Samuel Bronston Productions

Samuel Bronston Productions was an independent American film production company, established by Samuel Bronston in 1943. The studio became known for producing several historical epics, including King of Kings (1961), El Cid (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963), and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964).

In 1940, Bronston partnered with James Roosevelt, the son of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but their collaboration produced no films. Bronston next joined Columbia Pictures and worked as an associate producer on The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942). In 1943, Bronston founded his namesake studio, and produced Jack London (1943) for United Artists. He next collaborated with Lewis Milestone on the war film A Walk in the Sun (1945) and René Clair on the mystery film And Then There Were None (1945); however, Bronston went uncredited as he struggled to raise financing.

Bronston left Hollywood and produced a documentary with the Vatican. In 1955, he returned to Hollywood to produce John Paul Jones (1959). He relocated Bronston Productions in Madrid, and raised financial capital by pre-selling his film projects to private investors, including financier Pierre S. du Pont III. In Madrid, Bronston spearheaded several productions of historical epics, including King of Kings (1961), El Cid (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963), and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964).

In June 1964, Bronston declared bankruptcy due to the box office failures of The Fall of the Roman Empire and Circus World (1964). From there, Bronston entered a years-long financial litigation with du Pont III, in which he was ordered to pay $3 million.