Strictly average movie

Sadly Over-hyped

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

After finding co- Writer/director/cinematography/editor/co-producer auteur Russ Meyer's fake "Mondo" doc Europe In The Raw to be a painfully slow movie to watch,I started to have serious regrets about having picked up a boxset of Meyer's films in the Christmas sales.Thankfully,a few days ago two fellow IMDb'ers started to tell me that I had something very special to look forward to in Meyer's next movie,which lead to me,initially half-heartedly,decide to take a special visit and meet Russ Meyer's Lorna.The plot:Trying to create a romantic mood on the night before their first wedding anniversary,Lorna asks her husband Jim if he can put his study books down,and instead get into bed with her.Putting the book down,Jim gets into bed and starts to tell Lorna about what he is expecting tomorrow to be like,when he goes back to work in the salt mines.Feeling that Jim is completely missing her hints,Lorna pushes him for some romance,which ends up making her feel more depressed then ever,due to the "action" only lasting 5 minutes!!.Waving goodbye to Jim as he sets off to work with two friends,Lorna decides to go for a calming walk in the woods,where she is suddenly grabbed by a stranger who slams her on the ground,and starts to pull her clothes off.Initially shocked with what is taking place,Lorna soon finds herself getting very excited due to the stranger showing her more passion than Jim has done all year.Feeling extremely lustful,Lorna takes the stranger to her house so that they can continue their passions there,whilst,after getting endlessly teased over how he is not having any "sleepless nights" from his two work buddies,Jim decides to finish work early,so that he can give the wife who he deeply loves an anniversary that she will never forget.View on the film:Shooting the film in crisp black & white,Russ Meyer unveils an astonishing new confidence and sense of pace which had only been previously hinted at,in his earlier silent films.Soaking the movie in a deep Film Noir atmosphere,Meyer uses Jim's salt mine workplace to create a feeling that the entire town is based in the middle of an isolated desert,whilst also using a number of well handled,long pov tracking shots to put the viewer right into the quick sand that all of the characters find themselves unwittingly trapped.Teaming up with another writer for the first time since his debut film,co-writer James Griffth (who also composed the movie's great rumbling score and plays the spooky "Man of God") creates a winning partnership with Meyer in striking an excellent balance between sharp Comedy moments,and murky Film Noir.Banned from being seen in the UK from 1965 until 1998,Meyer and James delightfully make almost every single character be entirely unlikeable,from Jim's two workmates attempting to get a girl agree to a "fun time",to Lorna being an icy dame who loves the feel of being near something dangerous and deadly.Whilst Meyer and James do treat,what is initially an assault on Lorna on a non-comedic way,the writers smartly use the ribbing that Jim gets from his work mates to give the movie some fine Comedy moments,whilst also unexpectedly using the comedic scenes as a way to really hit their brilliantly down beat ending at full force.Backed by a rugged performance from Mark Bradley as the stranger and a real "aw shucks" performance from James Rucker,the vivacious and sultry voiced Lorna Maitland gives a splendid performance as Femme Fatale Lorna.Looking beautiful naked against Meyer's B&W cinematography,Maitland shows herself to be far more than just a pretty face,by giving the character a reckless Film Noir edge,that goes from Lorna's eyes being lit up over doing something dangerous,to screaming in shock,as Lorna discovers that living on the wild side of Film Noir does not come without a deep cost.

After seeing Faster Pussycat a couple years ago, I was so impressed that I decided to hunt down and watch all of Russ Meyer's movies. Well, it's been quite a disappointing quest, and Lorna is just more of the same.First of all, the script is very amateurish. You can tell Mr. Meyer is still groping his way as he tries to tell an effective and engaging story. The characters are one dimensional. They're almost caricatures of themselves. The only time one of them seems real is when Luther apologizes to Lorna near the end. Also, the rape scene is totally unbelievable. Lorna tries to fight this guy off for a few minutes, and then gets turned on by having this guy force himself on her? It just doesn't happen that way. Talk to any woman and see what they say about it. Plus, this guy had been on the run, and brushing his teeth would've been the last thing on his mind. I seriously doubt anyone would want to suck face with him!Second, is unlikable characters. NOBODY in this film is likable, and most are detestable. Luther sounds like Russ Meyer's alter ego - a sexist, over-sexed, low class loser. The preacher is just annoying, and it doesn't make sense why he's even in this film. Jim, the husband, is completely useless. Lorna is an unappreciative, stupid jerk. The convict was a completely heartless, murdering, raping smack-off. Maybe Mr. Meyer was trying to convey something with their unlikableness, but I haven't figured it out yet and I don't really care at this point.Third, is Lorna Maitland. This woman has nothing going for her except HUGE hooters. I love boobs, but hers look kind of strange. You can tell Mr. Meyer was trying to turn her into the next Marilyn Monroe or Jane Mansfield, but she just didn't have what it takes. Her face was definitely not attractive. The extreme close-ups of her face were scary. And her acting skills weren't very good or believable. It's just another case of Russ Meyer's obsession with giant breasts clouding his judgement (kind of like Vixen).Last, is the ending. When Lorna dies at the end, Jim runs over to her and falls to his knees begging her to "Forgive me. Forgive me." Forgive him for what!?! He was out working in the salt mines all day, while she was at home screwing some dirtball on their one year anniversary. Lorna was a miserable bitch. I don't understand why Jim would want her to forgive him.All-in-all, this movie doesn't have anything going for it in 2012. There's not much nudity, Lorna isn't very attractive, and the story isn't very interesting. To be fair, this was made a couple years before "Faster Pussycat". I guess Russ Meyer just needed more time to hone his craft.

Exploitative tale of rape, betrayal, and murder set in sordid shacks of the modern South. Incredibly endowed Lorna (Maitland) is wedded to straight-laced CPA-wannabe, but in the legal sense only. She meets up with an escaped convict (Hooper) who rapes her and makes her like it, but she eventually trots back to her man and receives some harsh treatment at the hands of misused garden tools. It all sounds pretty extreme, and it is, and carried off with unique style but sometimes hasty direction. Some lovely shots, brutal violence, and sexy Lorna add up to a cheezy, trashy feast. Not quite as good as the similar "Mudhoney", but much better than most of Meyer's 70s product.

Lorna Maitland was one of Meyer's rare "finds." Physically stunning but as easily engaged as was the earlier Monroe, one easily fantasizes a personal encounter with her. The river bathing scene, partially obscured by tree branches, makes you her willing voyeur; her eventual passionate response to the convict escapee who rapes her, tells you that you might also have your way with her should you ever somehow meet.I found the violence in the film to be gratuitous albeit realistic and disturbing; as in Cherry, Harry, and Raquel, a later Meyer (color) film, the viewer is torn from (his) fantasy of passion and plunged into anger and terror. Why Meyer felt he had to mix the two escapes me, but therefore, his films are doubly memorable; along with the river scene, the shotgun blast from under the hood of the old car is equally etched.Lorna Maitland, like Roberta Pedon of another genre, had a short stay in the limelight; with their early passing, they share a unique, cult-like icon status.