Pillow To Post(1945)

Pillow To Post(1945). D: Vincent Sherman. Ida Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, William Prince, Stuart Erwin, Ruth Donnelly, Barbara Brown, Willie Best, Louis Armstrong, Dorothy Dandridge, Bobby (Robert) Blake and William Conrad.

After hearing a call over the radio asking women to join the work force, because all the men are now in the army, Jean Howard begs her father, an oil supplies manufacturer, to hire her to represent his company. With no other choice, he gives her the job, but.. after she loses several sales, he sends her a telegram ordering her to come home.

Jean, not wanting to give up hope, travels to see Slim Clark, who runs an oil field close to an army town. Soon after she arrives, she finds the town over run with wives visiting their husbands and Jean has a hard time finding a room. She is offered a bungalow that is available only to a married couple with no children. Jean, explains to the land lady that her husband is on a bivouac, but will be home before 6:00 p.m.

Jean, goes to see Slim at the oil field, but he refuses to close the deal until she accepts his dinner invitation.
Just before her 6:00 p.m. deadline, she gets a ride from Lieutenant Don Mallory, who she gets to agree to sign the register before leaving for camp. As luck would have it, he meets his commanding officer, Colonel Michael Otley, and has to pretend that he and Jean were married that morning. Otley then cancels his plans so that he can spend the night with his new "bride".

Later, when Slim arrives for his date with Jean, Don insists that he must come along to avoid the gossiping neighbors. Slim, is not happy about the arrangement and does not close the deal. Don, spends the night camping outside, while Jean sleeps inside the bungalow.

The next morning, Don comes up with a plan to tell Otley, that they had a fight and  that Jean has returned home, but.. the plan backfires when Otley, overhears their fake fight and he insists that they make up.
Slim then invites Jean, to discuss business during a trip to Fresno. Don, can not believe it when Jean returns, with her lipstick smeared and leaves the bungalow in a huff.

To complicate matters even more, Don's mother arrives unexpectedly. While Jean is packing her suitcase, planning on heading back home. Then Otley, drops by to invite them to dinner, telling her that he is demoting a lieutenant on his staff who pretended to be married. Jean decides to stay to keep Don from getting into trouble.

At the Otleys', Jean, who has had too much to drink, tells Don her plan just before the Otleys are called away to help deliver a baby in a neighboring bungalow.

When Slim comes to take Jean to the train, he finds Don's mother in the cabin, and the two of them confront Don and Jean. It is not long before Jean's father arrives to find out what is going on. Otley, who has returned from the delivery, is about to court-martial Don when the handyman Lucille, informs them that Don spent the night outside alone. You have to watch to see who "gets the girl"?

This story, is very charming and a young Ida Lupino, is wonderful in this movie!

Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982), began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913, in The Quaker Girl. Her Broadway debut brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan, who proceeded to cast her in numerous comic-relief roles in such musicals as Going Up (1917).

Though she made her first film appearance in 1913, her Hollywood career began in 1931 and lasted until 1957.

The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt(1939).

The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt(1939). Cast: Warren William, Ida Lupino, Rita Hayworth and Virginia Weidler. Directed by Peter Godfrey.

Ex-jewel thief Michael Lanyard, AKA The Lone Wolf, is taken by force to see Spiro, the leader of an espionage ring, who offers to pay him $10,000 to steal the plans for the new anti-aircraft gun. Lanyard, turns down the job and quickly leaves, but not before Spiro steals his cigarettes.

The following day, the War Department safe is robbed and Lanyard's half-smoked cigarettes are found at the scene of the crime. Inspector Thomas, suspects the former jewel thief of the crime and goes looking for him. After talking with the inspector, Lanyard leaves for a cocktail party with Val Carson, the senator's daughter.

Soon after arriving at the bar, Lanyard is lured to Spiro's house, where he is informed that the spies made off with only half of the plans and that they want him to get the remaining plans. Lanyard goes to the inventors house, where he finds the real plans in the safe.

Lanyard, turns the real plans over to Val's father and goes to Spiro's house to get the rest of the plans. Karen, tries to buy the secret plans from Lanyard. Lanyard's daughter Patricia, playing detective, hides in her car. While trailing Spiro, Lanyard is recaptured, but is saved by Patricia, who creates a diversion by stealing the plans. Will the police arrive in time to arrest the spies.

This is the first film I've seen of The Lone Wolf series. Ida Lupino, is very charming who plays a woman who keeps hoping the Wolf will marry her.. Rita Hayworth, as always makes a wonderful femme fatale.

Warren William (December 2, 1894 – September 24, 1948), was nicknamed the "king of Pre-Code". After moving from Broadway to Hollywood in 1931, he reached his peak as a leading man in early 1930s pre-Production Code films. He was a contract player at the Warner Bros. studio and was known for playing heartless types, including the Sam Spade character in the second filming of, The Maltese Falcon, called Satan Met a Lady (1936).

He also played roles, such as, Imitation of Life, in which he played Claudette Colbert's love interest. He also performed as her love interest in the film, Cleopatra. And he was the swashbuckle in, The Man in the Iron Mask(1939).

William was the first to play Erle Stanley a fictional defense attorney Perry Mason on the big screen and starred in four, Perry Mason mysteries. He also played Raffles-like reformed jewel thief in the, The Lone Wolf, beginning with, The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) with Ida Lupino and Rita Hayworth and he starred as detective Philo Vance in two films in that series, 1934's The Dragon Murder Case and 1939's The Gracie Allen Murder Case.

Happy Birthday: Ida Lupino!

