''Lorna'' is a 1964
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
starring
Lorna Maitland
Lorna Maitland, born Barbara Ann Popejoy (November 19, 1943), is an American film actress. She appeared in three Russ Meyer films: '' Lorna'', '' Mudhoney'', and '' Mondo Topless''.
Biography
Lorna Maitland was born in Glendale, Los Angeles ...
, produced and directed by
Russ Meyer
Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fea ...
. It was written in four days by
James Griffith
James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter.
Education
Griffith attended Santa Monica High School, where he was a classmate with Glenn Ford. Both were active in s ...
, who played the preacher in the film.
''Lorna'' marks the end of Meyer's "nudies" and his first foray into serious film making. It was his first film in the
sexploitation
A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...
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
Lorna Maitland, born Barbara Ann Popejoy (November 19, 1943), is an American film actress. She appeared in three Russ Meyer films: '' Lorna'', '' Mudhoney'', and '' Mondo Topless''.
Biography
Lorna Maitland was born in Glendale, Los Angeles ...
) 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
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
. 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 take place on Jim and Lorna's anniversary, which Jim has forgotten.
Cast
*
Lorna Maitland
Lorna Maitland, born Barbara Ann Popejoy (November 19, 1943), is an American film actress. She appeared in three Russ Meyer films: '' Lorna'', '' Mudhoney'', and '' Mondo Topless''.
Biography
Lorna Maitland was born in Glendale, Los Angeles ...
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
''Bitter Rice'' ( it, Riso Amaro ) is a 1949 Italian film made by Lux Film, written and directed by Giuseppe De Santis. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassman, ''Bitter Rice'' was ...
'' 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."
[King of the Nudies on Biggest Film Caper Yet
Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times November 30, 1969: s18.]
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
Locke, also known as Locke Historic District, is an unincorporated community in California's Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The 10 acre town was first developed between 1893 and 1915 approximately one mile north of the town of Walnut Gr ...
.
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 a humorous, outrageous way."
[SEX, VIOLENCE AND DRUGS ALL IN GOOD FUN! Berkowitz, Stan. Film Comment; New York Vol. 9, Iss. 1, (Jan/Feb 1973): 47–51.]
Reception
The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' 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
Notes
*
*
External links
*
*
* https://catalog.afi.com/Film/21384-LORNA
* https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/496279/lorna
''Lorna''at Letterbox DVD
Complete filmat
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{Russ Meyer
1964 films
American black-and-white films
1960s English-language films
Films directed by Russ Meyer
American independent films
American sexploitation films
Films with screenplays by Russ Meyer
1964 drama films
1964 independent films
1960s American films