Let Yourself Go ... To Old Hollywood

Ida Lupino's relationship with Humphrey Bogart in "High Sierra" (1941)

After her huge success in They Drive By Night, Ida Lupino was cast in High Sierra and moved up to top billing before the film was released.

Initially there was some friction between Ida and Humphrey Bogart on the set.

“I have a way of kidding with a straight face; so has Bogie. Neither of us recognized the trait in the other. Each of us thought the other was being nasty, and we were both offended.”

As they worked together, though, she grew to appreciate Bogart, as he helped her through some tough scenes. She later recalled, “He was the most loyal, wonderful guy in the world.”

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originally published on October 23, 2018

Ida Lupino in "They Drive By Night" (1940)

Ida Lupino in They Drive By Night (1940). Also starring George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, and Ann Sheridan, with Alan Hale in a supporting role.

Warner Bros. producer Mark Hellinger—-impressed by Ida’s performance in Paramount’s The Light That Failed opposite Ronald Colman—-wanted Ida for this role. Director Raoul Walsh was ready to sign up another actress, when Ida gave a screen test arranged by Hellinger that sold studio boss Jack Warner on her.

This role and film launched Ida’s great career at Warner Bros. that lasted through much of the 1940s, before she finally decided to make her own films.

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originally posted in The Vintage Classics on October 23, 2018

Ida Lupino on acting after directing

I did not abandon my acting [after starting on a production and directing career]. Whenever producers offered me screen roles, I accepted, for even if I enjoyed being a lone woman in the world of movie executives, it was fun to be a pampered, fussed-over actress. I loved playing sexy, warm dames who are tough in life, who do not let life affect them, very much myself!”

— Ida Lupino, in the foreword to Ida Lupino: Beyond the Camera by Mary Ann Anderson with Ida Lupino.

Photo: Ida Lupino in The Big Knife (1955)

originally published in The Vintage Classics on October 20, 2018

Ida Lupino on women's presence in classic Hollywood

Women, according to these stalwart defenders of male superiority [in the 1940s and 1950s], may not be film musical directors, cameramen, set designers, composers, assistant directors, directors, or production managers. The only sort of job encouragement some women got in the early days of Hollywood was the portrayal of women on the screen. Sometimes, I suspect we were resented for even this intrusion.

— Ida Lupino, in the foreword to Ida Lupino: Beyond the Camera by Mary Ann Anderson with Ida Lupino.

Photo: Ida Lupino on the set of her film The Hitch-Hiker (1953), with actors Edmond O’Brien and William Talman.

originally published in The Vintage Classics on October 20, 2018

Ida Lupino's years at Paramount: 1933-1937

Ida Lupino moved to Hollywood from London in 1933, at the age of fifteen. She was already a film veteran, and then-blonde Ida was signed by Paramount as a candidate for the lead in Alice in Wonderland. That did not pan out.

“You cannot play naive if you’re not. I never had any childhood,” Ida said.

But she was featured in numerous films at Paramount over the next few years, starting with Search for Beauty with Buster Crabbe. In 1937, at 19, in search of more substantive roles, she left her contract and went free-lance.

This did not work out immediately and she was off-screen for over a year. But of course in the long run, her move payed off tremendously and she became a top star at Warner Bros. in the 1940s.

Here are a few picture from her early years at Paramount.

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originally posted in The Vintage Classics on October 20, 2018

Ida Lupino on the "poor man's Bette Davis" quote

I never said I was the poor man's Bette Davis. Warner Bros. came up with that bad line, not me. I respected Davis. I did say jokingly that Bette Davis could do the housework!

– Ida Lupino, in Ida Lupino: Beyond the Camera by Mary Ann Anderson with Ida Lupino

originally published in The Vintage Classics on October 18, 2018

Ida Lupino in "On Dangerous Ground" (1951)

On Dangerous Ground (1951) was a film Ida Lupino acted in for RKO after she had started her own independent production company, The Filmakers, with Collier Young and Malvin Wald a couple years earlier. So she was already writing, directing, and producing her own films by this point.

In this film, her character is blind. She starred opposite Robert Ryan and was directed by Nicholas Ray. It is a unique mixture of genres, and over time has become recognized as a classic.

I’ve seen reports that she directed part of this movie when Ray took ill, though I haven’t found any direct sources for that yet.

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originally published in The Vintage Classics on October 18, 2018

Ida Lupino on directing

Directing keeps you in a constant state of first-night nerves. You may be terrified at first but you must not let it show on the set. Nothing goes according to Hoyle. Reshuffle your schedule. Keep your sense of humor. Don’t panic. I sometimes wonder how anything gets on film!

— Ida Lupino

originally published in The Vintage Classics on October 13, 2018

Ida Lupino vs. Edward G. Robinson

Ida Lupino worked with Edward G. Robinson on “The Sea Wolf” in 1941.

I found Robinson to be the toughest one on the [Warner Bros.] lot. We did not have any warm feelings for each other. When we worked together, it was easy for us to hate each other, and we continued that way!

— from the book Ida Lupino: Beyond the Camera by Mary Ann Anderson with Ida Lupino

originally published in The Vintage Classics on October 13, 2018

Ida Lupino's award-winning performance in "The Hard Way" (1943)

In 1943, Ida Lupino starred in "The Hard Way". Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan, and Jack Carson filled out the leading cast. The time of filming was difficult for Ida, as her father was dying in England of cancer, and he had asked her to keep that secret from her mother. Ida was also concerned her character in this film was horrible and that audiences would turn against her. She told director Vincent Sherman at one point: "This picture is going to stink and I'm going to stink in it!"

She did manage to work through her difficulties, and in the end, along with director Sherman, did a tremendous job in a great film. She won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress of 1943. And she should have at least been nominated for an Academy Award, but that is something that can be said of a lot of Ida's performances.

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originally posted in The Vintage Classics on October 13, 2018