The Strange Love Of Ida Lupino

It's only been a little over a month since I saw my first Ida Lupino movie, High Sierra (1941). What's so surprising is that not only did I become a fan right after my first viewing, but Ida has very quickly become my favorite actress.

This happens to me quite often where I see a movie, immediately fall in love with it, and begin obsessing over someone who was in it. But it's taken me a lot longer to figure that they're my favorite. Example: When I first became interested in old movies, Grace Kelly was my favorite actress, because Rear Window was one of the first old films I saw. Then I discovered Ginger Rogers about 2 years later (I think?) and eventually she became my favorite actress and has been until recently.

The more I read about a person, the more I usually begin to like them. There are so many classic actresses I admire not only for their talent, but also for their personal lives off-screen. And the same goes for Ida Lupino. I find her life completely fascinating, and she was just.... amazing. She could do anything (act, direct, write, produce, compose music) and excel at it. She seemed like a really sweet lady who always stayed true to herself, and I love that.

When she eventually went into directing films and television she didn't want to direct because she was a woman, she just wanted to in spite of being a woman. She didn't make a big deal out of it. She just did it. And that's so cool.

As I said, there are many people who I consider to be heroic figures, but I really admire Ida Lupino for all that she accomplished. I think its really sad that she wasn't a bigger star when she was alive and even more unfortunate that most people today have never even heard of her. But I guess that's their loss, because they're the ones missing out. Here's to you, Ida!