Ella Raines

Dazzling Ella Raines in a 1944 glamour sitting by photographer Ray Jones. She was born Ella Wallace Raines on August 6, 1920, near Snoqualmie, Washington. She studied drama at the University of Washington and was appearing in a play there when she was seen by director Howard Hawks. Raines became the first actress signed to the new production company he had formed with the actor Charles Boyer, B-H Productions, and made her film debut in "Corvette K-225" (1943) which Hawks produced. Immediately following this film, Raines was cast in the all-female war film "Cry Havoc" (1943). She appeared in many A pictures very quickly, including "Tall in the Saddle" (1944) opposite John Wayne, in the film noir "Phantom Lady" (1944) and in the Preston Sturges comedy "Hail the Conquering Hero" (1944). Other films at this time included "The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry" (1945), the thriller "The Web" (1947) and "Brute Force" (1947) with Burt Lancaster. She also turned in a good performance as a spunky garage owner in the underrated thriller "Impact" (1949). None of her later films were nearly as successful and her career gradually began to decline. In the early 1950s she had her own TV series, "Janet Dean, Registered Nurse" (1954), and also had a short-lived recording career during that period. She retired from acting in 1957, but made one further screen appearance with a guest role in the series "Matt Houston" in 1984. Raines appeared on the cover of Life magazine twice, once for "Brute Force" in 1947 and, in 1944, for her work in "Phantom Lady". Also in 1944, she appeared as a pin-up girl in the June 2 and June 16 issue of the G.I. magazine Yank. Married twice during her life, Ella Raines passed away from throat cancer in Sherman Oaks, California in 1988, aged 67. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures.

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