Filmmaker’s profile: Ida Lupino
As we are in the middle of #noirvember here are a few posts about Ida Lupino, the first woman to direct a Film Noir and one of the more prominent female filmmakers working during the 1950s. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Ida Lupino began her career as an actor and starred in a few film noir including They Drive by Night, where this promo shot is taken from.
Always known for speaking her mind, Ida Lupino would refuse roles that she felt were beneath her. In 1942, after refusing to star alongside Ronald Reagan, Warner Brothers (the studio she was contracted with at the time) suspended her. This lead to her interest in directing.
In 1953 Ida Lupino became the first woman to direct a Film Noir with The Hitchhiker. It is a notable Noir as the film takes place in the desert, not cities like most films of the genre. The use of the wilderness created a sense of isolation for the two protagonists. The Hitchhiker is a public domain film and available to watch for free on YouTube.
article by Beth Morris
