Evening star., 1940-12-15
Ida Wonders
About Ways
Of Filnndom
Star Is Mystifed
By Hollywood's
Perversity
By Hubbard Keavy,
Associated Press Stan Writer.
HOLLYWOOD.

HOLLYWOOD.
Whenever Ida Lupino starts WON
dering about things, which she does
every day, she wonders why things
60 the way they do in the movies.
Being irked by Hollywood perversity
is not original with Ida, but that
isn't stopping her.
Maybe you can remember Ida as
a wide-eyed leading lady of few
years ago, into whose speech there
crept an occasional broad "a," or
as very tough cockney. And then
for quite long time you didn't see
or hear about her.
When she came here at Is, an
actress since babyhood Gall the Lu-
pinos always have been actors and
always since babyhooO she was
preceded by a British film in which
she was sweet young thing in the
first half and a cold-blooded killer
in the second.
The studio heads, being busy that
day, saw only the first half and Or
dered their importation done over
as an American ingenue type. Ida
pretty well rid herself of her ac-
cent and soon she was working in
numerous pictures, all the while, Of
course, wondering why she wasn't
allowed to be dramatic.
Then she got the role of the
Cockney lass in Peter Ibbetson"-
by insisting that a director look at
the last half of the old picture
and from then on she was no long
er an ingenue. In fact, she wasn't
anything but an actress looking for
a job. She was a tough Cockney,
type for which there is limited
use.
She Must Repeat.
For 10 months Ida sat around,
toying with the idea of raising
chickens or writing music or al
most anything to forget she had
tried to be an actress. She some
how got a part and that led to an
other, which impressed somebody
who was casting They Drive BY
Night" In it she was the very
definite. calculating wife who killed
her husband because she was in love
with George Raft.
And what happens now? Ida
must play more parts like that
very definite and calculating.
Ida was present only for the last
half of this interview, having been
busy at the studio. Her. mother,
Constance Emerald, who is not like
a movie mother, is able to discuss
her daughter effectively, and did.
She thinks of Ida as a grown-up
woman. now that Idas married (to
Louis HaywarO and has a house
of her own.
But mother says Ida is only %
and the reason most folks have the
idea she is older is because when
Ida came here seven years ago, the
studio said she'd have to be 10. Ida
was really only Is.
The studio said the small towns
in this country don't like the idea
of grown men making love to young
girls" mother reports, 80 we added
three years" (Mother agreed that
the large towns probably don't like
it, eitherD
Duchess Wakes Her.
Ida's mother remarked that the
friendly police dog at our feet is
more than dog; she's also Ida's pro-
| tectress.
Ida is a somnambulist, sc
Duchess sleeps in her room to keer
Ida in bed" said mother: Ida
has walked in her sleep for years
and she didn't begin getting a re-
laxed nights sleep until year ago
when we got Duchess. If Ida get:
out of bed, Duchess puts her paw!
up against Ida's body and thai
wakes her up"
Special screen locks have beer
installed just in case Duchess fail
in her duty to her mistress. Once
said mother. Ida walked right ou
of the house and into a highway