Trivia

He graduated from New York University with a B.A. in English, followed by a Masters in English from Harvard University, and subsequently taught at the University of Missouri from 1916 to 1918. He would have gone on to a professorship, if not for a chance viewing of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), which persuaded him to enter the film business. Initially, he was employed by the Jewish Tribune as a drama and film critic, then as a reader for Samuel Goldwyn, and as a script clerk for King Vidor. He joined MGM in 1924, after his first scenario was accepted. He became head of the MGM script department in 1929, and personal assistant to Irving Thalberg before working as an associate producer on several key MGM films in the 1930s.

Fought as an infantryman in the US army during World War II in Europe.

His fortunes were inextricably linked to his mentor, Irving Thalberg, a fellow intellectual. When Thalberg died suddenly in 1937, Lewin resigned from MGM on the spot and moved to Paramount, remaining there until 1941. From 1942, he worked as director, writer and producer on just six motion pictures, before a heart attack prompted his early retirement. In 1966, he published a novel, entitled The Unaltered Cat.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 657-661. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.