The Man I Love

1946 - 96 mins - Director: Raoul Walsh - Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Bruce Bennett - b&w - DCP

As flinty chanteuse Petey Brown, Ida Lupino is at the apex of her big-screen glamour, offering a radiantly romantic vision of the post-WWII American woman—able to settle everyone’s hash but her own. A road trip through a world of atmospheric nightclubs, tenements, and backlot streets, this majestic melodrama is part noir, part soap opera, and pure Hollywood magic. 

This was Lupino’s third film with director Walsh, and, despite the high heels and form-fitting lamé gowns, Ida is every bit as tough as she was in the first two: They Drive by Night and High Sierra. Featuring an array of classic songs, including “Why Was I Born?” and the Gershwin melody “The Man I Love,” Lupino’s singing voice for the film was dubbed by American contralto Peg La Centra, wife of actor Paul Stewart, a NOIR CITY favorite. Reportedly, the film’s mix of music, romance, and noir inspired Martin Scorsese to make his own film: New York, New York.

CREDITS
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King, Martha Vickers, Bruce Bennett
Screenplay: Catherine Turney
Cinematographer: Sidney Hickox
Music: Max Steiner
Studio: Warner Brothers
Presentation: DCP / b&w / 1.37:1