The Famous Stage Lupinos

Remember Ida Lupino? She's Turner Classic Movies' star of the month which means they're trotting out a lot of her pictures. Apparently she got the parts at Warner that Bette Davis couldn't or wouldn't take. I've seen a couple so far and think she's better than Davis who compromised her roles with performances that were too mannered. "They Drive By Night" has Ida playing a wicked temptress who seduces humble truck driver George Raft (playing against type). Ida did some acting in England as a child and then Hollywood beckoned. Her career also included television acting and directing. She moved comfortably between British and American accents.

Ida's father was Stanley Lupino a famous pantomime star in England and Lupino Lane, her uncle, was an equally famous music hall star. An earlier Italian Lupino forebear who excelled in comedia dell 'arte introduced stage puppets to England. [Thank you Wikipedia].

Here's what the New York Times says about her today: (Ida's "Italian family" had lived in Britain for 200
years! )

"8 P.M. (TCM) ON DANGEROUS GROUND Ida Lupino, born into an Italian theater family, acted in films steadily from the age of 13 and in the 1950s was one of the few female directors working in Hollywood. Turner Classic Movies is paying tribute to this actress, director, writer and producer throughout June; tonight a series of her performances will be showcased, starting with this 1952 drama about a police detective (Robert Ryan) who helps a blind girl (Ms. Lupino, above with Mr. Ryan) whose brother has been murdered. Next, at 9:30 p.m., is “While the City Sleeps” (1956); at 11:15 p.m. Ms. Lupino plays a widow terrorized by a deranged handyman in “Beware, My Lovely” (1952); and at 12:45 a.m. comes “Ladies in Retirement” (1941), an understated thriller about women living on the moors."