Sam Spiegel(1901-1985)

Born in Germany, he went to America some time before the second World War and spent a year in Hollywood reading foreign scripts. Afterwards, he returned to Berlin where he set up his own company to organise the remaking of foreign films into German language versions. One he handled was 'All Quiet on the Western Front', an anti war film that became a kind of personal crusade for him. On the opening, night the Nazis put a bomb in the cinema. When the Nazis eventually came into power, he left Germany and divided his time between Britain, France and America. He changed his name to the more international sounding S.P. Eagle, but changed it back when with 'On the Waterfront' he realised that he had made a film to which any man would be proud to put his name.