p e n g u i n d e v i l

A young wife, unsatisfied. A young husband, naive yet kind. A hardened criminal on the loose. An old bitter ne’er-do-well… And a town so dull that it couldn’t be filmed in color. These are not the elements for a day that turns out well. But, alas, all of these come together in a great tragedy befitting the works of Shakespeare! Lorna is Russ Meyer’s first attempt at making a “regular” dramatic film (meaning a non-nudie) and here Meyer has created one of his most classic films. Filled with longing, lust and betrayal. All against his standard backdrop of a colorless, tired poverty.

Lorna (played by “Lorna Maitland”, also the star of his greatest film, Mudhoney) is a sad and lonely figure. A year married to James, a man who loves her dearly but ranks a little too high on the ignorant goodie-two-shoes scale: decent, polite and dull. His promises of getting her out of this dead-end town have yet to come to fruition and though he studies diligently to become a CPA, she feels neglected and let down. This life of spending her time feeling alone and saving dollars in a jar with the hopes of buying a new dress is not the wanton glory that she had hoped for. It is all much too dull for dear Lorna, who dreams of the bright lights, flowing liquor and night-life of the big city. Instead she is stuck living in this secluded swamp shack on the edge of a desolate little town where there is nothing to do with her nights but feel bored and ignored.

Of course, generally her days are boring too, sitting home by herself with nothing to do as James works away at the salt pit all day. He works there with his friend, the local bad boy Luther (played by the great Hal Hopper, also to be in Mudhoney), a friend who spends his days dreaming and drinking of good old Lorna.

This particular day is Lorna’s 1st wedding anniversary and as her husband sets off to work, his lack of acknowledgment of the day just aggravates her growing boredom and bitterness. After he sets off to work with Luther and his dull-witted pal Jonah, Lorna heads off to wander the countryside. After taking a quick dip in the river she dozes off in the grass, unaware of the excitement that is soon to come her way. See, the previous evening a violent criminal escaped from the local prison and has been making his way across the countryside. Stumbling across this young lady laying in the grass, he being violent and fresh from 3 years in prison, well… You know what happens next. As he forces himself upon her, she fights at first, but then the long forgotten feelings of excitement overwhelm her and soon she is not only partaking in this ravishment, but she actually falls for the guy!

Over at the salt pit, as this is going on, Luther’s drunken comments about Lorna are slowly beginning to overwhelm Jim’s mild-mannered ways. As things begin to heat up between them, things heat up back home, as Lorna invites her new pal over to the house. Obviously, all of these situations are headed for an unsavory conclusion! Lorna is actually a bit less amoral than most of Meyer’s other films. Though, yes, there are sexual assaults, fisticuffs, drunkenness, and violence, there is also heart-felt apology, regret, remorse and kindness. It is a fine moralistic little tale. Oh yeah, and it has Lorna in it.