Main Cast: Lana Turner, Pedro Armendáriz, Roger Moore, Marisa Pavan, Cedric Hardwicke
Release Year: 1955
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
Plot
Lana Turner stars as Diane in this opulent costume drama. Set in 16th century France, the film finds the gorgeous Diane de Pottiers rising to a position of absolute power through her manipulation of the men in her life. Those men include King Francis I (Pedro Armendariz), Prince Henri (Roger Moore) and Diane's husband, the Count de Breze (Torin Thatcher). Diane's principal foe is the scheming Catherine de Medici (Marisa Pavan), who for the first time in her life has met her match in Our Heroine. Christopher Isherwood's screenplay is literate to a fault, though the film could have used a few more action highlights. The tepid box-office receipts of Diane hastened the end of Lana Turner's long association with MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Diane de Poitiers (Lana Turner), mistress of Prince Henri (Roger Moore), the future King Henry II, rises to a position of absolute power through her manipulation of the men in her life. Those men include King Francis I (Pedro Armendariz) and Diane's husband, the Count de Brèze (Torin Thatcher). Diane's principal foe is the scheming Catherine de' Medici (Marisa Pavan), who for the first time in her life has met her match.
Diane was Lana Turner's last role for MGM after being under contract with the studio for 18 years.
Taina Elg made her Hollywood debut in The Prodigal (1955), another Lana Turner vehicle.
The film Diane had originally been intended as a vehicle for Greta Garbo.
The "Ruggieri" character indeed represents Nostradamus, the real name being avoided to allow for a higher degree of narrative license or to prevent hurting the sensibility of his sympathizers.
The Hourglass in the quarters of Ruggieri, was famously used before in the classic film The Wizard Of Oz (1939) 17 years earlier.
