I'm going to tell you about a unnerving dream I had a while back. Appearing in this dream was Ida Lupino. Who? If you're over 50, perhaps the name rings a bell? Ida Lupino was B movie (low-budget) actress back in the 40s and 50s. Why would I have a dream about Ida Lupino? Damned if I know. I hadn't seen any Ida Lupino movies in an eternity. Very strange. But, it made me want to look into who she was. I discovered that not only was she an actress, she was also one of the first women directors in Hollywood films. Who knew? I had heard about Mary Pickford, "America's Sweetheart," silent film actress and Hollywood business woman also directing early silent films, but I didn't know there were women film directors before, say, Barbra Streisand directed Yentl in 1983.
In the late 1940s Ida and her second husband started a production company so that she could have more control over content. Interestingly, as often happens with women, her rising to the position normally reserved for men was as a result of a man's becoming incapacitated! In 1949 her director became gravely ill and Ida stepped into the role of director. She went on to direct 6 films between 1949 and 1953, and one more in 1966. She also directed television shows!
Without further ado, here's Ida Lupino in a film that she directed and appeared in, The Bigamist, from 1953.
There's information about Ida as actress, producer, and director at the "official" Ida Lupino website. There's lots of video on the site, too, but the gallery of photos is a pain in the derriere to navigate!
Oh, and I still don't understand why I dreamed about Ida, except that I found out her birthday was the day on which I had the dream (cue the theme to The Twilight Zone).
--Diane
4 comments:
Wow. That is so weird, Diane!
I remember Ida Lupino -- and her husband, Howard Duff. I think my mom was a big fan of both . . .
She directed at least 50 televisions shows!
She also said she had to pretend to know less than she did know in front of the men who worked for her in order to receive their cooperation.
Thanks for filling in the background of this talented woman.
Who knew? I love the little bits and pieces if information you can pick up on Women of Wednesday. Thanks, Diane!
The question is: why would Ida pick me to tell her story? Or, am I just reading too much into a random dream? If so, why did I dream about her to begin with?
Diane, I think that somewhere you read about Ida and/or her birthday. It could have been any time but your subconcious clicked during your dream state and provided you with a great post!
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