Cyril Raker Endfield (November 10, 1914 – April 16, 1995) was an American screenwriter, director, author, magician and inventor. Having been named as a Communist at a

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

hearing and subsequently blacklisted, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1953, where he spent the remainder of his career.

Early life

Endfield was born in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrant father whose business was hit hard by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Career in the U.S.

Endfield began his career as a theatre director and drama coach, becoming a significant figure in New York's progressive theatre scene. It was largely through a shared interest in magic that

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

became aware of Endfield and recruited him as an apprentice for Mercury Productions (then based at

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

). One of his independent films was ''Inflation'' (1942), a 15-minute commission for the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

that was rejected as being anti-capitalist. The debacle surrounding the production of ''

The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...

'' (1942) ended with the expulsion of the Mercury team from the RKO lot. Endfield signed on as a contract director at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

where he directed a variety of shorts (including the last films in the long-running ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' series), before freelancing on low-budget productions for

Monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...

and other independents. He served in the Army during World War II. It was with the

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

The Underworld Story ''The Underworld Story'' is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm, Howard Da Silva and Michael O'Shea. Da Silva plays the loud-mouthed gangster Carl Durham, one of hi ...

'' (1950), a

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

independent production, that Endfield first received significant critical and studio attention. The film was a major leap from anything he had previously produced in regards to budget and social commentary, constituting a devastating attack on press corruption which could equally be taken as a wider attack on the McCarthyite ideology of the times. He followed this with the film often cited as his masterpiece, '' The Sound of Fury'' (aka ''Try And Get Me!'') (1950), a

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

thriller based on a true story. Except for the lynching scene, the film was not well received by critics. It was with these two films that Endfield's signature approach to character developed, pessimistic without being uncompassionate.

Career in the United Kingdom

In 1951 Endfield was named as a Communist at a

HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

hearing. Subsequently blacklisted and without work, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1953, where, under various pseudonyms (to avoid complications with releases in the U.S.), he continued his career. He would often cast fellow blacklistees in his films, such as

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

and

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited as ...

. Three films – ''The Limping Man'' (1953), ''Impulse'' (1954), and ''Child in the House'' (1956) – list Charles de la Tour (a documentary filmmaker) as co-director because the ACT ( Association of Cinematograph Technicians) insisted Endfield, who was not a full member of the union, could only direct in the UK if he had a British director on set as a standby.'' Hell Drivers'' (1957) was the first project he released under his real name and earned him his first BAFTA nomination, for Best British Screenplay. His 1961 film ''

Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's fam ...

'' featured special effects by

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

. One of his most notable films was '' Zulu'' (1964), a war epic depicting the

Battle of Rorke's Drift The Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879), also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the ...

in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

of the 1870s. This was followed by ''

Sands of the Kalahari ''Sands of the Kalahari'' is a 1965 British adventure film starring Stuart Whitman, Stanley Baker, Susannah York, Harry Andrews, Theodore Bikel and Nigel Davenport, based on the 1960 novel ''The Sands of Kalahari'' by William Mulvihill. The sc ...

'' (1965) with

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

. After a few more independent productions he withdrew from directing films in 1971, his final film being '' Universal Soldier'', in which he made a cameo appearance alongside

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literatu ...

. In 1979 he wrote the non-fiction book ''

Zulu Dawn ''Zulu Dawn'' is a 1979 American adventure war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Storey. The film was directed ...

'', which tells the story of the disastrous

Battle of Isandlwana The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zulul ...

and the events which led up to the battle. A film adaptation of the book was released that same year, co-written by Endfield and directed by

Douglas Hickox Douglas Arthur Hickox (10 January 1929 – 25 July 1988) was an English film and television director. Biography Hickox was born in London, where he was educated at Emanuel School. He started in the film industry at age 17, working at Pinewood ...

Death

Endfield died in 1995 at the age of 80 at

Shipston-on-Stour Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. It is located on the banks of the River Stour, south-southeast of Stratford-upon-Avon, 10 miles (16 km) north-northwest of Chipping Norto ...

, in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His body was buried at

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

in London.

Legacy

Endfield is co-credited with Chris Rainey for a pocket-sized/miniature computer with a chorded keypad that allows rapid typing without a bulky single-stroke keyboard. It functions like a musical instrument by pressing combinations of keys that he called a "

Microwriter The Microwriter is a hand-held portable word-processor with a chording keyboard. First demonstrated in 1978, it was invented by UK-based, US-born film director Cy Endfield and his partner Chris Rainey and was marketed in the early 1980s by Microwr ...

" to generate a full alphanumeric character set. It is still available, as " CyKey", for PC and Palm PDA, by Endfield's former partner, Chris Rainey and Bellaire Electronics. CyKey is named after Cy Endfield.bellaire.co.uk
/ref> British magician Michael Vincent credits Endfield as one of his biggest influences. The classic ''Cy Endfield's Entertaining Card Magic'' (1955), by Lewis Ganson, includes a variety of Endfield's creations in card magic.

