Shadows (1959 film)
| Shadows | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | John Cassavetes |
| Produced by | Maurice McEndree Nikos Papatakis |
| Written by | John Cassavetes Robert Alan Aurthur |
| Starring |
Ben Carruthers Lelia Goldoni Hugh Hurd |
| Music by |
Charles Mingus Shafi Hadi |
| Cinematography | Erich Kullmar |
| Edited by | Len Appelson Maurice McEndree Wray Bevins |
| Distributed by | British Lion |
|
Release date
|
November 11, 1959 |
|
Running time
|
87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Shadows is a film about interracial relations during the Beat Generation years in New York City, directed by John Cassavetes. The film stars Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni and Hugh Hurd as three African-American siblings, though only one of them is dark-skinned. The film was initially shot in 1957 and shown in 1958, but a poor reception prompted Cassavetes to rework it in 1959. Promoted as a completely improvisational film, it was intensively rehearsed in 1957, and in 1959 it was fully scripted.
The film depicts two weeks in the lives of three siblings on the margins of society: two brothers who are struggling jazz musicians, and their sister who dates several men. Hurd plays Hugh, a jazz singer hunting for a job, finally landing a gig at a sleazy club. Carruthers plays Ben, a trumpeter who hangs out with his friends, tries to pick up girls, and gets in fights. Goldoni plays Lelia, a flirtatious artist whose innocence is revealed through three relationships she has, one with an older white writer, one with a shallow white lover, and one with a gentle young black admirer.
Film scholars consider Shadows a milestone of American independent cinema. In 1960 the film won the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival.
The idea for the film came from a classroom exercise. With acting coach Burt Lane (later the father of Diane Lane), Cassavetes was conducting classes for aspiring actors at the Variety Arts Theatre in Manhattan's off-Broadway Union Square neighborhood, the classes listed as "The Cassavetes-Lane Drama Workshop"; this was Cassavetes' attempt to counter the adherents of method acting who controlled much of New York theatre and film. A particular exercise became the core of the film: a young African-American woman who was very light-skinned dated a young white man, but he was repulsed when he discovered she had a black brother. Cassavetes determined to put the scene on film, so he began looking for funding. While ostensibly promoting the film Edge of the City on Jean Shepherd's Night People radio show on WOR in February 1957, Cassavetes said he could make a better film than director Martin Ritt. He pitched the drama workshop idea to Shepherd's radio audience. Cassavetes was surprised when listeners sent in about $2,000 to start the project. Money also came from Cassavetes' friends including Hedda Hopper, William Wyler, Joshua Logan, Robert Rossen, José Quintero, and Cassavetes' agent Charlie Feldman. Cassavetes hired German cinematographer Erich Kullmar as cameraman, the only crew member besides Cassavetes with any experience in film.
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