Art & Hue
Diana Dors Pop Art
One of British cinemas most iconic actresses, Diana Dors traversed comedy and drama across her career. From acclaimed performances in film noir to romantic comedies, Dors was one of the most popular stars of the 1950s and beyond.
Born in Swindon, Diana Dors was a student at Rank’s “Charm School”, along with Barbara Murray, Patricia Dainton, & Anthony Steel.
Diana’s film debut was at the age of 15 in the 1947 film “The Shop at Sly Corner” with Katie Johnson, and, after a few small film appearances, it wasn’t long before she landed her first featured role in 1948’s “Penny and the Pownall Case” with Christopher Lee.
Early film appearances include “Here Come the Huggetts” and “Vote for Huggett” with Jack Warner; “It’s Not Cricket” with Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne; “A Boy, a Girl and a Bike” with Honor Blackman; and “Dance Hall” with Eunice Gayson.
It wasn’t long before Dors reached sole leading lady status with 1951’s “Worm’s Eye View”.
Other film credits at that time included “Lady Godiva Rides Again” with Dennis Price, Eddie Byrne, Sid James, Alastair Sim, and Joan Collins in her film debut; “The Last Page” with Meredith Edwards; “As Long as They’re Happy” with Janette Scott, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Charles Hawtrey, and a cameo by Norman Wisdom; “Value for Money” with John Gregson; and “An Alligator Named Daisy” with Stanley Holloway, Stephen Boyd, & Margaret Rutherford.
As well as comedies, Dors was cast in dramatic roles including the prison saga “The Weak and the Wicked” with Glynis Johns & Rachel Roberts; and Carol Reed’s “A Kid for Two Farthings” with beefy Joe Robinson, which made Diana one of the most popular stars of the British box office in 1955.
1956 saw Diana cast in another prison film, the film noir “Yield to the Night“.
Nominated for BAFTA awards as well as for the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956, “Yield to the Night” was the film which Diana Dors personally regarded to be her best work.
Dors said of the film “Yield to the Night was my best film, I mean it’s the only film I can really point to with pride”.
Diana attended the world premiere of the film at the Carlton Cinema in London on the 14th of June 1956. Called “Blonde Sinner” for American audiences, the glamourous actress of the 1950s earned plaudits for her performance in this realist drama about a crime of passion.
Subsequent films included “Tread Softly Stranger” with George Baker & Terence Morgan; and “Passport to Shame” with Herbert Lom, Jackie Collins, and an uncredited early film appearance of Michael Caine.
As the 60s dawned, Diana’s roles skewed older, including supporting parts in “Mrs. Gibbons’ Boys” with Dick Emery & Milo O’Shea; “West 11” with Alfred Lynch; “Danger Route” with Sylvia Syms, Gordon Jackson, & Harry Andrews; “Hammerhead” with David Prowse; “There’s a Girl in My Soup” with Peter Sellers; “Steptoe and Son Ride Again” with Yootha Joyce & Frank Thornton; cult film “Theatre of Blood” with Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Jack Hawkins, Madeline Smith, & Ian Hendry; “Nothing but the Night” with Fulton Mackay; “From Beyond the Grave” with Ian Bannen & Ian Carmichael; “Bedtime with Rosie” with Una Stubbs; and “The Amorous Milkman” with Julie Ege.
Diana was one of the many guest stars in “The Sandwich Man” with Earl Cameron, Harry H. Corbett, & Terry-Thomas.
Later films included saucy comedies “Three for All” with Liz Fraser and a cameo by Edward Woodward; “Adventures of a Taxi Driver” with Stephen Lewis; and “Keep It Up Downstairs” with Aimi MacDonald.
Diana’s final film, “Steaming” with Vanessa Redgrave, was also the final film of director Joseph Losey who previously directed “The Servant“, “Modesty Blaise“, & “Accident”, all with Dirk Bogarde.
As well as playing the fairy godmother in Adam Ant’s video for “Prince Charming”, some of Diana’s television credits include “Alfred Hitchcock presents”, “Queenie’s Castle”, “Hammer House of Horror”, and a classic appearance in “The Two Ronnies” sketch “The Worm that Turned”.
British Blonde Bombshells
Art & Hue presents British Blonde Bombshells, stylish pop art featuring iconic women of Mid-century British cinema.
Joining Diana Dors in the British Blonde Bombshells collection are Margaret Nolan, Carole Lesley, Liz Fraser, Barbara Windsor, and glamour model Sabrina.
An official collaboration with Studiocanal, this print is part of the British Blonde Bombshells pop art collection, featuring Art & Hue’s signature halftone style (halftone is an age-old technique that uses dots to make up the printed image, similar to newspapers or comic books).
Exclusively by Art & Hue, the British Blonde Bombshells pop art collection is available in three sizes and many colours, all printed on museum-quality archival matte card of 310gsm, made from 100% cotton, with fine-art pigment inks for longevity.
Available in A4, A3, and A2 sizes to fit standard-size picture frames. Please note that black frame is not included – for a guide on choosing a frame size take a look here.
Rewatch, or discover anew, the films on DVD from Amazon;
“The Weak & the Wicked” (1954), “Yield to the Night” (1956), Copyright © STUDIOCANAL Films Ltd. All rights reserved.
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