Ida Lupino stars in “The Man I Love”

The Man I Love (1947) is a melodramatic film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King, and Bruce Bennett.

Petey Brown (Lupino) is a lounge singer who is homesick for her family in California. She leaves New York City to visit her two sisters (King and Martha Vickers) and brother (Warren Douglas) on the West Coast. She gets a job at a Long Beach nightclub owned by a local hood, Nicky Toresca (Alda).

While avoiding passes from Toresca, Petey falls in love with a down-on-his-luck ex-jazz pianist, Sam Thomas (Bennett).

Will Petey make a life for herself in California or will she go back to New York City and the jazz clubs where she feels most at home?

 

Raoul Walsh (1887 - 1980) was an American director, actor, and founding member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Walsh got his start acting on the stage in New York. He eventually began acting in silent films and worked as an assistant director alongside D.W. Griffith. Eventually, he became a director working with major silent-film stars Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, and Anna May Wong. He lost his right eye in a freak accident in 1928 and never acted again, instead of focusing exclusively on directing. Some of his notable films include The Roaring Twenties (1939) starring James Cagney and Priscilla Lane, High Sierra (1941) starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, The Strawberry Blonde (1941) starring Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, White Heat (1949) starring Cagney and Virginia Mayo, and Captian Horatio Hornblower (1951) starring Gregory Peck and Mayo.

Ida Lupino (1918 – 1995) was an English-American actress, director, and producer. She appeared in over 50 films and was one of Warner Bros.’s biggest contract players during the 1940s starring in High Sierra (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), and The Man I Love (1947). After she left Warner Bros., Lupino formed her own production company, producing, writing, and directing films that tackled subjects the big studios wouldn’t touch. During the 1950s, Lupino was the only female director working in Hollywood. She produced and directed several small independent films but made a name for herself directing for television. Lupino directed episodes of The Twilight Zone (starred in one too), The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gilligan’s Island, It Takes a Thief, Family Affair, and Columbo. In 1966, she directed her one-and-only big-budget studio picture, The Trouble with Angels starring Rosalind Russell and Haley Mills.

Ida Lupino and Robert Alda

Robert Alda (1914 – 1986) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He got his start in vaudeville and after winning a talent contest moved on the burlesque. He toured with Jack Carson and Marion Hutton (Betty Hutton’s sister) supporting Jack Carson’s radio show. Alda’s most famous film roles were as George Gershwin in Rhapsody in Blue (1945) and as the talent agent in Imitation of Life (1959). He created the role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls on Broadway for which he won a Tony Award. He made numerous appearances on television throughout his career and was host of several game shows during the 1950s. He is the father of Alan and Antony Alda.

Andrea King (1919 – 2003) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. King got her start as a child actress and worked on Broadway. Her most famous stage role was as Mark Skinner (replacing Teresa Wright) in Life with Father. In 1944, she signed a contract with Warner Bros. She appeared in several uncredited roles but was eventually elevated to leading lady status in The Beast with Five Fingers (1946) and The Man I Love (1947). King never achieved star status but she continued to work in supporting roles in film and television.

Bruce Bennett (1906 – 2007) was an American actor, college and Olympic athlete. He won a silver medal in the shot put at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Bennett was all set to play Tarzan in 1931 but broke his shoulder filming the football film Touchdown. He was replaced by Johnny Weissmuler. Bennett would eventually play the lead in a Tarzan serial film. His film career was interrupted by World War II, where he served in the United States Navy. Bennett was busy in the 1940s appearing in Mildred Pierce (1945), Nora Prentis (1947), Dark Passage (1947), The Man I Love (1947), and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

 

The Man I Love trivia

• Ida Lupino’s singing voice was dubbed by Peg La Centra.
• Lupino became ill during the production and fainted during a scene with Robert Alda. She had to be cut out of her tight-fitting gown.
• Filmed in mid-1945, it wasn’t released until 1947.
• The film was originally planned for Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart.
• Martin Scorcese credited The Man I Love as the inspiration for his film New York, New York.
• Alan Hale appears with Lupino in The Man I Love. Lupino directed  his son, Alan Hale Jr. in several episodes of Gilligan’s Island

 

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube.

 

Click HERE to join the online discussion on October 7, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. Would you consider The Man I Love more of a melodrama or a film noir, or a combination of both.
2. Did you find the love story between Petey and Sam believable? Why or why not.
3. Was Robert Alda a convincing small-time hood?
4. Was Lupino convincing as a nightclub singer?
5. Was the film’s ending satisfying? Was it realistic? Did it remind you of other films you’ve seen?