The Samuel Goldwyn Company

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The Samuel Goldwyn Company The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Inc.
Type	Corporation
Founded	November 9, 1979
Founder	Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.
Dissolved	2000 into MGM Studios as Goldwyn Entertainment Co.
Headquarters
Owner	independent (1979-1996) Orion Pictures (1996-1997) MGM (1997-2000)
Divisions	Samuel Goldwyn Television

The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1979. The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films from around the world to U.S. audiences; they soon added original productions to their roster as well, starting with The Golden Seal in 1983.

In succeeding years, the Goldwyn company was able to obtain (from the Sr. Goldwyn's estate) the rights to all films produced under Samuel Goldwyn (including the original 1929 Bulldog Drummond, Arrowsmith, and Guys and Dolls). They also acquired the theatrical and television rights to the Rodgers and Hammerstein films and television programs that were independently produced but released by other companies, including South Pacific, Oklahoma!, and the 1965 CBS television adaptation of Cinderella. Other films include The Care Bears Movie, The Chipmunk Adventure (with Alvin and the Chipmunks), and Rock-a-Doodle. Among the other television programs in the Goldwyn company's library are the television series American Gladiators and Steve Krantz's miniseries Dadah is Death.

In 1991, after a merger with another company, the company went public as Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment. That company and its library were later acquired by Metromedia, and in 1997 sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where the rights stand today. This company's function of acquiring independent films for American release (or producing such films) has been assumed by United Artists, which was recently relaunched with the help of Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.

Goldwyn has since gone on to found Samuel Goldwyn Films. This successor company has continued to release independent films such as What the Bleep Do We Know? and the Academy Award-nominated The Squid and the Whale.