Shadows

The 1959 American independent drama film Shadows, directed by John Cassavetes, is about racial tensions in New York City at the time of the Beat Generation. Hugh Hurd, Lelia Goldoni, and Ben Carruthers play three mulatto siblings in the movie, although only one of them has a dark enough complexion to be classified as African American. The movie was originally shot in 1957 and released in 1958, but Cassavetes reworked it in 1959 after receiving a negative response. It was advertised as a totally improvised movie, but it was actually heavily rehearsed in 1957 and fully scripted in 1959.

The movie follows the lives of three outcast siblings for two weeks: two jazz musicians who are struggling brothers; their fair-skinned younger sister; and her three interactions with an older white writer, a shallow white lover, and ultimately a kind young black admirer. Film scholars regard Shadows as a turning point for American independent cinema. The movie received the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival in 1960.

Duration: 81 mins

Year: 1959

Director: John Cassavetes
Cast: Hugh Hurd, Dennis Sallas, Ben Carruthers, David Pokitellow, Lelia Goldoni, Tom Allen, Rupert Crosse, Anthony Ray