As rigid and tough-minded as Bette Davis, Lupino would often refuse to play a Davis hand-me-down role and was often suspended by Warner Brothers for doing so. It was during those breaks that she learned the craft of directing. Widely respected as a pioneer for women filmmakers, Lupino was the second woman to be admitted to the Director's Guild (Dorothy Arzner).
My agent had told me that he was going to make me the Janet Gaynor of
England - I was going to play all the sweet roles. Whereupon, at the
tender age of thirteen, I set upon the path of playing nothing but
hookers.
