Lana Morris was one of the many actresses wasted in the 50s by British cinema. Like many of her contemporaries such as Petula Clark or Honor Blackman she was more than capable of dealing with better material than she was handed, but unlike those two she never had much of a chance to prove it and is now best remembered for playing the love interest in two Norman Wisdom films.
Morris was born Pamela Matthews into a theatrical family stretching back at least to her great-grandfather. She made her stage debut at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1946. She changed her name to Lana Morris in time for her film debut in Spring in Park Lane. She made an impact as a sparky maid supporting Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding in the year's biggest hit. It also established her reputation as a competent player best used below the title supporting bigger names.
The late 40s and early 50s was her period as far as good dramatic chances were concerned, but as the 50s wore on the roles got less interesting. Trouble in Store was another biggest-hit-of-the-year blockbuster, but standing around being romanced by Wisdom was a thankless task for any actress. In one of her last films, October Moth, she got a role that was worthy of her: that of a woman trying to divert her murderous psychopathic brother from going on a gun rampage. October Moth was just a minor B-movie that was little noticed but Morris more than delivered an acceptable performance.
TV was kind to her. She had several notable roles in successful series such as The Royalty (1957), The Forsyte Saga (1967) and Howards Way (1987). These roles enabled her to be enough of a name to frequently tour the regions in theatre plays and make the occasional foray into the West End. After the first night of Dangerous to Know at the Theatre Royal Windsor she was taken ill and died.
| 1948 | Spring in Park Lane |
| 1948 | The Weaker Sex |
| 1948 | It's Hard to Be Good |
| 1949 | Trottie True |
| 1949 | The Chiltern Hundreds |
| 1950 | Morning Departure |
| 1950 | The Woman in Question |
| 1950 | Guilt is My Shadow |
| 1950 | The Reluctant Widow |
| 1950 | Trio |
| 1952 | A Tale of Five Cities |
| 1953 | Red Beret |
| 1953 | The Good Beginning |
| 1953 | The Straw Man |
| 1953 | Black 13 |
| 1953 | Trouble in Store |
| 1954 | The Martins' Nest |
| 1954 | The Radio Cab Murder |
| 1954 | Thought to Kill |
| 1955 | Man of the Moment |
| 1956 | Home and Away |
| 1958 | Moment of Indiscretion |
| 1958 | Passport to Shame |
| 1959 | No Trees in the Street |
| 1959 | Jet Storm |
| 1960 | October Moth |
| 1970 | I Start Counting |
