Lorna (film)

Lorna
Theatrical poster to Lorna (1964)
Starring	Lorna Maitland Mark Bradley James Rucker Hal Hopper Doc Scortt Althea Currier F. Rufus Owens Frank Bolger Ken Parker James Griffith
Directed by	Russ Meyer
Produced by	Eve Meyer Russ Meyer
Written by	James Griffith Russ Meyer
Music by	Hal Hopper (title song) James Griffith (uncredited)
Cinematography	Russ Meyer
Distributed by	Eve Productions Inc.
Released	September 11, 1964 (in USA)
Runtime	78 minutes
Country	United States
language	English
Budget	$37,000

Lorna is a 1964 independent film starring Lorna Maitland, produced and directed by Russ Meyer. It was written in four days by James Griffith, who also played the preacher in the film.

Lorna marks the end of Meyer's "nudies" and his first foray into serious filmmaking. It was his first film in the sexploitation style with a dramatic storyline. It was one of Meyer's early, rural gothic films. It is perhaps his most romantic film, despite the tragic ending. Meyer describes the movie as "a brutal examination of the important realities of power, prophecy, freedom, and justice in our society against a background of violence and lust, where simplicity is only a facade." Reviews described Maitland as "a wanton of unparalleled emotion [...] unrestrained earthiness [...] destined to set a new standard of voluptuous beauty." Lorna was called "the female Tom Jones".

Lorna was the first of three films Meyer filmed featuring Lorna Maitland. Though still a low-budget, it was the most expensive film he had made to date, and was Meyer's first film in 35 mm.

Plot

The publicity to Lorna exclaimed: "Without artistic surrender, without compromise, without question or apology, an important motion picture was produced: LORNA — a woman too much for one man."

Lorna (Lorna Maitland) is a sexually unsatisfied young wife married to Jim (James Rucker), who works at a salt mine and spends his evenings studying to become a Certified Public Accountant. When Lorna goes for a nude swim in the river, she is raped by an escaped convict (Mark Bradley), but her frustrated sexuality is awakened. She invites the stranger to their home while Jim is at work.

Meanwhile, Jim's co-workers tease him about his wife's beauty and infidelity. Jim returns home early and discovers Lorna's unfaithfulness. The events occur on Jim and Lorna's anniversary, which Jim has forgotten.

Cast

• Lorna Maitland as Lorna
• James Rucker as Jim

Production

"That was breaking into what I call the quasi-foreign film," said Meyer later. "I wanted to make a Bitter Rice in America. A morality play! Good vs evil! The incredibly stacked Lorna Maitland, the innocent husband, the devil's advocate! She paid for her sins in the end by having an ice tong struck through that heaving chest."

Meyer had originally offered the lead role to Maria Andre, an actress who had been in his earlier Heavenly Bodies! (1963). However Meyer was unhappy with her breast size and continued to look for alternatives. Meyer's wife and business partner, Eve, discovered Barbara Ann Popejoy. She was cast and Meyer paid off Andre.

Meyer renamed Popejoy to "Lorna Maitland". She was pregnant during the shoot. (She would later give the baby up for adoption.)

The film was shot in black and white over 10 days in September 1963, mainly on the small main street that runs through Locke, California.

In 1973 Meyer said at the time he made Lorna, "if I did a rape scene, it struck me that it was terribly erotic and exciting. Today it would not strike me the same way. I would probably treat it in a much more ludicrous fashion, more outrageous. But then again, even then, I was doing that because I always had a woman raped in the most difficult circumstances, in a swamp, or in six feet of water, or out in a sand dune. I guess my jibes at sex have been just exactly that. I've looked upon sex in a kind of humorous, outrageous way."

Reception

The Los Angeles Times said it was "afflicted with terrible taste and not a shred of talent anywhere."

The film was prosecuted for obscenity in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Florida, but became a major success at drive-in, downtown theaters, and even made appearances at art-house cinemas.

According to Roger Ebert, the film grossed almost a million dollars.

References

Wikipedia article: Lorna_(film)

A Personal Note from Robin

The Rialto Reporter published "Whatever Happened to Lorna Maitland? Her Beauty, Tragedy and Mystery" . It is available at:

• https://www.therialtoreport.com/2015/08/23/lorna-maitland/

In my opinion, it is a good read as it shows the personal insight to a retired pornstar

External links

• Review Lorna   at the Internet Movie Database
• Lorna at All Movie Guide
• https://catalog.afi.com/Film/21384-LORNA
• https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/496279/lorna
• Lorna at Letterbox DVD
• Complete film at Internet Archive

Jump to: Main Page • Micropedia • Macropedia • Icons • Time Line • History • Life Lessons • Links • Help
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root