{{Short description|British film producer (1889–1947)}} {{about|the film-maker|the politician|Godfrey Samuelson}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = G. B. Samuelson | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 6 July 1889 | birth_place = Southport, England, UK | death_date = {{Death date and age|1947|04|17|1889|07|06|df=yes}} | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | other_names = | known_for = | education = | alma mater = | employer = | occupation = Producer | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = | children = Sydney, David, Michael Samuelson | parents = | relatives = Peter Samuelson <small>(grandson)</small><br />Emma Samms (Emma Wylie Samuelson) <small>(granddaughter)</small> }} '''George Berthold Samuelson''' (6 July 1889 – 17 April 1947)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=spOxzrifZjcC&dq=george+berthold+samuelson+1889&pg=PT1662 ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'']</ref> was a director and film producer.
He ran G. B. Samuelson Productions during the period of 1914 to 1933, producing around 70 films. The company made several films under the names British-Super films and Napoleon Films.
==Biography== Born in Southport, Lancashire, Samuelson was the youngest son of Henschel and Bertha Samuelson, tobacconists originally from Prussia.<ref>1881 United Kingdom census, [https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/7572/LANRG11_3748_3751-0693 41, Nevill Street, Southport], at ancestry.co.uk, accessed 5 May 2020 {{subscription required}}</ref> ''Attended the University School'' in Southport until the age of 14. By 1891, his mother was widowed and was carrying on the business.<ref name=":0">1891 United Kingdom census, [https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/6598/LANRG12_3035_3036-0294 41, Nevill Street, Southport], at ancestry.co.uk, accessed 5 May 2020 {{subscription required}}</ref>
He then held various jobs over a number of years, eventually running a cinema in Southport. In 1910, he founded a film distribution company, the ''Royal Film Society'', with which he moved to Birmingham in the same year. Profits from the firm enabled him to find the ''Samuelson Film Manufacturing Company'' in 1913. Here, with Will Barker, he produced the film ''Sixty Years a Queen'', which became a financial success.<ref name=":0" /> Samuelson had an extensive film career and was the creator of Southall Studios, one of the earliest film production companies in the United Kingdom. He also ran G. B. Samuelson Productions from 1914 to 1933.
He was the brother of Julian and Lauri Wylie and the father of Sir Sydney Samuelson.
==Selected filmography== '''Producer''' * ''Sixty Years a Queen'' (1913) * ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1914) * ''John Halifax, Gentleman'' (1915) * ''The Valley of Fear'' (1916) * ''Little Women'' (1917) * ''The Elder Miss Blossom'' (1918) * ''Linked by Fate'' (1919) * ''Edge O' Beyond'' (1919) * ''Damaged Goods'' (1919) * ''The Pride of the Fancy'' (1920) * ''The Last Rose of Summer'' (1920) * ''Nance'' (1920) * ''Her Story'' (1920) * ''The Grip of Iron'' (1920) * ''A Temporary Gentleman'' (1920) * ''The Husband Hunter'' (1920) * ''The Night Riders'' (1920) *''David and Jonathan'' (1920) * ''Love in the Wilderness'' (1920) * ''The Ugly Duckling'' (1920) * ''Mr. Pim Passes By'' (1921) * ''For Her Father's Sake'' (1921) * ''The Magistrate'' (1921) * ''Stable Companions'' (1922) * ''A Couple of Down and Outs'' (1923) * ''Married Love'' (1923) * ''The Knockout'' (1923) * ''A Royal Divorce'' (1923) * ''The Cost of Beauty'' (1924) * ''The Unwanted'' (1924)
'''Director''' * ''The Admirable Crichton'' (1918) * ''The Bridal Chair'' (1919) * ''Convict 99'' (1919) * ''The Game of Life'' (1922) * ''Afterglow'' (1923) * ''A Royal Divorce'' (1923) * ''I Pagliacci'' (1923) * ''Who Is the Man?'' (1924) * ''She'' (1925) * ''Motherland'' (1927) * ''Two Little Drummer Boys'' (1928) * ''The Forger'' (1928) * ''For Valour'' (1928) * ''Valley of the Ghosts'' (1928) * ''Spanish Eyes'' (1930) * ''The Wickham Mystery'' (1931) * ''The Other Woman'' (1931) * ''Collision'' (1932) *''Threads'' (1932) * ''The Callbox Mystery'' (1932) * ''The Crucifix'' (1934)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|760547}} * Gabriel A. Sivan: ''[http://www.samuelsonfilmservice.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/George-Berthold-Samuelson.pdf George Berthold Samuelson (1889-1947): Britain's Jewish film pioneer]'' in ''Jewish Historical Studies'', vol. 44 (2012) pp. 201–229 * Bamford, Kenton. ''Distorted Images: British National Identity and Film in the 1920s'' (I. B. Tauris, 1999)
{{G.B. Samuelson}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, G. B.}} Category:1889 births Category:1947 deaths Category:People from Southport Category:English film producers G.B. Category:20th-century English businesspeople