The Arsenal Institut für film und video kunst summer film series are always clever and intriguing. This year they are saluting the legendary director and actress Ida Lupino. Ida is one of golden era Hollywoods few female directors in the Directors Guild.
Ida was a Brit signed to a long term contract to Warner Brother First National Pictures who was no nonsense in every aspect and brought that quality to her writing of scenarios, producting and helming B and noir films with a decided social bent. Fearless leader of CHEAP Susanne Sachsse used the 1953 Lupino film The Bigamist as inspiration for her 2009 theatre piece Communist Bigamist.
Felt lucky to catch Miss Lupino in the 1947 drama The Man I Love directed by Raoul Walsh where Ida plays a seen it,done it band singer. This film inspired Marty Scorcese' New York, New York in 1977.
Last night i saw the Ida directed feature film Never Fear also known as The Young Lovers from 1949 starring Lesbian hotcake Sally Forrest and a very young, hunky Hugh O'Brien. If you're visiting Berlin rush to Arsenal at 2 Potsdamer Strasse at the Sony Center Potsdamer Platz and see rare screenings of her other films she directed like The Hitchhiker 1953 and Hard, Fast and Beautiful 1951 also starring Miss Forrest.
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Sumpteous meaty meats on parade, saladas and tasty side dishes were in abundance at the farewell BBQ of Empress Stefanie Schulte Strathaus at her Wrangel kiez penthouse compound. Our lovely Empress will be away attending to business in Cairo for three weeks and she will be missed by all her loyal subjects. Enjoying the hearty feastage: Big peniled scholar Marcuse Siegelstein, his lady love Susanne Sachsse handling the grill duties, Daniel Hendrickson the Jewish Muslim and his hot Italio beau brummel Piero Bellomo who will be heading to Italy for ten days to help celebrate his mama´s birthday.
Had a reunion of sorts with my old run-around Sue pal Ix aka: Steffan Santoro. Ix was an androgynous youth that I first met in the early 80s when he was a behind the Orange Curtain weenager hanging out with suburban kewpie doll and Good Time Sally Mischa, and the late infamous Xiola Blue immortalized in song and lore by her lover Perry Farrell in his band Jane´s Addiction. I had forgotten that I was the one who introduced Xiola, a green dreadlocked Orange County teenage nymphette to the big peniled post punker. Mr. Farrell in those days was working a mile long dreadlock look himself while leading the band Psi Com. Ix and I also did some modeling for some various clothing lines and a bunch of fashion shows, and he received quite a bit of attention in the early 90s when he was featured in Reza Abdul´s stage piece The Bogeyman which also starred the late Cliff Diller who i loved dearly and Goddess Bunny plus a million other Hollywood freaks.