He was born on February 22, 1901 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, to Izrael Reich and Hermine Guttmann, both Jews. After completing high school in his native Hungary in 1919, Lorant moved to Germany, where he made his mark in films and photojournalism. His first film, "The Life of Mozart", established him as a filmmaker, and he went on to make 14 films in Vienna and Berlin, some of which he wrote, directed, and photographed. He claimed to have given Marlene Dietrich her first film test, and though he rejected her for the part, they remained lifelong friends. Lorant's abilities in writing and still photography led to the editorship of the "Münchner Illustrierte Presse", one of Germany's finest picture magazines.