While Ida Lupino was working on the film Moontide at 20th Century-Fox in early 1942, she was reported to be cast in the lead role for another project at that studio, Blind Man's House. Of course, there is no such movie on her filmography because this project never came to fruition. But, with or without Ida, 20th Century-Fox seems to have tried several times over the course of three years to get it off the ground.
The story begins with the British writer Hugh Walpole, who was a best-selling author over the 1920s and '30s. He completed Blind Man's House in 1941, and 20th Century-Fox purchased the movie rights before it was published. As early as January 27, 1941, the trade papers discussed the purchase and indicated that a screenplay was being prepared for the '41-'42 season. Walpole died of a hearth attack on June 1, age 57, after over-exerting himself in a war fund-raising drive—not living to see the publication of Blind Man's House in August.
The book appears to have been well-received. The reviewer for the New York Daily News wrote, "Hugh Walpole's last book before he died is one of the best that he has written in some time, and a fitting close to the career of one of the ablest and most prolific writers of modern England. It is the story of Julius Cromwell, who was blinded in the last war, and his young and pretty wife, Celia, who loves him with a possessive passion." A reviewer for the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote, "'The Blind Man's House' is one of those lesser works of a great novelist—infinitely better than the best work of a poor novelist. ... There is an ominousness about the tale from the beginning. But it is a gentle shadow rather than a really tragic one which falls upon the blind man's house and the quiet little English village. ... Incidentally, 'The Blind Man's House' is highly beguiling—just the thing to keep your mind insulated against the world and the weather."
The movie project receded behind the scenes, re-emerging in the press in early January, 1942. At that point, the role in Blind Man's House was mentioned by a columnist as "one of the most important feminine roles now on schedule at 20th Century-Fox", and that the 18-year-old Anne Baxter, not yet a star, was up for the role against Ida Lupino, a nine-year Hollywood veteran who was approaching her 24th birthday and had established herself as a star two years earlier. Just a few days later, Baxter vanishes as Hedda Hopper wrote that Blind Man's House would star Ida Lupino, with the adaptation to be done by R. C. Sherriff.
At the time this hit the press, Ida was filming Moontide at 20th Century-Fox opposite Jean Gabin. Her primary studio, though, was Warner Bros., and they had their own project lined up for her—The Hard Way. It had been nearly a year since she had worked on a film at Warners, as she had turned down a few roles. She was eager to get back on good terms with Warners, so in early March, soon after Moontide finished production, Ida was working on The Hard Way.
A few days earlier, the New York Times reported that Blind Man's House was scheduled to start in April with Lupino in the lead role. I'm not sure how long production on The Hard Way was scheduled for if things had gone well, but it seems possible that Ida could have gone on to do Blind Man's House without a major delay.
But things did not go well on The Hard Way.
In mid-March, Ida collapsed on the set. She was ill for several weeks with what was variously reported as influenza, strep throat, and, later, "run down condition". Warners postponed The Hard Way until Ida had sufficiently recovered, which took nearly two months.
Sometime in the interim, 20th Century-Fox appears to have given up on the idea of Ida Lupino starring in Blind Man's House. The last mention of Ida's name in the press in connection with the project came on March 10, just a couple days before her collapse.
At this same time, Fox assigned Fritz Lang to direct Blind Man's House and Milton Sperling to produce. As of late March, according to industry columnist Edwin Schallert, it was still on track to start in late April. By late April, the picture had not started, but George Sanders was cast in the leading role, with Linda Darnell set for the heroine role in place of Ida. A few weeks later, a new director was assigned—John Stahl.
Still no action, as two more months pass. By mid-July, Louella Parsons reported that George Sanders was taken off the project due to his "sarcastic quips on and off screen", and that Fox was negotiating to borrow Walter Pidgeon from M-G-M. Maureen O'Hara was now on track for Ida's old role, though O'Hara was reportedly about to have a major operation. Variety wrote that the film was now scheduled to start on August 18.
Nothing happened in August. By late September, the trade papers reported that director Stahl would begin "producing-directing" on Blind Man's House after he completed his current project, The Immortal Sergeant. Negotiations for Pidgeon had apparently not yet been successful, but the studio was still hoping to get him.
Several more months pass with nothing happening. In February, 1943, Hedda Hopper wrote that Pidgeon was still being sought for the top role in Blind Man's House, but he would have to wait until he could shave off the beard he was wearing while doing Madame Curie. Maureen O'Hara was again mentioned as the co-star.
Another half-year of nothing. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Showmen's Trade Review reported that Ida Lupino had been signed by 20th Century-Fox to star in Blind Man's House, which would now be called House of Chadworth. Otto Preminger would produce, and it was expected to start in November, "as one of the most important pictures on the schedule." One paper reported that William Eythe would be the male lead opposite Ida.
For such an important picture, with the big names of Lupino and Preminger attached, I would have expected it to be far more widely reported. But it was not. I have a feeling any deal fell through before it was completed.
Four more months passed with nothing in the press about either Blind Man's House or House of Chadworth. Then, in January 1944, an AP report claimed that Charles Bickford was to play the top role in Blind Man's House. This is the last significant mention of either Blind Man's House or House of Chadworth that I have found. At this point, after three years, 20th Century-Fox appears to have finally given up on the Walpole project.
A footnote that may or not be related: The Charles Bickford mention as the blind character brought to my mind the later film Woman on the Beach (1947)—starring Joan Bennett and Robert Ryan—directed by Jean Renoir at RKO a few years later. That story also involves a blind man with a younger, attractive wife, and jealousy over another man. With minimal research, I haven't found a concrete connection between the Walpole novel and that movie, however, so perhaps this is just a surface similarity.
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