Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life (1995) is a brief but excellent introduction to the photographer/filmmaker whose collaborations with her husband Morris Engel launched the beginnings of an independent filmmaking movement in New York City in the early fifties which led to later experiments by John Cassavetes (Shadows, 1959), Allen Baron (Blast of Silence, 1961) and others. Narrated by Julie Harris, who was photographed by Orkin along with actress Ethel Waters and playwright Carson McCullers during the Broadway run of The Member of the Wedding, the documentary also includes interviews with photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Cornell Capa (the founder of the International Center of Photography in New York), Ninalee Craig and Morris Engel.

Orkin's mother had been a silent film actress and her father became famous for his miniature models of such famous sights and landmarks as the telescope at Griffith Park in Los Angeles but their early life in California had been nomadic, with the family moving from place to place. Ruth became interested in cinema at an early age and, for a time, avidly collected movie star autographs. She later became a messenger girl at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but once she fell in love with photography, it changed the course of her life.

Her real career began in 1943 when she moved to New York City and took a photography workshop where she first met photographer Morris Engel (whom she would marry almost a decade later). Her photographs from this period display a wonderful grasp of the black and white medium and her subjects ranged from New York City street scenes and people to famous celebrities (Albert Einstein, Orson Welles, Spencer Tracy, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, etc.). Her work eventually won critical acclaim and accolades from such acclaimed photographers as Edward Steichen who included her photograph "The Card Players" in his famous exhibition, "The Family of Man."

After she married Morris Engel, the duo collaborated on several films together with Engel serving as cinematographer and Orkin working as both film editor and continuity director due to her keen eye and impeccable sense of composition. This eighteen-minute documentary will inspire you to seek out both her photographic work and the films she made with her husband; they are vibrant, life-affirming portraits of her milieu and New York City was her canvas.

Producer/Director: Mary Engel
Additional Cinematography: Mary Engel
Music: Donna Lee Weng
Film Editing: Pierre Kahn
Narrated by Julie Harris
Cast: Cornell Capa (himself), Ninalee Craig (herself), Mary Ellen Mark (herself). BW & C-18m.

by Jeff Stafford