Selected filmography

*''Inflation'' (1942) (short) – director *''Radio Bugs'' (1944) (short) – director *''Tale of a Dog'' (1944) (short) – director *''Nostradamus IV'' (1944) (short) – director *''The Great American Mug'' (1945) (short) – director *''Magic on a Stick'' (1946) (short) – director *''Our Old Car'' (1946) (short) – director *'' Joe Palooka, Champ'' (1946) – writer *''

Mr Hex ''Mr. Hex'' is a 1946 film directed by William Beaudine and starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. It is the fifth film in the series. Plot The boys are trying to raise money for their friend Gloria. She has to give up her aspiring singin ...

'' (1946) – writer *''

Gentleman Joe Palooka ''Gentleman Joe Palooka'' is a 1946 film directed by Cy Endfield. It was the second of the '' Joe Palooka'' series. Plot The prizefighter Joe Palooka's popularity soars after his manager, Knobby Walsh, explains to reporters how "clean living" i ...

'' (1946) – director, writer *''

Stork Bites Man ''Stork Bites Man'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Cy Endfield.''Stork Bites Man''
at

'' (1947) – director, writer *''

Hard Boiled Mahoney ''Hard Boiled Mahoney'' is a 1947 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. It is the sixth film in the series. Plot Sach just lost his job as an assistant to a private detective, but he wasn't paid. Slip goes with him down to the dete ...

'' (1947) – writer *''

Sleep, My Love ''Sleep, My Love'' is a 1948 American noir film directed by Douglas Sirk. It features Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche. Plot Alison Courtland, a wealthy New Yorker, hasn't a clue how she ended up on a train bound for Boston. W ...

'' (1948) – writer (uncredited) * ''

The Argyle Secrets ''The Argyle Secrets'' is a 1948 American film noir mystery thriller written and directed by Cy Endfield and starring William Gargan and Marjorie Lord. It was based on a half-hour radio play by Endfield, originally heard on CBS's '' Suspense''. T ...

'' (1948) – director, writer, author of original radio play *'' Joe Palooka in the Big Fight'' (1949) – director, writer *''

Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch ''Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch'' is a 1949 American film directed by Reginald Le Borg. It was one in the series of '' Joe Palooka'' films for Monogram starring Leon Errol. It was co-written by Cy Endfield. Cast * Leon Errol as Knobby Wa ...

'' (1949) – writer * ''

'' (1950) – director, writer * '' The Sound of Fury'' (1950) – director, writer (uncredited) * ''

Tarzan's Savage Fury ''Tarzan's Savage Fury'' is a 1952 film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan, Dorothy Hart as Jane, and Patric Knowles. While most Tarzan films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s presented Tarzan as a very different character from ...

'' (1952) – director * '' The Limping Man'' (1953) – director * ''

Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...

'' (1954) – director, writer *''

Crashout ''Crashout'' is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Lewis R. Foster and starring William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy, Luther Adler, William Talman, Gene Evans, Marshall Thompson, and Beverly Michaels.. Plot Convict Van Duff is the le ...

'' (1955) – writer (uncredited) * '' The Master Plan'' (1955) – director, writer * '' The Secret'' (1955) – director, writer * '' Child in the House'' (1956) – director, writer *''

Colonel March of Scotland Yard Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

'' (1956) – director * '' Hell Drivers'' (1957) – director, writer *''

Curse of the Demon ''Night of the Demon'' (in the United States, released as ''Curse of the Demon'') is a 1957 British horror film, produced by Hal E. Chester and Frank Bevis, directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall Mac ...

'' (1957) – final screenplay (uncredited) * '' Sea Fury'' (1958) – director, writer * ''

Jet Storm ''Jet Storm'' (also known as ''Jet Stream'' or ''Killing Urge'') is a 1959 British thriller film directed and co-written by Cy Endfield. Richard Attenborough stars with Stanley Baker, Hermione Baddeley and Diane Cilento. The film is a precurso ...

'' (1959) – director, writer * ''

'' (1961) – director * '' Zulu'' (1964) – director, writer, producer * ''

Hide and Seek Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a popular children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chose ...

'' (1964) – director * ''

'' (1965) – director, writer, producer * '' De Sade'' (1969) – director * '' Universal Soldier'' (1971) – director, writer * ''

'' (1979) – writer

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Endfield, Cy American film producers American male screenwriters American communists American theatre directors Hollywood blacklist Yale University alumni Writers from Scranton, Pennsylvania American people of Jewish descent American emigrants to England 1914 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Film directors from Pennsylvania Burials at Highgate Cemetery 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters