G. B. Samuelson
George Berthold Samuelson was a director and film producer.
Born in Southport, Lancashire, Samuelson was the youngest son of Henschel and Bertha Samuelson, tobacconists originally from Prussia. Attended the University School in Southport until the age of 14. By 1891, his mother was widowed and was carrying on the business.
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.
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
ProducerSixty Years a Queen A Study in Scarlet John Halifax, Gentleman The Valley of Fear Little Women The Elder Miss Blossom Linked by Fate Edge O' Beyond Damaged Goods The Pride of the Fancy The Last Rose of Summer Nance Her Story The Grip of Iron A Temporary Gentleman The Husband Hunter The Night Riders- David and Jonathan Love in the Wilderness The Ugly Duckling Mr. Pim Passes By For Her Father's Sake The Magistrate Stable Companions A Couple of Down and Outs Married Love The Knockout A Royal Divorce The Cost of Beauty The Unwanted