Ida Lupino: The Trouble with Angels And Also with Female Representation in Cinema
According to a recent 10-year study from USC Annenberg, out of the 1,006 directors hired on the 900 films studied, just 4.1% were females. When it comes to women leadership in producing, writing, acting or filming, it has been hard for them to be recognized due to Hollywood’s - and the cinematographic industry’s as a whole - difficulty in breaking standards such as the male domination behind everything. Most of the roles played by women follow limited dimensions like being a housewife, relying on emotions that are not developed on the screen - in other words, they have been secondary. Even though many have assumed protagonism, most are not explored in other dimensions that are independent from the imposed stereotypes. It’s obvious that the Second Wave of feminism in the 60s managed to put female issues on the spotlight and so that these themes ended up being incorporated in movies. Abortion, sexual orientation, racism and social inequality became relevant, specially in the 80s, when the feminist discussion was more mature. During the 50s, there was only one woman behind the cameras persuing her career as a director: the actress Ida Lupino. Ida was disgusted by the lack of female directors in Hollywood, having only one in the 40s as well. When she started launching movies, they were harshly criticized by the sexist media, which obscured and prevented her chances to grow in the industry. Lupino became a unique woman in cinema at her time. Not only because she took a step forward and dared to be a filmmaker, but also because her movies dealt with taboos that had been, until then, mostly depicted by male directors. She humanized both female and male characters, showing that weakness and strength, aspects socially constructed to belittle one of the sexes, are not supposed to be seen through this perspective. In that sense, she also embraced other social responses and in 1966 she released a feminist gem, The Trouble with Angels, which symbolizes a 100% female work.
When I claim that this is a feminist gem, it doesn’t mean that it’s flawless. It’s part of another discussion whether or not a film is totally feminist. What is important to highlight is that the film is made by a woman, with a whole female cast and having women as their targeted audience. Although it has male appearances, they are too small to be considered relevant. They appear so that the woman with who he is acting guarantees that their words and their authority mean nothing. The movie stars Hayley Mills as Mary Clancy and June Harding as Rachel Devry. Despite belonging to wealthy families, both are sent to an all-girls Catholic school run by nuns. There, they smoke cigars and cigaretters, play pranks on the nuns, especially on their Mother Superior, played by the classic Hollywood actress Rosalind Russell. The tone of the movie is amusing,: one of the nuns takes deep naps while another doesn’t notice how bad the boarding school’s band sounds because she fills her ears with cotton.
When the mischievous girls are caught, they are often sent to wash dozens of dirty dishes. So, what’s important about the female representation in this film? First of all, there are two girls as protagonists and their identities are developed by themselves. They are still young to affirm a solid awareness of self. However, they grow up in that environment, allowing themselves to make mistakes, to learn with other women and to love each other like sisters. Their conversations are not limited to boys and each one has their own wishes and features. Besides that, it’s a comedy, and most comedies portray women according to stereotypes, even nowadays.
Even though it’s a conservative place, where girls are sent because there’s something to fix in their behaviors, the Mother Superior ends up learning that the real issue relies on the busy life of their bourgeois parents, who are much more concerned with business and women than with their daughters’ development. The girls are also compelled to their parents’ life style, but they don’t understand why adults are so repressive and that’s why they rebel. Their claims are genuine and it’s easy for young girls to identify with them. The bond that Rachel and Mary create together is the high point of the movie. They represent what sorority looks like. When Mary chooses to become a nun, it’s hard for Rachel to accept it. But they don’t become enemies, she ends up supporting her best friend in her decision and moves on with her believes. It’s so important to see girl support on the screens, when it’s more likely to see girl hate.
The Trouble with Angels didn’t intend to show that rebel girls should become nuns. It actually shows girls trying out different paths, allowing them to explore themselves, to create bonds, to learn from other women. It’s far from being a boring movie about strict old nuns. The sorority also exists for them. Ida Lupino delivers a great movie in a time when her career was put on doubt. The critics gave negative reviews to it but I’m sure that if you seek female representations that are not limited to imposed roles, you will be delighted by this work!
