Page "Ida Lupino" Paragraph 5

In the mid-1940s, while on suspension for turning down a role, Lupino became interested in directing.

Her time on suspension allowed her to spend her time observing the filming and editing processes, which would aid her in her directorial endeavors.

She described herself as being bored on set while " someone else seemed to be doing all the interesting work.

" She co-wrote and co-produced some of her own films as well.

She and her husband Collier Young formed an independent company, The Filmakers, and Lupino became a producer, director and screenwriter of low-budget, issue-oriented films. This company would go on to produce 12 feature films, six of which she directed or co-directed, five of which she wrote or co-wrote, three of which she acted in, and 1 of which she co-produced.

Lupino claims she “… did not set out to be a director ,” but it was a reality she had to face when her first directing job came unexpectedly in 1949 when Elmer Clifton suffered a mild heart attack and could not finish Not Wanted, a film she co-produced and co-wrote.

Lupino stepped in to finish the film but did not take directorial credit out of respect of Clifton.

Although the subject of the film was controversial, it received a vast amount of publicity.

She was even invited to discuss the film with Eleanor Roosevelt on a national radio program.

She went on to direct her own projects, becoming Hollywood's only female film director of the time and the first actress to produce, direct, and write her own product.