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Cy EndfieldAmerican screenwriter, director, theater director, author, magician and inventor
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Biography of Cy Endfield
Cy Endfield was an American screenwriter, director, theater director, author, magician, and inventor. He was born Cyril Raker Endfield in Scranton, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Yale University, he began working as a theater director and quickly became an important figure in the progressive theater scene in New York. He gained fame as a card magician and caught the attention of Orson Welles, who invited him to join the Mercury Productions project.
In 1950, Endfield adapted the film noir "The Underworld Story," which brought him recognition as a director. He followed it with another noir film, "The Sound of Fury," in which he served as both director and screenwriter.
In 1951, Endfield became a victim of the infamous Hollywood blacklist due to accusations of communist sympathies. Unable to continue working in Hollywood, he was forced to move to the United Kingdom, where he wrote screenplays under various pseudonyms.
In 1958, Endfield was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay for the thriller "Hell Drivers." He also directed the film, which depicted a deadly race between truck drivers after they clashed with each other.
In 1961, Endfield directed "Mysterious Island," an excellent film about people stranded on an uninhabited island. His greatest success came in 1964 with the historical adventure film "Zulu." The film portrayed the Battle of Rorke's Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War, where a small group of Welsh soldiers defended themselves against thousands of Zulu warriors. The film's historical accuracy was debated but its spectacle was highly praised. "Zulu" received numerous awards, including a BAFTA Award in 1965.
Endfield's last directorial work was the war drama "Universal Soldier," which tells the story of a mercenary who arrived in London on a mission but ultimately decided to reject it due to his memories of war.
Overall, Endfield directed around 30 projects and wrote screenplays for over two dozen films. He also served as a producer for his own films on three occasions. In addition to his work in film, Endfield is known as the co-inventor of the Microwriter, a one-handed keyboard for typing texts. He created this device with Chris Rainey, and it was later named the CyKey in his honor.
