 He initially worked as a public relations representative for the Yiddish theater circuit in New York City before becoming active in film distribution with business partner Arthur Mayer from the late 1930s to the late 1940s.His most famous releases include "The Forgotten Village" (1941) written by John Steinbeck, the Roberto Rossellini classics "Rome, Open City" (1945) and "Paisà" (1946), "The Quiet One" (1948), the Academy Award-nominated "Little Fugitive" (1953), and "Fear and Desire" (1953), the first feature film directed by Stanley Kubrick.From 1951-53, Burstyn was at the center of "Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson", 343 U.S. 495 (1952), which resulted in a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court which helped end film censorship in New York.