Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino in publicity for the 1942 film MOONTIDE. Lupino was born in London to a show business family on February 4, 1918. She first took to the stage in 1934 as the lead in “The Pursuit of Happiness” at the Paramount Studio Theatre. She then made her first film appearance in “The Love Race” (1931) and the following year, aged 14, worked in “Her First Affaire” (1932). She played leading roles in five British films in 1933, including “The Ghost Camera” and “I Lived with You”. In 1933 she was discovered by Paramount and appeared in “Money for Speed” (1933), playing a good girl/bad girl dual role. She continued with small roles, with “Peter Ibbetson” (1935) being one of her more noteworthy appearances. It was not until “The Light That Failed” (1939) that Lupino got a chance to shine. She made a handful of films during the forties playing different characters ranging from “The Sea Wolf” (1941), “High Sierra” (1941), “Pillow to Post” (1945) and “The Man I Love” (1946). In most of her movies, she was cast as the hard, but sympathetic woman from the wrong side of the tracks. She left Warner Brothers in 1947 and became a freelance actress. When better roles did not materialize, Lupino stepped behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. Her first directing job came when director Elmer Clifton fell ill on a script that she co-wrote “Not Wanted” (1949). The films that she wrote, or directed, or appeared in during the fifties were mostly inexpensive melodramas. She later turned to Television where she directed episodes in shows such as “The Untouchables” (1959) and “The Fugitive” (1963). In the seventies, she did guest appearances on various television show and small parts in a few movies. Her interests outside the entertainment industry included writing short stories and children's books, and composing music. Ida Lupino passed away from a stroke while undergoing treatment for colon cancer on 3 August 1995, aged 77.

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