The life and Art of Morris Engel

Lovers and Lollipops
Originally uploaded by livingfilm.

I just learned today that one of the Godfathers of independent Film passed away March 5, Morris Engel.

Engel's films are unfortunately not widely known, But they should be. I think that is partly why I was able to miss the news of his passing. His three films he made with his wife Ruth Orkin in New York during the 1950's The Little Fugitive, Lovers and Lollipops and Weddings and Babies*, would be a major influence on directors such as John Cassavetes and Francois Truffaut each of which would release their debut films in 1959, Cassavetes with Shadows, and Truffaut with The 400 Blows. Francois Truffaut would later tell The New York Times,

"Our New Wave would never have come into being if it hadn't been for the young Morris Engel...with his fine Little Fugitive"

When you watch his films it is no surprise that his films would influence the French New Wave. Engel's films feel much more like early films of the French New Wave than almost any film made in America during the 1950's I have seen. In a way Morris Engel's films fill the gap between the early Italian Neo Realist films, known for their use of actual locations, non-professional actors, low budgets and naturalistic stories -which by the mid 1950's most of the leaders of that movement Rossellini, De Sica, Visconti, and Fellini had changed and began to display films that appeared more stylized- and the many New Waves that would appear around the world during the 1960's.

I cannot urge you enough to rent his films they are all available on video, Little Fugitive is so far the only one available on DVD -if you need to you can borrow my copy. Just watch these films and learn about this influencial director and one of the great American Artists.

Again the title is a link to a brief bio, Read it!
* The titles are so charming, and so are the films!