Lorna Gray Movies

According to Hollywood lore, both John Wayne and director Frank Borzage refused to work with Vera Hruba Ralston, the Czech-born inamorata (and future wife) of Republic Pictures owner Herbert I. Yates. Yates somehow managed to convince Wayne to change his mind, but Borzage was replaced by contract director Joseph Kane. The result was Dakota, the company's major release of 1945, a potentially sprawling empire-building Western. Wayne and Ralston play newlyweds heading for Fargo, North Dakota, where they plan to buy land in anticipation of the coming of the railroad. They are opposed by saloon owner Jim Bender (Ward Bond), who also knows about the expansion and is coercing the homesteaders into selling their land to him and his chief lieutenant, Collins (Mike Mazurki). The latter has been elected president of the Wheat Growers Association, and soon the farmers find themselves indebted to Bender. But Wayne, with his wife's help, beats Bender and his henchman at their own game, making certain that the farmers are well compensated for selling their land to the railroad company owned by Ralston's father (Hugo Haas). Contrary to popular belief, Vera Hruba Ralston was not Dakota's chief liability. For some reason, Republic Pictures, normally a leader in action-oriented melodrama, chose to employ an inordinate amount of rear projection footage this time around, making for rather dull viewing. The Western only leaves the confines of the studio back lot for the climactic prairie fire scenes, filmed by a second unit under the direction of stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Apparently a better figure skater than an actress, Ralston actually shows a bit of spirit in some of her scenes but is rather obviously upstaged by the veteran Ona Munson as a kind-hearted saloon entertainer. Munson was borrowed from Warner Bros. and her singing of "Coax Me" by Andrew B. Sterling and Harry Von Tilzer remains one of Dakota's main pleasures despite editor Fred Allen's endless cross-cutting to Ralston's reactions. The latter was reportedly a very pleasant person devoid of a prima donna ego and would be cast opposite John Wayne again in The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). Republic serial heroines Linda Stirling and Adrian Booth can be spotted among Munson's dancing girls. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Lorna Gray, shortly before changing her professional name to Adrian Booth, plays the title character in Republic's The Girl Who Dared. Gray is one of several vacationers who makes a side trip to a remote island in Georgia. It isn't long before one of the tourists is murdered. As an act of self-preservation (she is both a suspect and a likely future victim), Gray decides to play detective and solve the mystery. Clocking in at a neat 54 minutes, The Girl Who Dared was based on Medora Field's short story "Blood on Her Shoe." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paramount's So Proudly We Hail, like MGM's Cry Havoc, is a tribute to the Red Cross nurses trapped behind enemy lines in the early days of the Pacific war. Claudette Colbert is the self-sacrificing head nurse, struggling to minister to the wounded and to keep her staff (including Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake and Barbara Britton, all of them giving better than usual performances) from buckling under the pressure. Taking into consideration the regular fans of the film's female cast, the producers thoughtfully include several scenes in which the ladies pursue their romantic lives. The story culminates with the fall of Bataan, ending on a resigned but optimistic note; this finale was designed to lift the spirits of the audience, which in 1943 wasn't so certain as Hollywood of final victory. So Proudly We Hail was not only effective propaganda (though not as effective as Cry Havoc), but it also enabled Paramount to introduce its new crop of male hunks--including the estimable Sonny Tufts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nyoka Gordon (Kay Aldridge) leads an expedition into the most remote part of the Libyan desert in search of her father, Professor Henry Gordon (Robert Strange), who disappeared while seeking out the long-lost golden tablets of Hippocrates. The tablets, among other attributes, are reputed to contain the cures for any number of deadly diseases that still plague mankind. Nyoka and her father are the only two people in the world who can translate the papyrus giving directions to the hiding place of the tablets. Her allies in her search include: Dr. Larry Grayson (Clayton Moore), a young physician; Torrini (Tristram Coffin), an Italian adventurer; Professor Campbell (Forbes Murray), a colleague of her father's; and Red Davis (Billy Benedict), their driver. Opposing them is Vultura (Lorna Gray), the leader of a deadly desert cult, who regard the tablets as sacred and will do anything -- including committing murder -- to prevent their discovery and removal. Aided by her ally, Cassib (Charles B. Middleton), and the Taureg tribesmen, Vultura and her cultists lay all manner of deadly traps, involving everything from burning pits of fire and tunnels filled with hurricane-like winds to just plain getting crushed by the embrace of Vultura's trained gorilla, Satan (Emil Van Horn). Meanwhile, Nyoka and her expedition also face the danger of treachery from within. Nyoka must first secure the papyrus and avenge the murder of Major Reynolds in the opening chapter, and then get past the opposing Taureg tribesmen -- and little does she realize that the leader of the Tauregs is far closer to her than she ever could have guessed. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Convicted Woman was Columbia's annual "all girl" B picture, allowing studio executives to decide which of their female contractees would be retained and which would be dropped. Rochelle Hudson plays Betty Andrews, a jobless girl who through a series of unfortunate setbacks ends up in a girl's reformatory. Her fellow inmates include three-time-loser Hazel (Lola Lane), the nasty Duchess (June Lang), and such Columbia "regulars" as Iris Meredith, Lorna Gray, Mary Field, Beatrice Blinn, Dorothy Appleby, and hefty June Gittleson (aka June Bryde). Reporter Jim Brent (Glenn Ford) tries to secure a release for Betty, all the while exposing corruption among the prison officials. Also concerned with Betty's welfare is lady lawyer Mary Ellis (Freda Inescourt), who has some of the best scenes in the picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Don Douglas, a rather bland supporting actor from Scotland, was elevated to the starring role in this low-budget Western serial produced by Columbia Pictures. Yet another reworking on the old Zorro theme, Deadwood Dick took 15 instalments to tell the simple story of Dick Stanley, a newspaperman tracking down the Skull, a notorious villain terrorizing the Dakota Territory. Dick dons a masked disguise to battle an impressive array of villains that included such B-Western favorites as Marin Sais, Yakima Canutt, Franklyn Farnum, Charles King, Edmund Cobb, Bud Osborne, Tom London, and Al Ferguson. Leading lady Lorna Gray later signed with Republic Pictures and changed her name to Adrian Booth. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

