Ella Raines

by Frank M. Roberts

March 2016

I have here, in my hot little hands, several tickets to the North Bend Theater, a gorgeous art deco movie house in that Washington state town. For $10 I can see some old flicks. There's "The Suspect," on June 24, "Hail the Conquering Hero," on June 23 in the afternoon, and "Phantom Lady," in the evening.

What those movies have in common is one of the stars of that trio - the only movie star with whom I had a serious, serious crush. I even took a chance and wrote to her - the only time I penned a fan letter. I shared my feelings with no one. I felt a tad foolish, but I sent it off, never expecting a reply.

One of the things I wrote was an apology of sorts. I noted that what I had to say may not have been written properly. Anyway, not long after I sent it I not only got a reply, but a full-sized picture of my heroine - Ella Raines.

She sported a brunette version of the old Veronica Lake hair-do. I have carried that picture around all these years, and it currently graces a shelf about my computer. One of the reasons I treasure it are the words she wrote to this smitten 15-year-old: "Dear Frank. Thanks for your nice letter AND I don't think you are nutty. (I evidently accused myself of 'nuttiness') because yours was intelligent - Ye gads, you should see some. Best regards- Ella Raines."

Be still, my beating heart. Anyway, a couple years back I contacted Kris and Dick who live in Snoqualmie Valley (a great ski area) and are doing their best to keep their heroine's name alive.

Ella was born in Snoqualmie Falls in 1920. Her real name was Ella Wallace Raubes. Her hometown was a lumber town and her dad, Ernest, was a lumberman, an influential foreman. The star's bio notes that "she grew up passionate about animals and the outdoors." As a youngster her interests were varied. She rode horseback, swam, hiked, skied, and was adept at fly fishing.

After graduation from good, ole Snoqualmie High, she went to the University of Washington. She was not into drama - she was a music major. But, she wanted to be an actress, an aspiration not shared by her mother, Bird. (Yes, that was her name). Finally, Bird let her out of the 'bird nest' and approved of Ella's desire to be an actress.

She did a play or two at the university (she switched majors). One of her plays was seen by noted director, Howard Hawks and, she was invited to go to Hollywood for a screen test. It was successful - she was signed by a production company owned by Charles Boyer.

Her youngest daughter, Susan Olds, wrote, "her natural beauty and striking green eyes and dark hair were perfect for the black and white films of the 1940s."

Well, I would have loved to have gone to the Ella Raines Film Festival but, the tickets were for 2007. Incidentally, I lived in Seattle for a couple years, courtesy Unc Sam, and several of us visited the Snoqualmie area. Bee-you-ti-full.

A tad of the dark-haired beauty's film history. She debuted in "Corvette K-225," (a military flick, not a Chevvie movie) with Randolph Scott. Altogether, she appeared in 20 movies. In the 1950s she starred in a long-forgotten teevee series about, "Janet Dean, Registered Nurse."

Then - romance entered the non-movie picture in the form of Robin Olds, a World War 2 double-ace pilot. After they married, he was stationed in England. She went to NYC. Divorce was inevitable.

Back to Hollywood, and guest appearances on television. My heroine died in 1988 of throat cancer. She was 67.

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Ella appeared - twice - on the prestigious cover of Life Magazine. Two was a lucky number for her. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures, and television.

Some of her movies, in addition to the ones previously mentioned: "Cry Havoc," "Tall In the Saddle," with John Wayne, the great comedy, "Hail the Conquering Hero," "The Strange Affair Of Uncle Harry," "Brute Force," with Burt Lancaster, and "The Web."

In addition to her 'nurse' series she appeared on such prestigious teevee shows as, "Robert Montgomery Presents," "Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents," "Lights Out," "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse," "The Christophers," and "Matt Houston."

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Here's a note about a movie you never heard of, "Zyzzyx Road." The film's claim to fame? It's the lowest grossing film in history. It's domestic gross was - $30, thanks to six patrons in a Dallas theater. Later, it was seen in such film hotbeds as Bulgaria, Indonesia, and Portugal. If you're interested, somewhere it's on a DVD. Check Jimbo's web sites. (Yeah, right).

Side note: One of its stars was Tom Sizemore, who was arrested for wife beating. Oh, he also appeared in "Death Bed," advertised as the story about, "the bed that eats."

Another 'quality' flick: "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies." Or, try this one: "Stupid Teens Must Die." (no comment). Try "Spiders From Another Dimension," described thusly by some poor soul who saw this thing: "A goodly percentage of the spider's victims are sleazy brain-dead rednecks." (my lips are sealed). Anyway, there is a 'hero' spider which was created by draping a huge arachnid suit over a VW. People inside the vehicle waved the beasts' big legs for added realism.

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Finally, let me tell you about my midget friend. He was working at a pizza place but, he was fired. His next job was reading peoples' futures at a psychic place but, one time, he scammed the wrong dude so, you could say that he's a small medium at large. (Sheesh!).