Diana Dors Movies

In this sentimental comedy, Carol Reed tries for a bit of neo-realist whimsy that takes place in the London slums of Petticoat Lane. The film centers upon Joe (Jonathan Ashmore), a six-year-old London East-ender who believes strongly in the magical power of unicorns. Joe and his lonely mother Joanna (Celia Johnson) live with wily, philosophical tailor Kandinsky (David Kossoff), who convinces Joe that if he could only come upon the legendary unicorn, he could grant all the wishes of his poor neighbors. Taking Kandinsky at his word, Joe searches the slums for a unicorn. Then one morning, he finds one. Only thing is, it is not a unicorn but a baby goat with a growth sticking out of his forehead. Nevertheless, Joe is convinced that the goat is a unicorn. He gives an elderly homeless man all of his savings for the kid and triumphantly takes it home. Hoping to use the kid to grant all his friends' wishes, he hopes to grant the wishes of Kandinsky, who wants a steam-pressing table, and Sonia (Diana Dors), an attractive blonde who wants to marry Sam (Joe Robinson), a handsome wrestler. And finally, he wishes for his father to return home to his lonely mother. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A sexy comedy about the carnal exploits of a cab driver who gets mixed up with gang of jewel thieves. ~ All Movie Guide

Henri (Robert Dhery) joins a group of rowdy soccer fans who travel from France to London two days before he is supposed to be married, and he goes to the dentist after his two front teeth are knocked out in a melee with rival fans. Sight gags include a busload of drunken fans trying to evade the police in a rare working combination of Gallic and British humor. Diana Dors appears as herself in this feature directed and co-written by Dhery. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Not quite a full-fledged musical, As Long as They're Happy can be described as a romantic comedy with song-and-dance interludes. Adapted from the London stage hit of the same name, the film stars Jack Buchanan as stockbroker John Bentley, whose household is thrown into a tizzy when popular singing star Bobby Denver (Jerry Wayne) visits his home. Bentley's three daughters Gwen (Janette Scott), Pat (Jeannie Carson) and Corinne (Susan Stephen) are immediately smitten by Bobby, though each reacts to his presence in a different manner. Mrs. Bentley (Brenda de Banzie), hoping to loosen up her staid hubby, pretends to be likewise enamored with the singer. The film did the most amount of good for recording artist Jeannie Carson, who landed her own American TV sitcom as a result of her appearance herein. Also well cast in As Long as They're Happy are sex-symbol Diana Dors in an extended cameo role, and "Carry On" regular Joan Sims as a comic maid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the lower points of Joan Crawford's latter-day career curve (though nothing to compare with the later embarrassment of Trog!), this lurid, low-rent thriller nevertheless gives Crawford the opportunity to chew acres of scenery in a campy Marlene Dietrich-style get-up. She portrays the ringmaster of a cheesy traveling circus troupe whose stars are being whacked in a variety of flamboyant ways (many of which are depicted in the garish trailer, particularly Michael Gough's spike-in-the-head scene). Despite the exploitation potential in this lurid Grand Guignol scenario, this film is fairly light on scares or gore -- and far too heavy on circus stock footage. A sequel of sorts to producer Herman Cohen's Horrors of the Black Museum, this one is a slight improvement, thanks to Crawford's outrageous, over-the-top performance. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Originally released in 1945 as Shop at Sly Corner, Code of Scotland Yard is an effective British imitation of the Hollywood film noir genre. Oscar Homolka plays a seemingly benign antique dealer who maintains a comfortable lifestyle by fencing stolen goods. Homolka's daughter (Muriel Pavlow), an aspiring musician, is the only person he genuinely cares about. Thus when the girl's future is threatened by a slimy blackmailer (Kenneth Griffith) who is unsatisfied with a mere cash settlement, Homolka is left with no choice but to get rid of the bounder. Oscar Homolka, a Viennese character actor who worked prolifically on both sides of the Atlantic, is the principal attraction in Code of Scotland Yard, which was based on popular London stage play by Edward Percy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just before directing the comedy classic The Lavender Hill Mob, Charles Crichton dashed off the romantic melodrama Dance Hall. The story takes place in a London dance emporium, frequented by the local working girls. Natasha Parry stars as Eve, whose marriage to Phil (Donald Houston) is imperiled when she takes a different partner for an upcoming dance contest. Her reasoning is that Phil is a lousy dancer, but she loves him all the same; Phil, however, is the jealous type, who doesn't quite see things Eve's way. Among the familiar faces floating by in Dance Hall are Bonar Colleano, Diana Dors, and Petula Clark (yes, her career went back that far). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

