Samuel Goldwyn Productions


Samuel Goldwyn Productions was an American film production company founded by Samuel Goldwyn in 1923, and active through 1959. Personally controlled by Goldwyn and focused on production rather than distribution, the company developed into the most financially and critically successful independent production company in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

History

After the sale of his previous firm Goldwyn Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn organized his productions beginning in February 1923, initially in a partnership with director George Fitzmaurice. Goldwyn Production's first release, Potash and Perlmutter, successfully opened in Baltimore on September 6, 1923.
Some of the early productions bear the name "Howard Productions", named for Goldwyn's wife Frances Howard, who married Goldwyn in 1925. In the 1920s, Goldwyn released films through Associated First National. Throughout the 1930s, Goldwyn released most of his films through United Artists. Beginning in 1941, Goldwyn released most of his films through RKO Radio Pictures.
With consistently high production values and directors like John Ford and Howard Hawks, Goldwyn consistently received Academy Award for Best Picture nominations: Arrowsmith, Dodsworth, Dead End, Wuthering Heights, and The Little Foxes. In 1946, he won best picture for The Best Years of Our Lives.
Through the 1940s and 1950s, many of Goldwyn's films starred Danny Kaye. Goldwyn's final production was the 1959 version of Porgy and Bess.
Elements for many films produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions between 1929 and 1955 are held by the Academy Film Archive as part of the Samuel Goldwyn Collection.

Filmography

Release dateTitleDistributorNotes
September 6, 1923Potash and PerlmutterFirst National
January 24, 1924'First National
April 3, 1924CythereaFirst National
September 29, 1924In Hollywood with Potash and PerlmutterFirst National
May 3, 1925His Supreme MomentFirst National
June 18, 1925'First National
September 27, 1925'First National
November 16, 1925Stella DallasUnited Artists
February 15, 1926Partners AgainUnited Artists
October 14, 1926'United Artists
January 27, 1927'United Artists
September 18, 1927'United Artists
November 3, 1927'United Artists
March 23, 1928Two LoversUnited Artists
November 17, 1928'United Artists
January 12, 1929'United Artists
May 2, 1929Bulldog DrummondUnited Artists
June 22, 1929This Is HeavenUnited Artists
November 3, 1929CondemnedUnited Artists
July 24, 1930RafflesUnited Artists
October 5, 1930Whoopee!United Artists
December 20, 1930'United Artists
January 14, 1931One Heavenly NightUnited Artists
September 5, 1931Street SceneUnited Artists
October 3, 1931Palmy DaysUnited Artists
October 28, 1931'United Artists
December 17, 1931Tonight or NeverUnited Artists
December 26, 1931ArrowsmithUnited Artists
February 13, 1932'United Artists
November 17, 1932'United Artists
December 24, 1932CynaraUnited Artists
September 3, 1933'United Artists
December 29, 1933Roman ScandalsUnited Artists
February 1, 1934NanaUnited Artists
November 1, 1934We Live AgainUnited Artists
November 10, 1934Kid MillionsUnited Artists
March 8, 1935'United Artists
September 8, 1935'United Artists
October 13, 1935Barbary CoastUnited Artists
November 22, 1935SplendorUnited Artists
January 24, 1936Strike Me PinkUnited Artists
March 18, 1936These ThreeUnited Artists
September 23, 1936DodsworthUnited ArtistsInducted into the National Film Registry in 1990
November 6, 1936Come and Get ItUnited Artists
December 25, 1936Beloved EnemyUnited Artists
May 7, 1937Woman Chases ManUnited Artists
August 6, 1937Stella DallasUnited Artists
August 27, 1937Dead EndUnited Artists
November 9, 1937'United Artists
February 4, 1938'United Artists
April 15, 1938'United Artists
November 17, 1938'United Artists
April 7, 1939Wuthering HeightsUnited ArtistsInducted into the National Film Registry in 2007
August 18, 1939They Shall Have MusicUnited Artists
September 29, 1939'United Artists
December 29, 1939RafflesUnited Artists
September 20, 1940'United Artists
August 29, 1941The Little FoxesRKO Radio Pictures
December 2, 1941Ball of FireRKO Radio PicturesInducted into the National Film Registry in 2016
July 14, 1942'RKO Radio PicturesInducted into the National Film Registry in 2024
January 27, 1943They Got Me CoveredRKO Radio Pictures
June 12, 1943SpitfireRKO Radio Pictures
November 4, 1943'RKO Radio Pictures
February 17, 1944Up in ArmsRKO Radio Pictures
November 17, 1944'RKO Radio Pictures
June 8, 1945Wonder ManRKO Radio Pictures
March 21, 1946'RKO Radio Pictures
November 21, 1946'RKO Radio PicturesInducted into the National Film Registry in 1989
August 4, 1947'RKO Radio Pictures
December 9, 1947'RKO Radio Pictures
October 19, 1948'RKO Radio Pictures
December 11, 1948EnchantmentRKO Radio Pictures
August 18, 1949Roseanna McCoyRKO Radio Pictures
December 25, 1949My Foolish HeartRKO Radio Pictures
July 27, 1950Our Very OwnRKO Radio Pictures
August 2, 1950Edge of DoomRKO Radio Pictures
December 22, 1951I Want YouRKO Radio Pictures
November 25, 1952Hans Christian AndersenRKO Radio Pictures
November 3, 1955Guys and DollsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
June 24, 1959Porgy and BessColumbia PicturesInducted into the National Film Registry in 2011

Distribution

In 2012, the distribution rights of Samuel Goldwyn films from the library were transferred to Warner Bros., with Miramax managing global licensing; the latter was handled by StudioCanal as part of a deal with Miramax until 2021, when ViacomCBS, under its flagship studio Paramount Pictures, acquired a 49% stake in Miramax and worldwide distribution rights to its content library. U.S. rights to The Hurricane, which had since reverted back to United Artists, are currently owned by its parent company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, now part of Amazon MGM Studios. Rights to The North Star were not initially renewed due to its controversial subject matter, thus had fallen in to the public domain. Currently, U.S. rights to the film are handled by Paramount as a successor to National Telefilm Associates, which distributed a re-cut version in 1957 as Armored Attack, one of the few Goldwyn titles not included in the Warner–Miramax arrangement. Studio Distribution Services, LLC., a joint venture between Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, distributes the entire Samuel Goldwyn catalog on home video, including The Hurricane, via a distribution deal with MGM Home Entertainment. Rights to Street Scene were retained by the estate of its author Elmer Rice, which would transfer ownership to Video-Cinema Films in 2004.