murders, suicides, state executions and race riots. He writes about hitchhiking across the country at the height of the Great Depression. His years in the army in World War II are captured in his hugely 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. In addition to his work in film, Samuel Fuller (1911-1997) wrote eleven novels. He lived in Los Angeles with his wife and their daughter. A Third Face was completed by Jerome Henry Rudes, Fuller's longtime friend, and his wife, Christa Lang Fuller. "Fuller wasn't one for tactful understatement and his hot-blooded, incident-packed autobiography is accordingly blunt ... A Third Face is a grand, lively, rambunctious memoir." - Janet Maslin, The New York Times "Fuller's last work is a joy and an important addition to film and popular culture literature." - Publishers Weekly "If you don't like the films of Sam Fuller, then you just don't like cinema." - Martin Scorsese, from the book's introduction

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

" `Hammer!' Hell if I know why that was the first goddamned word that came out of my mouth," writes cult filmmaker Fuller (1911-1997) in his autobiography's opening line. But "hammer" is an apt word for Fuller's abrupt, shocking style. With such classics as Pickup on South Street and Run of the Arrow, Fuller brought seriousness and art to the Hollywood B-movie. "I'm a storyteller," he proclaims, and this straightforward, unsentimental account of his life and substantial career is reflective of his film sensibility. The book details Fuller's early days as a journalist on the crime beat who wrote expos‚s of the Klan and later as a soldier in WWII. During his long career, Fuller wrote and directed 23 films, wrote another 16 and published 11 novels. Famous for his gritty stories with stark plot details-the bald prostitute beating up her pimp in The Naked Kiss; the asylum race riot started by a black man who thinks he's in the KKK in Shock Corridor-Fuller was one of Hollywood's most political filmmakers, and his memoir neatly conflates his artistic and political visions. Of Shock Corridor, he reflects, "It had the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I was dealing with insanity, racism, patriotism, nuclear warfare, and sexual perversion... my madhouse was a metaphor for America." Always energetic and often gossipy-he writes of his odd, intense friendship with Jim Morrison and how Barbara Stanwyck did her own stunts in Forty Guns-Fuller's last work is a joy and an important addition to film and popular culture literature. 171 photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ebullient and cantankerous, director Sam Fuller probably hadmore personality than anyone else in the movie business. It camethrough clearly in his films, particularly in the outrageously lurid,low-budget likes of Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss.Happily, it is also fully displayed in his wildly entertainingautobiography, which with characteristic excitement recalls breakinginto Hollywood, describes the shooting of his 29 films, and relateshis struggles to continue working on underfunded projects in Europeafter the studio system died in the late 1960s. Fuller's earlier lifewas actually more colorful and exciting than his Hollywood years. At17 he became a crime reporter for a New York tabloid, at which hedeveloped his expertise in sensationalism, and later he took part inthe D-Day landing at Omaha Beach. He always saw himself as astoryteller first--he turned to directing to keep his scripts frombeing butchered--and his final story (he died at 85 in 1997) showsthat his own life was the greatest tale he had to tell. ((ReviewedOctober 1, 2002))Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557836272
• ISBN-13: 978-1557836274
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #709,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Helluva Life!, November 9, 2002

By 

S. Berner (Cocoa, Fl USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking (Hardcover)

Samuel Fuller was, depending on your outlook, either the director of a lot of fun "B" movies, or one of the seminal forces in cinema. Nevertheless (to borrow a word he quotes in the book), it cannot be argued that he didn't lead one of the most exciting lives of the 20th century! His portraits of America in the 20s & 30s, Hollywood (and the world) in the 40s through the end of the century (or, close enough-he died in 1997) are brilliant, hilarious, moving, frivolous, and profound portraits of who we ALL are, and how we got that way. If you're a film buff, read this book! If you're an history buff, read this book! And, if you just want to read one of the most entertaining, enlightening, pieces of (forgive me, Mr. Fuller!) literature, READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A helluva yarn of a life. Go have a copy!, January 14, 2004

By 

Giancarlo Nicoli "Pharmacist and Publisher" (Appiano Gentile, close to Como Lake, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking (Hardcover)

It was someone else's review that sparked my interest in this book. I even didn't know who this Mr. Fuller was!
Life is short, and I always look for suggestions from elder people: especially those who lived their life with passion and at full speed.

