Ida Lupino

 

Background

Ida Lupino was born in Herne Hill, London on February 4th, 1918.  She was born into a family of entertainers with her father (Stanley Lupino) being a comedian and her mother (Connie Emerald) being an actress.  Ida followed in her parents footsteps and became an actress, singer, director, and producer throughout her life.  She wrote her first play at age 7 and began traveling with her uncles theatre company at age 10. From there, she moved to the US to star in movies and officially became a citizen in 1948.

Career

Lupino's long list of accomplishments includes starring in 59 films and directing 8 of them.  She started out as a stage actress who signed a contract with Paramount.  Despite being untested, she still managed to get a 5 year contract with them.  Her first breakout role was in the film The Light That Failed (1939) where she had only gotten the part because she marched into the director's office demanding an audition.  This role got her a separate contract with Warner Brothers where she stayed for only a short period.  Ida began working behind the camera and found a lot more interest in directing and producing than acting.  She was the first woman to direct a film noir The Hitch-Hiker (1953). She was also the only woman to direct an episode of The Twilight Zone and the only person to ever direct an episode and appear on the show itself.  She later founded her own production company titled Filmmakers Inc.

Climate

Hollywood is notorious for leaving women out when it comes to pretty much everything off-screen and the 50's were even worse than it is today.  Women were barely ever given the opportunity to direct or produce a feature at the time.  When women did get the chance, no matter how groundbreaking their work was, they never became household names like their male counter parts.  Ida Lupino was one of these women who made leaps and bounds in the industry but was never really recognized as an icon.  She was making films that are raw and deal with topics such as wet lock birth, bigamy, and rape.  She was making these films all while under the Motion Picture Production Code which made everything PG.  Ida brought these real and uncomfortable topics to the screen when people needed them most after dealing with the harsh reality of the second world war.  A lot of these topics align with the horror genre and the ability for filmmakers to address grotesque but serious topics on screen.

Challenges

Ida Lupino faced many adversities throughout her life.  From a young age she felt pressured into being an actress because of her parents being entertainers and in her roles, she was type cast as the self-sufficient pretty girl. She reportedly often felt uncomfortable playing these roles where she was cast as a prostitute.  Warner Bros even went so far as to call her their "adoring moll".  Ida became fed up with these underwritten ill-cast roles and refused them over and over before Warner Bros was forced to terminate their contract with her.  Another problem she faced was in 1934 she was diagnosed with polio which made it harder for her to act.  This coupled with losing her contract with Warner Bros gave her a chance to be behind the scenes where she fell in love with directing.  She even said herself that she couldn't believe she was missing out on all the good stuff while she was an actress.  This newfound love for being behind the camera along with her disease gave her a ton of inspiration.  She had realized her body may give out on her but she could always be doing something including dictating to someone if she ever lost the ability to write herself.  

Impact

Ida Lupino was not only a pioneer for women but made major leaps and bounds as a filmmaker in general.  She brought realism to the screen and was not afraid to address uncomfortable topics with the staple being her rape revenge film Outrage (1950).  In the words of Martin Scorcese, "What is at stake in Lupino's films is the psyche of the victim. [Her films] addressed the wounded soul and traced the slow, painful process of women trying to wrestle with despair and reclaim their lives. Her work is resilient, with a remarkable empathy for the fragile and the heart-broken.” (Times)  Ida was not afraid to do what she wanted and exceeded everyones expectations proving how brilliant and courageous women filmmakers could be despite never getting the recognition she deserved. 

Works Cited

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Lupino

- https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/130

- https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/31/magazine/the-lives-they-lived-ida-lupinobehind-the-camera-a-feminist.html

- http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2018/cteq/the-twilight-zone-the-masks-ida-lupino-1964/