Shadows (1959), John Cassavetes'' first film as director, ends with the title card - ''The film you have just seen was an improvisation''. Just before his death, however, Cassavetes confessed to Ray Carney something he had never before revealed - that much of his so-called ''masterpiece of improvisation'' was actually written by him and Robert Alan Aurthur, a professional Hollywood screenwriter.
In the ten years that followed Carney tracked down all of the surviving members of the cast and crew in order to piece together the true story of the making of Shadows. This book is the result of that research. Carney takes the reader behind the scenes to follow every step in the creation of the film - chronicling the hopes and dreams, the struggles and frustrations, and the ultimate triumph of their collaboration on one of the seminal masterworks of American independent film-making.