They asked me to change my name,’ Diana Dors once explained. ‘I suppose they were afraid that if my real name, Diana Fluck, was in lights, and one of the lights blew...’
From her beginnings as a cocky, sharp-tongued, drama-schooled ‘British Monroe’ to her subsequent omnipresent tabloid status as a thick-skinned, fat-cushioned, bullishly maternal self-promoter, Diana Dors always had the knack of playing the British public like a harpsichord.
Despite her ‘bombshell’ reputation, Dors was a highly competent actress, and finally got her chance to shine in J Lee Thompson’s anti-capital punishment drama, Yield to the Night (1956). Shedding her glamorous image, Dors received rave reviews for her performance as Mary Price Hilton, a murderess sentenced to death. US distributors rather missed the point, releasing the film as Blonde Sinner, but the film propelled Dors to her ill-fated move to America and a contract with RKO.
Ironically, the plot to Yield to the Night recalled the real-life fate of an extra in Dors’ 1951 film, Lady Godiva Rides Again (Bikini Baby in the US), a comedy about a beauty contestant who is recruited to recreate Godiva’s infamous procession for the Festival of Britain. Alongside very early roles for Joan Collins and Sid James, the film also featured an uncredited Ruth Ellis who would later face the gallows as the last woman hanged in Britain.
Dors’ appearance in Carol Reed’s A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) further demonstrated her versatility. An ensemble piece set in the East End of London, in which a child finds what he believes to be a baby unicorn (but which is in fact a little goat with a single, twisted horn), A Kid for Two Farthings remains a potent mix of childhood fantasy and the harsh reality of life in a rundown district.
By 1968 Dors’ career as a film star had effectively ended, but she remained in the public eye, her brash cuddliness held dear in the affections of her public, until her untimely death in 1984 at the age of just 52. Having survived Hollywood failure, tabloid scandal, two failed marriages and bankruptcy, Diana Dors remained the archetypical survivor. Her early film legacy can now be enjoyed with this collection.
A collection of films starring Diana Dors (formerly Fluck). Though considered a typical blonde bombshell, she had a considerable and undervalued acting talent. Features Yield to the Night aka Blonde Sinner (J Lee Thompson, 1956), Lady Godiva Rides Again aka Bikini Baby (Frank Launder, 1951), Diamond City (David MacDonald, 1949), A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (Ralph Smart, 1949), As Long As They Happy (J. Lee Thompson, 1955) and A Kid for Two Farthings (Carol Reed, 1955).
itv DVD have pulled out all the stops for this lavish collection for Diana Dors. The packaging is excellent, the box folds out revealing pictures of our star (the pict... more >
itv DVD have pulled out all the stops for this lavish collection for Diana Dors. The packaging is excellent, the box folds out revealing pictures of our star (the pictures shown are from publicity shots taken for As Long as They're Happy, which is included in this set).
We have 6 movies here covering Dors career in British Film, some are early co-star roles and it's great to see the pre-peroxide starlet making her mark. Lady Godiva Rides Again, which also features an early role for Joan Collins and and uncredited cameo from the doomed Ruth Ellis is a great comedy/drama about beauty contests, Diamond City with Honor Blackman in the lead female role, who also stars with Dors in A Boy, A Girl and a Bike, two very differnt dramas, one set in the diamond fields of South Africa the other a cycle club in a North Country mill town. Dors is in full Blonde Bombshell mode singing Hokey Pokey Polka in the histerical As Long as They're Happy.
We then have Carol Reeds classic tale A Kid For Two Farthings about a young boy who belives he has found a unicorn, Dors is wonderful in this movie which boasts an impressive all star ensemble including Celia Johnson.
Of course Yield to the Night is Diana Dors' best film, directed by Lee J Thompson, Dors gives the performance of a lifetime playing Mary Hilton, a woman waiting to be hanged for the murder of the other woman.
All the discs have extras too, including picture galleries, star profiles and director profiles, all the discs have full animated menu systems. The transfers to dvd are also excellent.
As if this wasn't enough we also have the bonus 7th disc, the 4 hour bio-pic of Dors amazing life, The Blonde Bombshell which stars Keeley Hawes as the young star and Amanda Redman playing the older Dors, excellent! < less
The Claude Chabrol Collection (Volume 2)
MovieMail Latest
The Digital Edition of our December Mini Film Catalogue is out now!
RSS Feeds | MovieMail Podcasts | December Mini Film Catalogue | Subscribe to our email newsletter!
Diana Dors - The Collection
