Background: The article here describes events on the set of the movie On Dangerous Ground (1951), starring Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan, and directed by Nicholas Ray. The movie is referred to by its working title, Mad With Much Heart.
Just before starting her work in this movie, Lupino had completed producing and directing her third independent production, Outrage. As we will see, even while acting, Lupino had her mind on her future productions.
Los Angeles Daily News, May 8, 1950
by Darr Smith
On the set of RKO's picture, "Mad With Much Heart," there are two directors—one active, one inactive. Nick Ray, tall, quiet and toothy, is the active one, while Actress Ida Lupino is inactive—at least as far as directing the picture is concerned. As an actress in it, she is anything but inactive.
Miss Lupino has her own picture producing organization called The Filmakers, and, as most people know, she has been functioning as the director of its product.
In "Mad With Much Heart" she has been intently observing the technique of Ray, who just happens to be one of the best directors in the directing dodge.
One morning last week after a difficult scene, Miss Lupino, a slim-hipped wench who speaks in what might be called a whisky baritone and who acts as though she had at least two built-in furnaces, threw her arms around Ray's neck and said:
"Oh, darling! You're wonderful!"
The fan
Then she backed away from him and said: "If we're going to make love, let's get over in front of that fan."
Miss Lupino turned to us and added, "He's wonderful, but he's also a bum. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to expose him.
"He read the script for Filmakers' next picture-which just happens to be called 'The Lowdown' and said that there was one part in it he'd like to play.
"And he was so right! It is perfect for him—a guy who's tall, suave and bad. So every time we thought of the part we thought of Nick Ray. Then we started to do some rewrites on the script and we did them thinking of this lug.
"Now the part is tailored to him and he's being coy. He won't say yes or no. His agent says Nick will cost a lot of money as an actor. I say he won't because even though his salary is established as a director, it's not established as an actor. I say we should get him for peanuts because of all the trouble he's already cost us."
Nick Ray broke in with: "When do you start?"
"You know very well when we start, but you've said you'd be cutting this picture then. Besides, I don't know whether I want to direct you as an actor. You'd probably sit back and think, 'There she goes, lousing it up again!'"
"No," said Nick, "I'd probably be thinking, 'What a great actress she is!'"
From Miss Lupino: "Drop dead!"
New shot
An assistant director saved anybody from doing anything violent by announcing that everything was ready for the next shot. They all trooped off to accomplish it.
The fun was over and the serious work was at hand.
Ray, a quiet man, as we have said, practically whispers directions to his actors. He took co-star Robert Ryan aside and solemnly whispered in his ear. Ryan nodded. Then Ray went to Miss Lupino and whispered to her. She nodded; Ray moved back behind the camera, and the scene was shot.
They did it again. More whispering. Miss Lupino took more preparation, and it was done.
Miss Lupino threw her arms around Ray's neck again and said, "Darling, how about it? Will you play the part?"
Ray said, "Let's move over in front of the fan where I can think."
Post-script: The Lowdown, after multiple re-writes over several years, eventually became Private Hell 36 (1954)—one of the last films produced by The Filmakers. Lupino did not direct it, but starred in it with Steve Cochran and then-husband Howard Duff. Nicholas Ray did not play a part in that film.
Comments