Harry Lorraine (26 March 1885 - 27 March 1970), born Harry Albert Heard in Brighton, Sussex, England, was an actor in English silent films.[1]
Harry Heard was the oldest of three children born to Thomas Heard and Harriett (née Ashdown). At age 16 he was working as a painter for his father, but then established himself as a magician, daredevil, and escapologist, sometimes with the spelling Harry Herd, as "The world’s youngest Handcuff King," an English version of Harry Houdini, although it's uncertain whether he met Houdini or saw him perform.
Heard began his film career in 1912 and used the name Harry Lorraine throughout his acting career. It appears to have been strictly a stage name, as he used the surname Heard on his marriage certificate in 1932, and there is no known documentation of a legal name change.
Lorraine's first acting role was Little John in Robin Hood Outlawed. The next month, he took the lead role of Lieutenant Rose in Lieutenant Rose and the Train Wreckers. In this movie, typical for the time period, Lorraine's character is traveling on a train which has been directed to a siding by the enemy, and - all while the smallest slip means certain death - as the train is hurtling along, he climbs out of the carriage, swings himself between two coaches, and disconnects the couplings, thereby saving the day by sending on the bulk of the train to destruction while his own carriage remains safely on the track.
Lorraine did his own stunts in movies, drawing on his natural strength and the physical skills he had developed prior to acting. During a time when it seemed audiences wanted more and every action movie had to outdo previous movies - and with only visual effects and music - some were quite challenging and even dangerous. Examples of some of the daredevil stunts Lorraine performed include diving into a pool of sharks (filming on location in Jamaica), being thrown bound hand and foot from Walton Bridge into the river thirty feet below, fighting six men single-handedly and getting thrown down onto a table with such force that it splintered (this was an unrehearsed and unexpected thrill), jumping from an airplane, dangling from the jib of a very tall crane while bound, being dragged by a taxicab, and sundry chase scenes.
Lorraine's acting career spanned three decades, and its end probably had as much to do with the near-standstill of the British film industry during World War II as with his advancing age for the types of characters he usually played.
In 1932, Lorraine married Gladys Seals in Kingston. His name was recorded as Harry Heard on the marriage certificate. He was forty-five years old and his occupation was listed as film director; she was twenty-four. Gladys used the name Tonie throughout her life. They had two boys, both born in Staines, whose surnames were registered as both Heard and Lorraine, and adopted to use the surname Lorraine.
The British film industry was decimated by the effects of World War II, and after the war Lorraine left acting to manage his father’s building business. Known as Lorraine Estates, it was initially involved in repairing bomb damage to property in Battersea and other sites in and around London. Lorraine continued working in the building business almost until his death at age 85 on 27 March 1970, and was recorded as "film director (retired)" on his death certificate. Tonie died in 2002, at age 94.
| Release Date | Title of Film | Role | Film Production Company | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1912 | Robin Hood Outlawed | Little John | British and Colonial | |
| 13 October 1912 | Lieutenant Rose and the Train Wreckers | Lieutenant Rose | Clarendon | |
| 1 January 1913 | Signals in the Night | British and Colonial | ||
| March, 1913 | The Favourite for the Jamaica Cup | Headway | British and Colonial | |
| March, 1913 | Tom Cringle in Jamaica | Tom Cringle | British and Colonial | |
| May, 1913 | Stock is as Good as Money | British and Colonial | ||
| September, 1913 | Lieutenant Daring and the Mystery of Room 41 | Lieutenant Daring | British and Colonial | |
| September, 1913 | A Tragedy in the Alps | British and Colonial | ||
| December, 1913 | The Little Snow Waif | British and Colonial | ||
| 1913 | In Fate’s Grip | British and Colonial | ||
| 1913 | The Master Crook | British and Colonial | ||
| 1913 | Through the Clouds | British and Colonial | ||
| February 1914 | Lieutenant Daring, Aerial Scout | Lieutenant Daring | British and Colonial | |
| 14 May 1914 | Detective Daring and the Thames Coiners | Lieutenant Daring, Director | Daring Films (his own production company) | |
| 1914 | London’s Underworld | Lieutenant Daring, Director | Daring Films (his own production company) | |
| 1914 | Mary the Fishergirl | Daring Films (his own production company) | ||
| before 24 June 1914 | The Belle of Crystal Palace | Motograph | ||
| before 24 June 1914 | Queenie of the Circus | Motograph | ||
| before 24 June 1914 | The World at War | Motograph | ||
| c. July 1914 | The Great Spy Raid | P & M Films | ||
| c. August 1914 | Huns of the North Sea | P & M Films | ||
| 1914 | Lieutenant Rose and the Sealed Orders | Lieutenant Rose | Clarendon | |
| April 1915 | The Counterfeiters | Sexton Blake | I.B. Davidson | |
| April 1915 | Stolen Heirlooms | Sexton Blake | I.B. Davidson | |
| July 1915 | The Great Cheque Fraud | Sexton Blake | I.B. Davidson | |
| November 1915 | The Thornton Jewel Mystery | Sexton Blake | I.B. Davidson | |
| 1915 | Wireless | Commander Daring, Director | Famous British Players | |
| 1916 | Popular Song Favourites | Henry Tress | ||
| 1 January 1917 | If Thou Wert Blind | Eric Leslie | Clarendon | |
| 1917 | The Happy Warrior | Foxy | Harma Photoplays (his own production company) | |
| July 1918 | Big Money | Director | Harma Photoplays (his own production company) | |
| 1918 | The Great Impostor | Hixton | Harma Photoplays (his own production company) | |
| 1919 | The Lads of the Village | Director | Atlantic | |
| 16 August 1919 | The Further Exploits of Sexton Blake: The Mystery of the S.S. Olympic | Director, Producer | Gaumont/Atlantic | |
| 1920 | The Woman and Officer 26 | Director, Producer, and wrote the screenplay | Atlantic | |
| 1920 | Pillars of Society | Producer | R.W. Syndicate | |
| before 1923 | The Tiger's Eye | Atlantic | ||
| before 1923 | The Unknown Quantity | Atlantic | ||
| before 1919 | The Pluck of the Navy | Atlantic | ||
| October 1928 | Sweeney Todd | QTS Productions | ||
| 1 January 1929 | Unto Each Other | Producer | Fox | |
| February 1930 | Stranger than Fiction | Jack Denton | Mrs. C.M. Wright | |
| 1935 | A Fire has Been Arranged | uncredited | Twickenham Film Studios | |
| 24 February 1940 | The Stars Look Down | no appearance, possibly sets and props | Grand National Pictures | |
| 1 February 1941 | Freedom Radio (also called A Voice in the Night) | uncredited | Two Cities/Sound City/Columbia |