British agents drop like skeets in this convoluted espionage film. Jonas Wilde (Richard Johnson) is a successful British secret agent who wants to hang up his license to kill and retire. His superior, Canning (Harry Andrews), agrees to accept his resignation if he agrees to one last case -- killing a Czechoslovakian defector currently being held by the Americans. Wilde goes along with Canning's plan and, with the help of his housekeeper Rhoda (Diana Dors), completes the mission. But then Jonas is captured by CIA agent Lucinda (Sam Wanamaker), who reveals that an unknown agent in the British secret service is the force behind getting fellow British agents killed. When Jonas and Canning's wife, Barbara (Sylvia Syms), travel to Canning's headquarters, he is told that a British agent has been murdered. Jonas proceeds to take the dead agent's niece Mari (Barbara Bouchet) onto a boat for questioning and discovers false names, deceptions and increasing amounts of dead bodies. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Diamond City is a British "western", set not in Australia as was often the case but in the wilds of South Africa. David Farrar is a lawkeeper sworn to lawkeep in the diamond mines. The poachers thereabouts try their luck at circumventing Farrar, but he's too fast for them. The final shootout isn't quite the Gunfight at the OK Corral, but it will serve until English history offers a real counterpart to that famous western battle. David Farrar's leading lady in Diamond City is future Avengers star Honor Blackman, who in 1949 was still in her blushing-heroine phase. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Good Time Girl, directed by David MacDonald and based on a story by Arthur La Bern (It Always Rains On Sunday) starts off unpromisingly, as juvenile justice official Flora Robson tries to keep a would-be female felon on the straight-and-narrow, telling the cautionary tale of Gwen Rawlings (Jean Kent). A victim of an unhappy home and her own stupidity, Rawlings leaves home and, with help from her sleazy new neighbor Jimmy Rosso (Peter Glenville, the future director), gets a job as a hat-check girl at a club run by Max Vine (erbert Lom). But Jimmy's jealousy soon gets him fired, and leaves him aiming for revenge on Max and Gwen. Despite the best efforts of Michael Farrell (Dennis Price), the one truly decent man she's ever met, Jimmy achieves his goal and Gwen is sent to a reformatory. It is there that she's truly corrupted by being locked up with more seasoned juvenile (and not so juvenile) felons, who know how to game the system -- whem she escapes, she's a professional criminal, and, taking on a new alias, falls in with a pair of loose-living gents. She manages to commit a vehicular homicide, and then falls in with a pair of American military deserters (Bonar Colleano, Hugh McDermott) who aren't above committing pre-meditated murder. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

It's hard to discern the filmmakers' true point of view on Hannie Caulder. On one hand, you've got the heavily somber story of Raquel Welch's efforts to exact vengeance on the men who raped her and killed her husband. On the other hand, you've got the leisurely-paced, lightly amusing sequences in which saddle-tramp Robert Culp tries to teach Welch how to be a gunslinger in her own right. And on the third hand (and who's got one of those?), you are offered the goofy Three-Stooges-like antics of the principle villains: Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin and Jack Elam. This British-financed western features one-time sexpot Diana Dors as a zoftic madam and an uncredited Stephen Boyd as an ineffectual preacher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Holiday Camp was a British comedy that served the same purpose as Hollywood's The Egg and I--to act as the launching pad for a successful B-movie series. The film takes place at a British summer resort, where various character types interact. A murderer on the loose invades the camp, but the damage he does is slight--and in some instances, his presence is beneficial. Among the secondary characters are the members of the suburban Huggett family, headed by Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison. They proved popular enough to be spun off into a "Hardy Family" style series of their own, with such titles as Here Come the Huggetts, Vote for Huggett and The Huggetts Abroad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide