Copyright 1956 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at Loew's State: 12 January 1956. U.S. release: 6 January 1956. U.K. release: 30 July 1956. Australian release: 15 March 1956. 9,868 feet. 110 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Diane de Poitiers was the French courtesan who became the mistress of King Henri II of France and virtually supplanted his wife, Catherine de Medici, as the power behind the throne. Writers have alternatively described her as "the most cultivated woman of the French Renaissance" and as "a sixteenth-century silken tramp." In the M-G-M film loosely based on her life, we first see Diane as she appears at the court of Francis I to plead for the life of her husband, Count de Breze, who has been falsely accused of plotting against the King. She succeeds in having him spared but at the same time alienates the affection of her husband.
COMMENT: Rozsa works harder than anyone to make "Diane" a success, supplying one of his most romantic themes and a full-bodied orchestral score full of medieval color and atmosphere. Yes, it's the music that ensures the script at times is quite moving — not the performances. In fact, they are all generally poor, amateurish and quite unconvincing. It says much for the general level of acting that it's Marisa Pavan who is by far the most believable of the principals. Turner and Moore are particularly inept and surprisingly Pedro Armendariz is only a notch or two less woeful. Some of the support players are almost equally hopeless. Fortunately Henry Daniell gets more than one chance to be scheming and villainous, whilst Sir Cedric Hardwicke (in a small role) contrives to be memorably spooky. Of course both Daniell and Hardwicke have the benefit of their stage-trained voices to out-maneuver the rest of the cast. All the same so far as acting goes, the honors belong firmly to Miss Pavan, who is never more compelling than in her final confrontation scene with Turner.
The script is recycled high-school history, the dialogue often unintentionally risible. But the movie is dressed out with attractive costumes and sets. There's even a bit of action to spice all the stage-like talk. Director Miller often fills his CinemaScope screen to dramatic advantage. But as said at the beginning, it's the music that makes "Diane" a must-see.
SYNOPSIS: Diane de Poitiers was the French courtesan who became the mistress of King Henri II of France and virtually supplanted his wife, Catherine de Medici, as the power behind the throne. Writers have alternatively described her as "the most cultivated woman of the French Renaissance" and as "a sixteenth-century silken tramp." In the M-G-M film loosely based on her life, we first see Diane as she appears at the court of Francis I to plead for the life of her husband, Count de Breze, who has been falsely accused of plotting against the King. She succeeds in having him spared but at the same time alienates the affection of her husband.
COMMENT: Rozsa works harder than anyone to make "Diane" a success, supplying one of his most romantic themes and a full-bodied orchestral score full of medieval color and atmosphere. Yes, it's the music that ensures the script at times is quite moving — not the performances. In fact, they are all generally poor, amateurish and quite unconvincing. It says much for the general level of acting that it's Marisa Pavan who is by far the most believable of the principals. Turner and Moore are particularly inept and surprisingly Pedro Armendariz is only a notch or two less woeful. Some of the support players are almost equally hopeless. Fortunately Henry Daniell gets more than one chance to be scheming and villainous, whilst Sir Cedric Hardwicke (in a small role) contrives to be memorably spooky. Of course both Daniell and Hardwicke have the benefit of their stage-trained voices to out-maneuver the rest of the cast. All the same so far as acting goes, the honors belong firmly to Miss Pavan, who is never more compelling than in her final confrontation scene with Turner.
The script is recycled high-school history, the dialogue often unintentionally risible. But the movie is dressed out with attractive costumes and sets. There's even a bit of action to spice all the stage-like talk. Director Miller often fills his CinemaScope screen to dramatic advantage. But as said at the beginning, it's the music that makes "Diane" a must-see.