While working in a doctor's office, the Three Stooges are mistaken for psychiatrists Ziller, Zeller, and Zoller. Hired by millionaire Don Beddoe to cure his giddy wife, Lorna Gray, the Stooges proceed only to wreck a fancy dinner party as only they can. Their antics, however, cure the wife and they are rewarded for their good work. One of the team's better two-reelers, this riotous farce was written by the veteran Clyde Bruckman and directed by producer Jules White. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The first, and best, of ten comedy two-reelers Buster Keaton was to make for the Columbia short subject department, Pest From the West featured Keaton as a millionaire vacationing in Mexico. He falls for a beautiful señorita (Lorna Gray, later known as Adrian Booth), who plays along in order to make her employer, Gino Corrado, jealous. In a scene reminiscent of Keaton's best work, he serenades an irascible Bud Jamison in the mistaken belief that he is Gray. Keaton strums his ukulele, oblivious to the flying crockery that punctuates every note, and blithely warbles "In a Little Spanish Town." Like most entries in the series, Pest From the West was penned by veteran Keaton collaborator Clyde Bruckman. Reportedly, Keaton was hired for his onscreen presence only and apparently didn't contribute any gags himself. Although dismissed by modern Keaton fans, the Columbia two-reelers were popular in their day. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Regarded as the best of Columbia's "Lone Wolf" B-picture series, The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt stars Warren William as Michael Lanyard, a onetime criminal known as the Lone Wolf. He is determined to remain reformed for the sake of his daughter (Virginia Weidler), but a gang of foreign spies abducts Lanyard and force him to steal the blueprints for a secret anti-aircraft gun. Ever the ladies' man, Lanyard has two lovelies to contend with here: dizzy heiress Ida Lupino and seductive spy Rita Hayworth (just prior to her superstardom). Lone Wolf Spy Hunt is a remake of 1929's The Lone Wolf's Daughter, and like the earlier film is based on the character created by Louis Joseph Vance. Incidentally, the character of the daughter would never be seen or heard from after this 1939 film, though Warren William would make seven more appearances as the Lone Wolf. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this desert adventure, a cruel commander viciously rules a regiment of foreign legionnaires. They tire of his brutality and rebel, stranding the despot and his few loyal soldiers in the burning sands with a few supplies. The deposed commander vows that he will return to civilization and have his revenge. It is difficult, but eventually the leader and his men make it back to the lonely outpost and find that it is under attack by Arab raiders. The soldiers inside take the leader back and they help to vanquish the invaders. Later the ring leader of the mutineers is awarded a medal for his courage then court-martialed for his crime. The leader too gets his just desserts when his second-in-command tells the court of his superior's cruelty. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

"Father" is British blowhard George Carney, a well-to-do cheese manufacturer. Despite his business savvy, Carney falls victim to the machinations of a team of swindlers. Coming to the rescue is Carney's quick-witted chauffeur Bruce Seton. Everything in the garden is lovely by fade-out time, as Seton wins Carney's undying gratitude-and the hand of Dinah Sheridan, Carney's daughter. Father Steps Out was distributed in the English-speaking world by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide