Morris Engel Archive

Home

The Morris Engel archive is devoted to award-winning filmmaker and photographer Morris Engel (1918-2005).

Engel was known for his early documentary photos of New York City, was a member of The Photo League, on the staff of “PM” and was a photographer in the Navy during WWII in Combat Photo Unit 8 under Captain Edward Steichen.

Engel is known internationally as an innovator for his ground-breaking classic independent film “Little Fugitive” (1953) shot with a hand-held 35mm camera that he helped build. The film won a silver Lion at Venice, and Francois Truffaut said “Our New Wave would never have come into being, if it hadn’t been for the young American Morris Engel, who showed us the way with his production of “Little Fugitive”

Morris Engel was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 8, 1918. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School and joined the Photo League in 1936 where he met Aaron Siskind and Paul Strand who became major influences in his life. He worked on the paper PM, and then enlisted in the Navy, where he was a combat photographer. He later did many magazine picture stories in the late 40′s. He also made films, and his classic film, LITTLE FUGITIVE was released in 1953. He shot several more features, and later worked with video.

The Morris Engel archive is run by his daughter, Mary Engel. Many of the photographs on the website are available for licensing or for purchase. His 3 feature films are available on the DVD boxset “The Films of Morris Engel” or for 16mm or 35mm film rental.

All Website contents are copyright 2011, Morris Engel Archive
No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without written permission from the Morris Engel Archive.

Morris Engel Archive

Home

About Morris Engel

About the Archive