Ida Lupino: Last News

J. Kim Murphy Bert I. Gordon, an American filmmaker whose low-budget creature features brought super-sized monsters to drive-in cinemas in the mid-20th century, died Wednesday in Los Angeles after collapsing at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 100. Gordon’s death was confirmed to the New York Times by his daughter, Patricia. In Atomic Age America, Gordon’s science-fiction B movies manifested the country’s nuclear anxieties as eye-popping apocalypse spectacles. Mostly working under shooting schedules that could total to two weeks and change at most, Gordon produced, directed and wrote more than 25 features over a career spanning six decades, including striking titles like “Village of the Giants” (1965), “How to Succeed With Sex” (1970) and “Empire of the Ants” (1977). His films “Necromancy” (1972)” and “The Food of the Gods” (1976) featured Orson Welles and Ida Lupino, respectively.

Bert I. Gordon, who was given the nickname “Mr. B.I.G.” by Famous Monsters of Filmland editor Forrest J. Ackerman not just because it matched his initials but also because it matched the director’s favorite big-screen subject — giant monsters — died today. He was 100. His daughter Patricia Gordon confirmed the filmmaker’s death to the New York Times.

The Dark Knight, A Clockwork Orange, Lilies of the Field, The Joy Luck Club and films directed by Ida Lupino and Kathryn Bigelow — two of a record-breaking nine helmed by women — are among the latest cinematic jewels chosen for the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, it was announced Monday. The list of 25 motion pictures picked to be preserved for future generations also includes funny films The Battle of the Century (1927), a rarely seen Laurel & Hardy release, a 1914 Charlie Chaplin short and Shrek (2001); thrillers like the Suspense (1913) and The Man With the Golden Arm (1955); and the music-laden Cabin in the Sky (1943), Wattstax (1973), Grease (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980) and Buena Vista Social Club (1999).