Lorna signalled an important change of direction for director Russ Meyer. While it remained within the overall bracket that could be termed sexploitation it was quite a significant departure from the nudie cuties which had hitherto constituted his filmography. Unlike those, Lorna was shot in black and white but upgraded to 35mm. Even more significantly it also was his first feature to have synchronised sound, which allowed him to better engage the viewer and allowed him to tell an actual story with proper, interesting characters. With these ingredients it was the first of his films that truly showcased what he was all about and gave far more of an indication of his overall sensibilities, beyond his obvious love of large breasts.
Like most Meyer films this one is as much a showcase for his lead actress as it is anything else. In this instance it is the buxom Lorna Maitland who takes centre stage. She plays a young woman who is bored with married life in a rural area. Her pathetic husband cannot satisfy her sexually and spends all his time working in a salt mine while taking verbal abuse from his two slovenly co-workers; one of which is a mean-spirited misogynist who we first see forcing his way into the home of a young woman only to then violently knock her about. While Lorna's husband is away on one of these details, she is raped by an escaped convict whose attack excites her, leading her to invite him home for an afternoon of further lust. Of course, this is not set to end well.
I guess it should be said from the outset that the idea of Lorna being so receptive to being raped is a pretty outrageous and offensive one. It's certainly at best 'of its time'. Although I reckon if you see a few Meyer movies you begin to realise that his cinematic universe operates by its own hyper-real rules and content that would be somewhat dubious in other hands seems quite normal is his world of strong women and dumb men constantly at war with each other. Lorna was the first of his four black and white 'roughies' which culminated with his classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965). Like a few of his films it takes the form of a melodrama, although unlike most it has little in the way of his soon-to-be typical distinctive comedy, in fact it's possibly the least humorous film he ever made. This may well be because it was written by James Griffith – who plays the part of a hell and brimstone preacher who appears periodically to commentate on the sins of the players – who also wrote the screenplay for the later Motorpsycho! (1965) which was another Meyer film with a decidedly darker tone.
It is, however, as visually accomplished as films by Meyer would go on to become known for. Having said that, at this stage in his career he was more restrained in his visual approach and had not developed the manic fast editing style that would typify his later, more over-the-top efforts. This one is more indebted to noir than his others and the presentation is consequently a little more downbeat. Almost all of the lighter moments involve Lorna Maitland in a state of undress; the best of these is a scene where she takes a dip in a river. It's shot beautifully and is one of the most iconic moments of 60's cinematic erotica. Historically, the film itself was prosecuted for obscenity in some American states but cashed in big-time on the drive-in circuit and even played some art-houses. It's not surprising that it had this varying effect, as Lorna is simultaneously a pioneering and daring sexploitation classic which was certainly pushing the envelope at the time for what was permissible, yet at the same time it's very well made and certainly has artistic merit and ambition beyond its voluptuous leading ladies most prominent assets.
Like most Meyer films this one is as much a showcase for his lead actress as it is anything else. In this instance it is the buxom Lorna Maitland who takes centre stage. She plays a young woman who is bored with married life in a rural area. Her pathetic husband cannot satisfy her sexually and spends all his time working in a salt mine while taking verbal abuse from his two slovenly co-workers; one of which is a mean-spirited misogynist who we first see forcing his way into the home of a young woman only to then violently knock her about. While Lorna's husband is away on one of these details, she is raped by an escaped convict whose attack excites her, leading her to invite him home for an afternoon of further lust. Of course, this is not set to end well.
I guess it should be said from the outset that the idea of Lorna being so receptive to being raped is a pretty outrageous and offensive one. It's certainly at best 'of its time'. Although I reckon if you see a few Meyer movies you begin to realise that his cinematic universe operates by its own hyper-real rules and content that would be somewhat dubious in other hands seems quite normal is his world of strong women and dumb men constantly at war with each other. Lorna was the first of his four black and white 'roughies' which culminated with his classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965). Like a few of his films it takes the form of a melodrama, although unlike most it has little in the way of his soon-to-be typical distinctive comedy, in fact it's possibly the least humorous film he ever made. This may well be because it was written by James Griffith – who plays the part of a hell and brimstone preacher who appears periodically to commentate on the sins of the players – who also wrote the screenplay for the later Motorpsycho! (1965) which was another Meyer film with a decidedly darker tone.
It is, however, as visually accomplished as films by Meyer would go on to become known for. Having said that, at this stage in his career he was more restrained in his visual approach and had not developed the manic fast editing style that would typify his later, more over-the-top efforts. This one is more indebted to noir than his others and the presentation is consequently a little more downbeat. Almost all of the lighter moments involve Lorna Maitland in a state of undress; the best of these is a scene where she takes a dip in a river. It's shot beautifully and is one of the most iconic moments of 60's cinematic erotica. Historically, the film itself was prosecuted for obscenity in some American states but cashed in big-time on the drive-in circuit and even played some art-houses. It's not surprising that it had this varying effect, as Lorna is simultaneously a pioneering and daring sexploitation classic which was certainly pushing the envelope at the time for what was permissible, yet at the same time it's very well made and certainly has artistic merit and ambition beyond its voluptuous leading ladies most prominent assets.