Ida Lupino (4 February 1918– 3 August 1995), was a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed nine others. She also appeared in serial television shows 58 times and directed 50 other episodes. In addition, she contributed as a writer to five films and four TV episodes.

Lupino was born into a family of performers. Her father, Stanley Lupino, was a music-hall comedian and her mother, Connie Emerald, was an actress. As a girl, Ida was encouraged to enter show business by both her parents and her uncle, Lupino Lane. She trained at RADA and made her first movie appearance in, The Love Race (1931) and spent the next several years playing bit parts.

It was after her appearance in, The Light That Failed (1939) that Lupino began to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress and she began to call herself..."the poor man's Bette Davis."

Lupino became well known from her performances in such films as, They Drive by Night (1940). A story about two brothers who were a couple of wildcat truck drivers. One comes to harm, while the other is accused of his friend's murder.






And High Sierra (1941), A story about Roy 'Mad Dog' Earle, who meets up with an old a friend who wants him to help with an upcoming robbery. When the robbery goes wrong and a man is shot and killed Earle goes on the run with the police hot on his tail in the, Sierra Nevada's.

After her performance in, The Hard Way (1943). She acted regularly, and was in demand throughout the 1940s without becoming a major star until 1947.

Eventually, Lupino became interested in directing. She found herself bored on set while "someone else seemed to be doing all the interesting work." She and her husband Collier Young formed an independent company, The Filmmakers. Lupino, became a producer, director and screenwriter of low-budget movies.

Her first directing job came when Elmer Clifton suffered a mild heart attack and could not finish the film, Not Wanted(1949). Lupino stepped in to finish the film and went on to direct her own projects, becoming Hollywood's only female film director of the time.

Lupino directed films about social issues: Outrage (1950)and The Hitch-Hiker (1953), making her the first woman to direct a film noir. Lupino often joked that if she had been the "poor man's Bette Davis" as an actress, then she had become the "poor man's Don Siegel" as a director. In 1952, Lupino was invited to become the "fourth star" in Four Star Productions by Dick Powell, David Niven, and Charles Boyer, after Joel McCrea and Rosalind Russell had dropped out of the company.

Lupino continued acting throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and her directing were mostly television shows: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, The Twilight Zone, Have Gun Will Travel, The Donna Reed Show, Gilligan's Island, 77 Sunset Strip, The Investigators, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Rifleman, The Virginian, Batman, Sam Benedict, Bonanza, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, Colombo, and Bewitched. She guest-starred on The Streets of San Francisco .

From January 1957 through September 1958, Lupino starred with her then husband, Howard Duff, in the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve, in which they played husband and wife film stars named Howard Adams and Eve Drake. Duff and Lupino also co-starred as themselves in 1959 in one of, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour. Later in her acting career, Lupino guest-starred on many TV shows, before she retired at the age of 60. She made her final movie appearance in 1978.

Ida Lupino movies I have seen:

1940 They Drive by Night
1941 High Sierra
Escape Me Never.  Please click here to read Escape Me Never review.
1952 On Dangerous Ground
1966 The Trouble with Angels
1972 Junior Bonner

Escape Me Never( 1947).

Escape Me Never( 1947). Cast: Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker and Gig Young. It was adapted by Lenore J. Coffe(uncredited) and Thames Williamson and was directed by Peter Godfrey, with music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

A romance between aspiring composer Caryl Dubrok and Fenella MacLean is quickly ended by her parents when they believe that Caryl living with a young widow named, Gemma Smith and her son Piccolo.

Caryl learns that Gemma lives with his brother Sebastian a composer. Sebastian says that they go after Fenella and clear up the terrible misunderstanding. At first, Sebastian wants to leave Gemma and Piccolo behind, but when she says that she is going accept a marriage proposal from someone else, Sebastian decides to bring her along.

One evening, when Sebastian and Gemma perform without Caryl. A beautiful woman catches Sebastians eye, he does not know that it is Fenella. He sends Gemma home, while Sebastian stays behind with Fenella and is inspired to write the music that he will use in his ballet.

The next day, Gemma goes to the hotel to pick up their pay, she learns Fenella is staying there and explains the mix up. Fenella so upset that Sebastian is really Caryl's brother that Gemma leaves with Sebastian. Gemma and Sebastian marry and move to London, where he continues his work.

The MacLeans also return to London, followed by Caryl, who becomes engaged to Fenella. Sebastian finishes his music and everything is going well until one day during rehearsals, Piccolo becomes very ill. Sebastian refuses to go with Gemma to the hospital.

Fenella tells Sebastian that she has broken her engagement to Caryl and wants to go back to her family's home in the country. While Gemma's life falls apart, Sebastian realizes how much Gemma means to him, and rewrites the music for her. Will Gemma and Sebastian ever find each other again?

I just saw the film, Escape Me Never, on TCM for the first time. I thought it was a very charming film. It is quite a change of pace for Flynn and... he is still very sexy even in rags!

Ida Lupino, was an English-American film actress and director, and a pioneer women filmmaker.

In her forty-eight year career, she performed in fifty-nine films, and directed nine others.

She also performed in television shows fifty-eight times and directed fifty other episodes.

Lupino was born into a family of performers. Her father, Stanley Lupino, was a music-hall comedian, and her mother, Connie Emerald, was an actress.

 Ida trained at RADA and made her first movie in, The Love Race(1939).

It was after her performance in, The Light That Failed (1939) that Lupino was taken seriously as an actress.

She called herself "the poor man's Bette Davis."

Lupino best known films are: They Drive by Night (1940) and High Sierra (1941), both opposite Humphrey Bogart. The Hard Way (1943),  Road House and On Dangerous Ground.