Ida Lupino: A Biography by William Donati

Ida Lupino: A Biography
by William Donati

Paperback ISBN: 9780813196480

January 2023

University Press of Kentucky

360 pages

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powell's

“Emotionally, Ida was a jumble of contradictions, infused with the polarity often present in intensely creative individuals.” — William Donati

Ida Lupino is one of the great outliers of the film industry. In a time when there were limited roles for women except for being an actress or writer, Lupino managed not only take on both roles but to also add director, producer and businesswoman to her list. To modern age audiences she's a feminist icon. But in reality Ida Lupino was a walking contradiction. Even as a pioneer female filmmaker who was fiercely independent she held onto traditional values when it came to gender roles. She leveraged her fame to advance her career but also advocated for her privacy. Some regarded her as a warm person and others pointed out her iciness. Lupino was not about to be pigeonholed into a single category of any kind. She was a complex person and unapologetically herself.

Originally published in 1997, William Donati's book Ida Lupino: A Biography chronicles the life of an actress-filmmaker who lived her entire life in show business. The book was originally meant to be Lupino's autobiography written with the help of Donati. But the project stalled and when Lupino died in 1995 Donati moved forward with a more traditional biography. The book was recently reissued this year by the University Press of Kentucky but I haven't been able to confirm if any notable changes were made to the original text.

The book begins with Ida Lupino's formative years as a member of the Lupino showbiz family, her close bonds with her father Stanley and mother Connie, her move from the UK to Hollywood to pursue a career as a film actress and her early days a Paramount contract star playing ingenue roles and her bout with polio. We learn about her friendship with Thelma Todd and the events of that fateful night when Todd mysteriously died (the author had also written a book about Todd). Then there were Ida Lupino's marriages to actor Louis Hayward, writer and filmmaker Collier Young and her particularly tumultuous relationship with Howard Duff which are all discussed at length. The author offers only brief glimpses into Lupino's mental health struggles and her fraught relationship with her daughter Bridget Duff. Almost every film that Lupino acted in and a majority of her television work is discussed. Her work with The Filmakers—the production company she started with her husband Collier Young— and the more involved projects she made while at Warner Bros. get the most coverage.

Some interesting facts I learned from the book:

• Lupino was such a perfectionist that she often drove herself to exhaustion, illness and/or injury.
• She greatly admired anyone who took the business seriously and preferred to work with people were as driven as she was.
• Producer Mark hellinger stepped in to vouch for Lupino so she would get cast in the film They Drive by Night (1940). That film as well as High Sierra (1941) became breakout roles for both Ida Lupino and her co-star Humphrey Bogart.
• Ann Sheridan and Lupino often got the same types of roles and replaced each other in different projects. For example, when Lupino turned down a role in King's Row (1942), it went to Ann Sheridan.
• When Jack Warner offered her a 7 year contract he told her she'd be another Bette Davis for Warner Bros.
• To prepare for Moontide (1942), Lupino took French actor Jean Gabin on a tour of the seedier parts of Los Angeles for a "first-hand look at vice and violence."
• The Hard Way (1943) and Devotion (1946) were two of Lupino's most challenging productions due to complications with the studio, WWII and Stanley Lupino's death from cancer.
• Agent Charles K. Feldman sought Lupino as a client and even bought the rights to Road House (1948) and sold them to Twentieth Century Fox with the stipulation that Lupino be cast in the lead.
• Lupino enjoyed working with The Breen Office and welcomed their changes which she didn't view as censorship but rather as improvements.
• For her hard-hitting drama Not Wanted (1949), which she produced and eventually directed, she couldn't use the title "Unwed Mother" because it was too salacious. But the restrictions did not apply to marketing materials so she plastered UNWED MOTHER in bold type in various newspaper ads to promote the movie.
• She fostered new talent by casting Sally Forrest and Keefe Braselle in Not Wanted (1949) and Never Fear (1950).
• Lupino and Young struck a deal with Howard Hughes to partner on three films between RKO and The Filmakers production company. Lupino was one of the few executives Hughes would actually agree to meet with directly. 
• While the Motion Picture Association objected to the making of The Hitch-Hiker (1953), Lupino and The Filmakers went ahead with the production. Lupino had already gotten permission from prisoner Billy Cook and the two men he kidnapped. Their story was the basis of the movie.
• Many of us know that The Bigamist (1953) had Lupino starring and directing in a film that also included her ex-husband Collier Young and his new wife Joan Fontaine. While that seems like it would have been an uncomfortable situation, Lupino and her third husband Duff were friendly with Young and Fontaine and the couples often spent time with each other.
• According to the author, "with The Bigamist, Ida Lupino became the first woman to direct herself in a major motion picture."
• Lupino was quick to adapt and in the early 1950s that meant transitioning to television. She insisted that her husband Howard Duff be her co-star in the TV sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve. The story idea was developed by her ex-husband Collier Young.
• Producer William Frye personally chose Ida Lupino to direct which would be her last production The Trouble with Angels (1966). They originally wanted to cast Greta Garbo but couldn't get her out of retirement and was replaced by Rosalind Russell.
• I love this quote from Rosalind Russell about Lupino: "The sex of a director doesn't mean a hoot. The one all-important thing is talent. Somehow it has evolved that directing is a man's profession. A woman has a tough, almost impossible time breaking down this caste barrier. Miss Arzner managed it. Ida is doing it now."

This biography suffers from inherent bias which was to be expected considering the book began its life as Lupino's autobiography. It's clear that the author very much admires and respects his subject. Lupino is treated with reverence but some of the more superfluous language feels cloying. However, the author does not shy away from exploring Lupino's self-destructive behavior, her contradictions and her co-dependent relationships with men. I was frustrated with some of the outdated language used and wondered if in this new edition some of that could have been edited out.

Ida Lupino: A Biography by William Donati is a mixed bag. While it offers the reader plenty of interesting information and a cohesive outline of Lupino's extraordinary career, it's plagued by some odd choices in narrative. I would recommend this anyone who is interested in learning more about Lupino. It's a good starting point it covers a lot of territory in just under 300 reading pages. Some of the more personal aspects of Lupino's life probably wouldn't have been revealed had it not been for the author's friendship with Lupino. There are some insights here that the reader might not find elsewhere that definitely add value to the text overall.

This is my third book review for my Classic Film Reading Challenge.

Thank you to the University Press of Kentucky for sending me a digital copy for review. And thank you to the Greater Boston Film Classics Club for inviting me to host a virtual discussion on this book!