Diane (1956)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

John Erskine (story)
Christopher Isherwood (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

Lana Turner dares the devil in... Diane

Plot Keywords:

Torture | Beautiful Woman | Historical | Character Name In Title

Cast

Lana Turner	...	Diane de Poitiers - Countess de Breze
Pedro Armendáriz	...	King Francis I
Roger Moore	...	Prince Henri
Marisa Pavan	...	Catherine de Medici
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Ruggieri
Torin Thatcher	...	Louis - Count de Breze
Taina Elg	...	Alys
John Lupton	...	Regnault
Henry Daniell	...	Gondi
Ronald Green	...	The Dauphin
Sean McClory	...	Count Michel Montgomery
Geoffrey Toone	...	Duke of Savoy
Michael Ansara	...	Count Ridolfi
Paul Cavanagh	...	Lord Bonnivet
Melville Cooper	...	1st Court Physician
Ian Wolfe	...	Lord Tremouille
Christopher Dark	...	Giancarlo
Marc Cavell	...	Piero
Gene Reynolds	...	Montecuculli
John O'Malley	...	Marechal de Chabannes
Peter Gray	...	Sardini
Mickey Maga	...	Charles
Ronald Anton	...	Francis
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ann Brendon	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Peter Brocco	...	Court Painter (uncredited)
Wes Christensen	...	Guard (uncredited)
Ken Clayton	...	Groom (uncredited)
Bunny Cooper	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Barbara Darrow	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Leslie Denison	...	Chief Huntsman (uncredited)
Robert Dix	...	Young Officer (uncredited)
James Drury	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)
James Fairfax	...	Suitor (uncredited)
Jamie Farr	...	Count Rilolfi's Mute Squire (uncredited)
Pat Ferguson	...	Groom (uncredited)
Duane Grey	...	Captain of the Guard (uncredited)
Peter Hansen	...	2nd Court Physician (uncredited)
Steven Hayes	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Percy Helton	...	Court Jester (uncredited)
David Hoffman	...	Court Painter (uncredited)
Alicia Ibanez	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
John Irving	...	Gentleman (uncredited)
Charles Keane	...	Captain (uncredited)
Paul Kent	...	Groom (uncredited)
Alan Lee	...	Worshipper (uncredited)
James Logan	...	Suitor (uncredited)
Glase Lohman	...	Guard (uncredited)
Tyler MacDuff	...	Montgomery's Squire (uncredited)
Anthony Marsh	...	Gentleman (uncredited)
Jerry Martin	...	Barber (uncredited)
Fay Morley	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie	...	Porter (uncredited)
Vesey O'Davoren	...	Valet (uncredited)
Milton Parsons	...	Suitor (uncredited)
Paul Préboist	...	Extra (uncredited)
Basil Ruysdael	...	Chamberlain (uncredited)
Ann Staunton	...	Lady in Waiting (uncredited)
Stuart Whitman	...	Henri's Squire (uncredited)

Directed by
David Miller

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Erskine		story
Christopher Isherwood		writer

Produced by
Edwin H. Knopf	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa

Cinematography by
Robert H. Planck

Film Editing by
John McSweeney Jr.

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Hans Peters

Set Decoration by
Henry Grace
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ridgeway Callow	....	assistant director

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (USA) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Diane - Kurtisane von Frankreich (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Diana de Francia (Venezuela) [es]
Diana la cortigiana (Italy) [it]
Diane - äventyrens kvinna (Sweden) [sv]
Diane de Poitiers (France) [fr]
I evnooumeni tou vasileos (Greece) [el]
Kruunu ja miekka (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System) (magnetic prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #17655) | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Nicole Maurey tested for the role of Catherine.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Memories of Oz (2001) (TV)

'You made me a prince...Now make me a king!"

Lana Turner was elegant and beautiful as the French courtesan, wearing through most of the motion picture dramatic black costumes... She came to the court of King Francis I to plead for the life of her husband, Count Louis de Brézé who was falsely accused of plotting against the King...

Count de Brézé (Torin Thatcher) suspected his release by an act of infidelity...

Francis I (Pedro Armendariz) was the King who in his person and actions combined the romantic ideal of the medieval knight-king and the refined humanism and art of the Renaissance... When he required Diane's presence, the Count felt his suspicious confirmed... Obviously he was wrong!

However, the real reason Diane has been called is to teach the King's, Prince Henri (Roger Moore), the graces of court life in preparation for his marriage to Catherine de Médici (Marisa Pavan). Impressed by her beauty, charm and political sageness, as well as her ability to cope with his son, the King keeps her at court...

Prince Henri fell violently in love with her...

When the King is killed in battle, Diane became mistress of Henry, now King of France... Throughout his reign, Diane held court as Queen of France in all but name... The real Queen was forced to live in comparative obscurity... Catherine soon comes to hate the woman who is her husband's real love...

But Henri's reign was short, due to Gondi (Henri Daniell) treachery...

Directed by David Miller, the film carried faithfully the 16th Century environment with an impressive stag hunt, an exciting encounter with a wild boar and a thrilling climactic jousting tournament...

Sir Cedric Hardwicke played Ruggiere, the master of astrology, master of the art of predicting... He gave the Queen of France much to think over when she visited him, and in that tournament he murmured: 'What must be... Will be!'

If you like to see history in movies, plus intrigue, politics, secret plotting, suspicion, disloyalty... and you love colorful spectacle, and you want to see Lana Turner's good-acting with Marisa Pavan - in her possibly the best role of her film career as Henri's menacing yet pitiable wife - well, don't miss this entertaining motion picture!