"If there's one reason to recount my personal history, something inspirational that I'd like my life experiences to offer you, the reader, be you young or young at heart, then it would be to encourage you to persist with all your heart and energy in what you want to achieve - no matter how crazy your dreams seems to others. Believe me, you will prevail over all the naysayers (...) who are telling you it can't be done!"

And inspirational indeed it is!
I warmly suggest you to read this book because it is well written, because the yarn makes sense, because it is enthralling, because it tells you a life full of energy, because it'll give you relief when you are in pain, hope when you're dreaming a better future, reasons and support while you fight for your ideals - like Fuller did, and not just in a metaphorical sense - and of course, because it's the author's true experience (i.e. it can be done - don't listen to the naysayers!).

It is possible to roughly divide this book in three parts: part one is when Fuller was able to work as a reporter in New York; part two is the tale of Fuller that chose to volunteer into the Second World War, infantry, that makes about thirty percent of an army and suffers eighty percent of its losses.
Third part (it makes up for more than half the book) tells of Fuller back from the war, when he had quite a successful career as a film director.

I'd just like to quote excerpts from the book, I think this is the best way to lure you into reading it!

A dialogue between Sam Fuller and Hank Wales: " 'Let's you and I write a movie together!' said Hank. 'Got any good stories?'
We both laughed. With all his amazing experiences, Hank Wales was asking me for a yarn. I was thrilled that such a remarkable guy wanted to collaborate with me. But I had a book to finish.
'Look, Hank,' I said, 'I'm writing the great American novel!'
'Everyone is writing the great American novel, Sammy. Forget about greatness. Let's have some fun.' "

"One guy I couldn't forget was Griff, who'd barely survived a land mine explosion. When I first got back to the States, I went down to Washington, D.C., and visited Griff at a veterans' hospital there. He was a basket case, no legs, no arms. Only mumbled words came out of his lips. Believe it or not, we had a wonderful reunion. Griff's eyes sparkled when he saw me. He laughed when I recalled some of the funny shit we'd gone through together in the war. I put my arm around his neck and kissed him, happy to find him alive. I couldn't keep the tears back. Griff didn't want me feeling sorry for him. He was born optimist and refused to accept my pity. Or anyone's. I was trembling when I left the hospital that day.

Griff's invincible spirit would always be an inspiration. I will take his optimism with me to my grave. Life is too precious and far too short to get hooked on negativity. In my scripts and stories, you'll find a helluva lot of characters named Griff. It was my way of saying thanks for his will to survive."

"Young writers and directors, seize your audience (...) as soon as the credits hit the screen and hang on to them! Smack people right in the face with the passion of your story! Make the public love your characters of hate them, but (...) never - never! - leave them indifferent!"

"You young people sitting around watching the (...) television! (...) Go see the world! Throw yourselves into different cultures! You will be always be wealthy if you count your riches, as I do, in adventures, full of life-changing experiences."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We need a guy like Fuller to come out of the sky, January 23, 2003

By 

brian loatman (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking (Hardcover)

We need a guy like Fuller to come back in this age of corporate greed and fascism. That's the first thing that came to mind as I ventured into the first few pages of this memoir. I myself am a filmmaker, and have been moved by Jean Renoir's autobiography, MY LIFE MY FILMS and I find this to be it's American partner. The sheer sense of freedom and protection for democracy which Sam Fuller speaks of when describing his actions and decisions throughout his career inspired me greatly. He is the example of a man who refused to be a governement stooge when his film always showed both sides of the issue, and I believe that anyone who is making films now should read this book to see that they don't have to make the people with the money happy. Where are the Sam Fullers of the world now where have they all gone. His message has gotten to me.