53 pages 1 hour read

Budd Schulberg

What Makes Sammy Run?

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1941

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary

Al receives a call from Sammy Glick’s assistant, telling him that Sammy is in New York and would like to see him. Al goes to Sammy’s suite at the Waldorf Towers, curious about what Sammy is going to do now. Arriving there, he realizes the assistant he spoke to on the phone is Sheik Duncan, Sammy’s old tormentor. Sammy is having his feet measured for custom shoes when Al enters.

Sammy tells Al he’s been to see his mother and that she was singing Al’s praises. He offers Al a job in Hollywood, writing B pictures for Sammy to produce. Al knows Sammy is asking him to do this because he wants to become the head of the studio and needs not only a good writer but one who is lesser known. Sammy even offers to clear Al’s name off the list of banned writers. Though Al wants to get back to Hollywood, he refuses to cave easily, questioning Sammy’s motives. As Sammy continues to convince him, Al realizes that Sammy’s hiring of the Sheik as an assistant is a long and drawn-out kind of revenge.

Al leaves the hotel having accepted the job. He feels guilty for it, as his dislike for Sammy makes the job feel dishonest.