The Third Man: ‘There was a third man. He didn’t give evidence.’
A GOMA film curator clearly finds Ida Lupino intriguing with these series of her films. I think a biopic about her life would be good. Here are my questions for such a film:
Who was the real Ida Lupino? Was she a woman plagued by polio most of her life? Was Ida Lupino an alcoholic? Was Ida nasty to people? Did she suffer prejudice from the studios? In an era of Hollywood long before Me -Too, did Ida Lupino stand up for herself?
Well here are the films of Ida Lupino.
Ian Curr
WBT Editor
26 October 2018
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WHAT’S ON @ GOMA: 26 OCTOBER – 18 NOVEMBER
The Australian Cinémathèque celebrates one of the most engaging figures from the Golden Age of Hollywood with ‘Ida Lupino: Hard, Fast and Beautiful’.
This free program brings together some of Lupino’s most riveting on-screen performances – working with screen icons such as Humphrey Bogart in High Sierra 1941 and Edward G Robinson in The Sea Wolf 1941. Also included is a selection of her powerful work behind the camera as a director – such as the white-knuckle The Hitch-Hiker 1953 and the iconic episode of The Twilight Zone: ‘The Masks’ 1964.
OUTRAGE 1950 AGES 15+
1.00pm Sat 27 Oct and 2.45pm Sat 10 Nov (75 mins)
Dir: Ida Lupino
A striking study of a young woman haunted by her sexual assault. Using the cinematic language of film noir, Lupino paints a powerful portrait of her protagonist’s internal struggle after the violent attack.
THE HARD WAY 1943 AGES 15+
2.30pm Sat 27 Oct and 6.00pm Fri 2 Nov (109 mins)
Dir: Vincent Sherman
35mm print from UCLA Film & Television Archive, Los Angeles
Ida Lupino stars as a pushy ‘stage mother’ to her younger sister, who she views as her last chance to leave her dull life behind. A compelling musical drama.
THE HITCH-HIKER 1953 PG
1.00pm Sun 28 Oct and 7.30pm Wed 31 Oct (71 mins)
Dir: Ida Lupino
35mm Archival print from the Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Two friends quickly regret their decision to pick up a hitch-hiker on their way to a fishing trip in Mexico when their new passenger reveals himself to be a serial killer on the lam from the law.
HIGH SIERRA 1941 PG
2.30pm Sun 28 Oct and 6.00pm Wed 7 Nov (100 mins)
Dir: Raoul Walsh
35mm Archival print from the Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino team up in this electrifying proto-noir, in which the pair have to escape the clutches of the law in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California after a heist goes horribly wrong.
THRILLER ‘THE BRIDE WHO DIED TWICE’ 1962 + THE TWILIGHT ZONE ‘THE MASKS’ 1964 AGES 15+
6.00pm Wed 31 Oct (76 mins)
Dir: Ida Lupino
Two sensational episodes of 1960s anthology television. In ‘The Bride Who Died Twice’, a young woman fakes her death to escape an arranged marriage. In ‘The Masks’, a rich man forces his heirs to don custom masks in order to receive their inheritance.
PRIVATE HELL 36 1954 AGES 15+
8.00pm Fri 2 Nov and 7.45pm Fri 16 Nov (81 mins)
Dir: Don Siegel
Don Siegel brings his characteristically hard-bitten style to this tough crime drama about two detectives whose investigation of a bank robbery leads them to Lupino’s nightclub singer and a slippery slope of corruption.
HARD, FAST AND BEAUTIFUL 1951 AGES 15+
1.00pm Sat 3 Nov and 1.00pm Sat 17 Nov (78 mins)
Dir: Ida Lupino
16mm print from UCLA Film & Television Archive, Los Angeles
When teenage girl Florence begins to receive notice for her performance on the tennis court at the local country club, her mother spies an opportunity to capitalise on her daughter’s success in this riveting tale of unfettered ambition.
THE BIGAMIST 1953 PG
2.30pm Sat 3 Nov and 1.00pm Sun 18 Nov (80 mins)
Dir: Ida Lupino
35mm print from UCLA Film & Television Archive, Los Angeles
Edmond O’Brien portrays a man torn between his dedicated wife Eve (Joan Fontaine) and Phyllis (Ida Lupino), a waitress he secretly married in Los Angeles. This high-end melodrama is a showcase for a powerful trio of performances from its lead actors.
OUT OF THE FOG 1941 AGES 15+
1.00pm Sun 4 Nov and 6.00pm Fri 16 Nov (85 mins)
Dir: Anatole Litvak
Jonah and Olaf dream of leaving behind their careers and buying a fishing boat together. When Jonah’s daughter falls in love with a local gangster who has been blackmailing them and hindering their plans, they resolve to finally kill him.
THE SEA WOLF 1941 G
3.00pm Sun 4 Nov and 8.00pm Wed 7 Nov (100 mins)
Dir: Michael Curtiz
A sophisticated author (Alexander Knox) and an escaped fugitive (Ida Lupino) are saved from their capsized ferry by Wolf Larsen (Edward G Robinson), a dangerous and tyrannical ship captain from whom they soon need to escape.
MOONTIDE 1942 AGES 15+
6.00pm Fri 9 Nov and 1.00pm Sun 11 Nov (94 mins)
Dir: Archie Mayo, Fritz Lang
Blending the poeticism of wartime French cinema with the toughness of Hollywood noir, Moontide tells the story of a dockworker (Jean Gabin), who is distracted from his fear that he has killed someone in a drunken stupor by his newfound relationship with a troubled waitress.
ROAD HOUSE 1948 PG
8.00pm Fri 9 Nov and 3.00pm Sun 11 Nov (95 mins)
Dir: Jean Negulesco
35mm Archival print from Fox Studios, Los Angeles
The tense love triangle between the owner, the manager, and the singing star of the titular roadhouse bar (that also features a bowling alley) boils over into violence in this arresting melodrama-noir.