Film Noirs Directed by Ida Lupino

During her career as an actress, Ida Lupino appeared in several film noirs. As a director ,she also directed a few. In fact, Ida Lupino could be considered a bit of a pioneer when it came to film noir, and not simply because she was the first woman to direct a noir.

The first film which Ida Lupino directed she was not credited for. Director Elmer Clifton had a heart attack while working on Not Wanted (1949), after which Ida Lupino took over the direction of the film. She did not take credit for the film out of respect to Elmer Clifton. Not Wanted (1949) was a straightforward drama, as was the second film that Ida Lupino directed and the first for which she was credited, Never Fear (1950).

It was with her third film as director that Ida Lupino first ventured into noir territory. I am not sure that Outrage (1950) can be considered film noir, although it is certainly noir adjacent. In Outrage (1950), young bookkeeper Ann Walton (Mala Powers) is a victim of rape. Ann finds herself broken by her experience and, while her family, fiancé, and friends support her, she worried that her neighbours are gossiping about her. She then flees her home for Los Angeles.

Outrage (1950) certainly has some elements of film noir. Its visual style is certainly that of noir, with high contrast lighting and deep shadows. Outrage (1950) also features the feelings of paranoia often present in film noir. Ann thinks her neighbours are talking about her and is highly suspicious of authority figures. It also features the claustrophobia of many film noirs, with the suburban and urban settings of Outrage (1950) seeming stifling. That having been said, it differs from film noir in that it plays more as a socially conscious drama. Its focus is on the impact that rape has had on Ann than anything else. It is notable that Outrage (1950) is one of the earliest post-Code films to deal with rape.

While it is arguable that Outrage (1950) is film noir, Ida Lupino's fifth film, The Hitch-Hiker (1953), most certainly is. In fact, in directing The Hitch-Hiker (1950), Ida Lupino is often credited as the first woman to direct a film noir. The Hitch-Hiker (1950) centres on two friends, Roy Collins (Edmond O'Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Frank Lovejoy) who find themselves kidnapped by serial killer Emmett Myers (William Talman), who forces them to take him to Santa Rosalia, Baja California in an effort to escape the police. The Hitch-Hiker (1950) was based on the real life case of Billy Cook, who murdered an entire family and a travelling salesman. 

Not only was The Hitch-Hiker (1953) possibly the first film noir directed by a woman, it is also one of the earliest films about a serial killer. It differs from many film noirs in that rather than the narrow streets and tight corners of a city, it is set in the open spaces of the countryside. Despite this, Roy Collins and Gilbert Bowen seem even more isolated than if they had been in a large metropolis. This feeling of isolation is helped even more by Ida Lupino's use of dark shadows and high contrast lighting. Bleak and hard-edged, an argument can be made that The Hitch-Hiker is one of the most important movies in the film noir movement. 

Ida Lupino followed The Hitch-Hiker (1953) with The Bigamist (1953). The Bigamist (1953) is not a clear-cut film noir in the way that The Hitch-Hiker (1953) is, although it can be counted as film noir or at least noir adjacent. The Bigamist (1953) centres on Harry Graham (Edmond O'Brien), who leads a double life as Harrison Graham. Indeed, he is marred to two different women under each name. 

While The Bigamist (1953) might not sound like film noir, it certainly features some noir characteristics. One of these is moral ambiguity. Harry Graham is not portrayed as a straightforward villain, but as a man with deep flaws who is conflicted by what he is doing. It shares with many film noirs a frame of an investigator digging into Harry Graham's life--in this case an adoption investigator, Mr. Jordan (Edmund Gwenn), who looks into Harry's life when Harry and his wife Eve (Joan Fontaine) seek to adopt a child. It also uses film noir aesthetics, including low-key lighting and deep shadows. With a bleak outlook and moral ambiguity, an argument can be made that The Bigamist (1953) indeed noir.

The Bigamist (1953) would be the last feature film Ida Lupino would direct until The Trouble with Angels (1966) and her last feature film that could be considered film noir. While she worked extensively in television, none of her television work could be considered film noir. Regardless, Ida Lupino would leave her mark on film noir. This is certainly the case with The Hitch-Hiker (1953). Regardless of whether they are film noir or not, Ida Lupino was a talented director and her films are worth checking out.