Diane (film)

Independent Films, Film Profiles

Diane is a 1956 MGM historical film drama about the life of Diane de Poitiers. It was directed by David Miller and produced by Edwin H. Knopf from a screenplay by Christopher Isherwood based on a story by John Erskine. The music score was composed by Miklós Rózsa, Robert H. Planck was the cinematographer. It was filmed in CinemaScope.The film starred Lana Turner, Pedro Armendáriz, Roger Moore, Marisa Pavan with Cedric Hardwicke, Torin Thatcher, Taina Elg, John Lupton, Henry Daniell, Melville Cooper and an early film appearance by Stuart Whitman.The action is set in 16th century France.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.