Noir Trailblazer

Abstract

Robert Guffey evaluates Ida Lupino, Filmmaker, edited by Phillip Sipiora, an anthology that reconsiders Lupino’s career as an actress, writer, director, and producer across film and television. Guffey situates Lupino within the history of film noir, arguing that her work anticipates and reshapes the genre through a proto-feminist perspective that challenges masculine conventions of crime cinema. The review highlights the volume’s emphasis on Lupino’s transgressive subject matter—including rape, unwanted pregnancy, illness, and gendered power—and its sustained attention to her overlooked contributions to episodic television. Drawing on examples from multiple contributors, Guffey underscores the anthology’s success in reframing Lupino as a major auteur whose ethical concerns and narrative strategies resonate with contemporary debates about gender, agency, and representation. The essay concludes that Ida Lupino, Filmmaker is an essential intervention in film studies, restoring Lupino’s full artistic range and cultural significance.