Maurice McEndree Movies
An actor/producer/editor most closely associated with famed director John Cassavetes, Maurice McEndree served as producer and editor on the Cassavetes films Shadows (1959) and Faces (1968, for which he also served as cinematographer). A native of Kansas, McEndree first met Cassavetes while attending the N.U. Neighborhood Playhouse on the G.I. Bill. The two would soon become closely associated, and it wasn't long before collaboration came to fruition. In addition to his work with Cassavetes, McEndree appeared in front of the camera in the films A Pair of Boots (1962), Hollywood Nudes Report (1963), and Devil's Angels (1967). McEndree also found frequent work as a television actor in the 1960s and '70s, appearing in such small-screen staples as Perry Mason and Gunsmoke. On May 17, 2003, Maurice McEndree died of leukemia in Carnation, WA. He was 71. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 1973
A photographer for a prominent news journal heads for Vietnam and takes wrenching pictures of dead and dying children. Upon his return to Chile, the photographer is tormented by their war-torn anguished faces. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Faces is right: this definitive John Cassavetes film consists almost exclusively of tight, uncomfortable close-ups. It takes place in the fourteenth year of the marriage of Richard (John Marley) and Maria (Lynn Carlin). Neither husband nor wife is content with the conditions that prevail; Maria joins her friends looking for romantic satisfaction elsewhere, while Richard secures the services of a prostitute (Gena Rowlands). Maria herself has a one-night stand with a hippie (Seymour Cassel), but this is no more satisfying than her dead-end marriage. If you think that Faces is an exhausting experience in its current 130-minute length, imagine what it looked like in Cassavetes' original six-hour cut. Alternately clumsy and profound, it is nonetheless a work of deep sincerity, as recognized by the Venice Film Festival, which bestowed no fewer than five awards on the film, and it perfectly exemplifies Cassavetes' improvisational, cinéma vérité style and searching explorations of modern relationships. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Marley, Gena Rowlands, (more)
- 1967
Big bad bikers butt heads with a small-town sheriff in this bargain-basement sleaze-fest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cassavetes, Beverly Adams, (more)
- 1963
Set in the art scene of the '60s, an art gallery owner is the link connecting this story of flashbacks. The film alternates among the different artists whose work is displayed in the owner's gallery. Each artist paints nudes--but the way they do so varies drastically as the painters have their own unique and bizarre styles and ways of painting (using hair as the brush, or the feet, or the nude) to create their depictions of the female nudes. ~ All Movie Guide
Shadows was John Cassavetes' first directorial effort. Like his later critically acclaimed films Faces and Husbands, Cassavetes fills the screen with probing, unflattering closeups. Unlike his other films, however, Shadows zips along at 87 minutes, avoiding the pitfall of putting the director's nonfans to sleep. The film is a straightforward account of a biracial romance (a far less common film subject in 1960 than today). Light-skinned African-American Lelia Goldoni falls in love with a white man Anthony Ray, who spurns her when he meets the rest of her family. Far from subtle, Shadows benefits from the undisciplined energy of its direction and the excellence of its individual performances. Costing a scant $40,000 (less than the average half hour TV episode of the era), Shadows won the Critic's Award at the Cannes Film Festival and led to more expensive studio assignments for John Cassavetes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lelia Goldoni, Ben Carruthers, (more)
- 1957
A mysterious veiled woman hands Perry (Raymond Burr) $2000 in cash, and one-half of a $10,000 bill, as a retainer to defend a woman on a murder charge. Shortly therafter, Perry pays a visit ot embezzling businessman Albert Tydings (George Neise), only to find the man's body stuffed in his closet. Now Perry must earn his money by proving that Carol Stanley (Judith Braun), whose trust account Tydings was handling, is innocent of his murder. Counterpointing the drama is a humorous subplot wherein faithful secetary Della (Barbara Hale) nurses Perry through a vicious cold. This episode is based on a 1940 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
