---
name: "Sam Spiegel"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sam-spiegel"
fi1m_id: "sam-spiegel"
imdb_id: "nm0818545"
tmdb_id: 6594
wikidata_id: "Q31292"
roles: ["Producer"]
born: "11 November 1901"
died: "31 December 1985"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 81
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-09-25T04:00:58.091447+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sam Spiegel

## Identity

Sam Spiegel

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sam-spiegel
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** sam-spiegel
- **IMDb ID:** nm0818545
- **TMDB ID:** 6594
- **Wikidata ID:** Q31292
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Spiegel, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q31292, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0818545/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6594

Producer. Born 11 November 1901 in Jaroslau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Jaroslaw, Podkarpackie, Poland]. Died 31 December 1985.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer
- **Born:** 11 November 1901, Jaroslau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Jaroslaw, Podkarpackie, Poland]
- **Died:** 31 December 1985
- **Active:** 1946–1971
- **Also known as:** S.P. Eagle
- **Frequently works with:** [Alec Guinness](https://film.one/person/alec-guinness.md), [David Lean](https://film.one/person/david-lean.md), [Jack Hawkins](https://film.one/person/jack-hawkins.md), [John Huston](https://film.one/person/john-huston.md), [Michael Wilson](https://film.one/person/michael-wilson.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscars (3 won · 1 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as producer, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 76 (1), 1950s 87 (3), 1960s 90 (1), 1970s 58 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 78 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, History 3, War 3, Adventure 2, Crime 2, Romance 2
- **Screen time:** 15 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $138m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Spiegel, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q31292, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0818545/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6594

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Lawrence of Arabia*](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia.md) (90)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*On the Waterfront*](https://film.one/film/on-the-waterfront.md) (89)
- **Hulu:** [*The Stranger*](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md) (76)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Nicholas and Alexandra*](https://film.one/film/nicholas-and-alexandra.md) (58)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Sam Spiegel (also credited as S.P. Eagle) was an American independent film producer. Born Samuel P. Spiegel on 11 November 1901 in Jarosław, then in Austrian Poland, he studied at the University of Vienna and later worked in the film industry in Europe before emigrating to the United States.

Spiegel produced several acclaimed films, including *On the Waterfront* (1954), *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957) and *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962). Each won the Academy Award for Best Picture, making him the first sole independent producer to achieve this. He also produced *The African Queen* (1951) and *Suddenly, Last Summer* (1959). He received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1963.

He resumed using his real name after *On the Waterfront*. Spiegel died on 31 December 1985 in Saint Martin.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *Nicholas and Alexandra* (1971), Fi1m 58, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/nicholas-and-alexandra.md)
- *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), Fi1m 90, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia.md)
- *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957), Fi1m 88, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai.md)
- *On the Waterfront* (1954), Fi1m 89, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/on-the-waterfront.md)
- *The African Queen* (1952), Fi1m 84, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-african-queen.md)
- *The Stranger* (1946), Fi1m 76, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)

## Complete filmography (23)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Betrayal* (1983), Producer
- *The Last Tycoon* (1976), Producer
- *Nicholas and Alexandra* (1971), Producer — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/nicholas-and-alexandra.md)
- *The Swimmer* (1968), Executive Producer
- *The Happening* (1967), Producer
- *The Night of the Generals* (1967), Producer
- *The Chase* (1966), Producer
- *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), Producer — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia.md)
- *Suddenly, Last Summer* (1959), Producer
- *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957), Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai.md)
- *The Strange One* (1957), Producer
- *On the Waterfront* (1954), Producer — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/on-the-waterfront.md)
- *Melba* (1953), Producer
- *The African Queen* (1952), Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-african-queen.md)
- *The Prowler* (1951), Producer
- *When I Grow Up* (1951), Producer
- *We Were Strangers* (1949), Producer
- *The Stranger* (1946), Producer — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)
- *Tales of Manhattan* (1942), Producer
- *The Invader* (1936), Co-Producer
- *Invisible Opponent* (1933), Producer
- *The Oil Sharks* (1933), Producer
- *Happy Days* (1929), as Sam Spiegel

## Gallery

- ![Black and white photograph print, from left to right: Leo Jaffe, executive vice president of Columbia Pictures Corp.; A. [Abraham] Schneider, Columbia President](https://film.one/media/person/59334/gallery-4f0313176306.jpg) Black and white photograph print, from left to right: Leo Jaffe, executive vice president of Columbia Pictures Corp.; A. [Abraham] Schneider, Columbia President — CarlAlbertArchives, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/CAC_CC_001_18_24_0000_2327.jpg/1280px-CAC_CC_001_18_24_0000_2327.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Black and white photograph print, from left to right: Leo Jaffe, executive vice president of Columbia Pictures Corp.; A. [Abraham] Schneider, Columbia President](https://film.one/media/person/59334/gallery-31779534153a.jpg) Black and white photograph print, from left to right: Leo Jaffe, executive vice president of Columbia Pictures Corp.; A. [Abraham] Schneider, Columbia President — CarlAlbertArchives, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/John_W._McCormack%2C_CAC_CC_001_18_24_0000_2327_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Photograph of film producer Sam Spiegel (1963)](https://film.one/media/person/59334/gallery-3e15f34fde5f.jpg) Photograph of film producer Sam Spiegel (1963) — CarlAlbertArchives, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Sam-Spiegel-1963.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 3 won, 1 nominated

- 1972: Best Picture (nominated), for *Nicholas and Alexandra*
- 1963: Best Picture (won), for *Lawrence of Arabia*
- 1958: Best Picture (won), for *The Bridge on the River Kwai*
- 1955: Best Picture (won), for *On the Waterfront*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sam-spiegel