TCM presents: 60 Years of the UCLA Film & Television Archive | Ida Lupino TV

[Music] May, thank you so much for being here this evening. We are celebrating 60 years of the UCLA Film and Television Archive, of which you are the director. I'm so excited about this evening's programming, especially what we have coming up now. This is why the UCLA Film and Television Archive exists. to make me happy because you've brought an idolino show that I have never seen that I didn't even know existed and probably the world would never know existed without UCLA's work. So tell us about what we're going to see next. Well, one of the fantastic things about UCLA is we have researchers coming and looking at our collection and uh Alexandra Sos uh who is a writer and just published a book about Idol Lipino had come and done research at the archive and UCLA library and started talking about some of these titles and and showing us what we had in the collection and from there we were able to preserve that film thanks to Alexandra Screen Director's Playhouse had big time directors of course and this is the 16th one with Idol Lino and it's quite lovely cuz you see the sort of understated acting that she pulls out from her cast. I love this lovely episode and it's quite short. It packs a punch though. It does pack a punch and I was so thrilled to see this because obviously she had already made the hitchhiker and William Tolman who's so menacing in the hitchhiker is in this along with Peter Lorie who's fantastic and Terresa Wright who's wonderful but it's so interesting to me because I noted that Idolino is credited as writing the story for this as well which doesn't surprise me at all because it reminded me of several Idolino movies like on dangerous ground or deep Valley which have very very much the same feeling. But it's so fantastic to have these things preserved to see these television episodes made by people that were so familiar with from the movies. This is like an unexplored terrain as far as I'm concerned and something that I'm eager to work with the UCLA archive to like find these things and pull them out so that people can see them again. So what a treat that we're going to be able to see this right now. So, thank you so much for bringing this. And here is the director's showcase episode number five, checked out, written and directed by Idol Lino. [Music] Well, May, earlier this evening, you gifted us with this episode of The Screen Director's Playhouse directed by Idol Lapino. I have heard of understated acting, but Peter Lor's death scene, he gives the most understated reaction to being shot I've ever seen in a movie. >> I think he's relieved. I think he's been tortured. You know, the episode, you really feel his intractable sort of situation that he's in. And so, he's like, "Yes, bring it on." Yeah. Here are the keys. I love that episode. That's television, classic television that I adore. It's so well written. It's so compact. It's so well acted. It's so tight. Has a beautiful poignant ending. And then you're done. And it's like 25 minutes long or something. And it's like, yes, nailed it. >> A whirlwind of drama. >> So, yes. So, thank you so much for that. And now we've got something else that's kind of special focused on Idol Lipino. Tell us about this. Well, we do work on films with happy endings. Um, this is a television episode that many folks might be familiar with the series this is your life and Ida Lipino is not somebody who probably would want to be surprised and brought into this is your life but that exactly what happens. And this is at a time where she is very close to getting a divorce from her husband Howard, who is featured, of course, in the episode. And just, you know, take a look at the lovely tension that you feel simmering beneath her director brain. Uh, you can definitely tell she's ready to move on. So, what you're saying is Ida is giving another tremendous performance in this, just trying to keep things together, not wanting to celebrate anything at all. >> I mean, I think the kids would call this cringe a little bit, but it's also an incredible window into a remarkable woman and filmmaker. So, I say, you know, she did it. Let's watch it. >> Well, thank you so much for bringing this. And now we get to watch some cringe-worthy old television with Ida Lepino and Howard Duff on This Is Your Life.