Ida Lupino: the fearless Hollywood star who overcame typecasting

New Criterion series highlights the work of the actor and director who delivered powerful, provocative performances

When Ida Lupino starred opposite Humphrey Bogart in Raoul Walsh’s gritty film noir High Sierra, it was her name, not Bogie’s, at the top of the poster. This nail-biting movie with its terrific mountainside climax is about a released convict forced back into another heist, and the taxi dancer he can’t shake off. Lupino plays the dancer, a woman longing for an exit strategy from her tawdry world, and she transforms the role into something more than a type, with an unexpectedly authentic air of desperation. The film made household names out of both its leads, but for Lupino, as for Bogart, there was no such thing as overnight success.

Lupino’s own breakthrough came after seven years in Hollywood and a lifetime in showbusiness. She always refused the easy option and fought hard for her wins. Hedda Hopper neatly said Lupino had made her career out of combining “three little words – talent, nerve and courage – to spell success”.

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