Ella Raines in The Phantom Lady

In 1944, Ella Raines starred in Phantom Lady alongside Franchot Tone, Alan Curtis and Thomas Gomez. It was her third film and the one that really made made her famous. For many people, Phantom Lady is what Ella Raines will be best remembered for.

Phantom Lady is a masterful film-noir from director Robert Siodmak. Perhaps because of the success of Phantom Lady, Robert Siodmak and Ella Raines would go on to make three more films together over the next three years (The Suspect, The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry and Time Out of Mind). It's easy to see why

Ella Raines portrays Carol Richman in Phantom Lady, the dedicated personal secretary of Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis). When Henderson is arrested (and later convicted) of killing his wife, Carol decides to dig deeper and find the real killer. Ella Raines is stunningly gorgeous playing the lead and doubtlessly her attractiveness and charming demeanor contributed to the film's success.

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Here are some images of Ella Raines in Phantom Lady:

Phantom Lady in the newspapers

Here's a look at a bunch of contemporary newspaper materials related to Phantom Lady, the movie that really made Ella Raines famous. This Robert Siodmak directed film noir masterwork is still being discovered and enjoyed by many people today, but it is also worth noting that the film was quite popular upon it's release in 1944.



Here are some classic advertisements for Phantom Lady:

Some brief reviews of the film:

And finally a pair of newspaper images featuring Ella Raines and her two leading men:

A look at Ella Raines in LIFE magazine (1944)

Ella Raines made the cover of LIFE magazine for the first time in 1944 (she would grace another LIFE cover in 1947). She has a large feature in the magazine, which runs over several pages and includes a dozen photographs.

The feature on Ella Raines begins with a now-famous image of Ella Raines wearing a bathing suit. The picture is followed by a brief bio of the actress, which summarizes her career up until this point.

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A six image pictorial comes next with further information about Ella Raines contained in captions for each picture. This pictorial serves to promote Ella Raines' image as a nature lover.

Next comes a feature on Ella Raines' role in The Phantom Lady, the film which this magazine article is trying to promote. She is featured in a pair of photos here, one with co-star Alan Curtis and the other with co-star Franchot Tone. A small article is also included which gives some information about the movie.

The feature on Ella Raines ends with a pictorial from The Phantom Lady, showing some of action she partakes in.