Samuel Spewack (1899-1971) travelled from what is now Ukraine to the USA as a child and was educated at Columbia University. He became a journalist, wrote a few novels and, after marrying Bella Cohen, worked with her in Moscow for four years.
In the late 1920s, he and Bella began writing plays together, a number of which were performed on Broadway. Their work was also adapted for the cinema. In 1948, they collaborated with Cole Porter, writing the book for the musical Kiss Me, Kate. Broadly speaking, Sam took responsibility for the plot and structure of their work, while Bella was noted for her crackling dialogue.
The Spewacks’ first work directly for the screen was providing additional dialogue for Paramount’s Caught (1931). They contributed to fourteen other features, including adapting their own play, Clear All Wires! (1933).
In 1940, they wrote the screenplay for the Cary Grant-Irene Dunn comedy My Favourite Wife, which earned them an Oscar nomination.
Bella and Sam Spewack wrote one MGM musical, The Cat and the Fiddle. In addition, Kiss Me, Kate was filmed by the studio in 1953.
