Diane Baker Movies
Actress Diane Baker's well-scrubbed, all-American beauty has frequently been employed as a cool veneer for film characters of smoldering passions. The daughter of actress Dorothy Harrington, Diane was studying at USC when she was tapped for her first film role as Millie Perkins' sister in 20th Century-Fox's The Diary of Anne Frank (1959); the studio then cast Diane as Pat Boone's "girl back home," who didn't get to go along on Boone's Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959). She remained at Fox until 1962, essaying the title role in the studio's re-remake of Tess of the Storm Country (1961). Her most famous screen assignment was at Columbia, where she portrayed axe murderess Joan Crawford's supposedly well-balanced daughter in Straitjacket (1963). Diane became a documentary director in the 1970s with Ashanya, and a producer with Never Never Land (1982). The best of Diane Baker's latter-day roles was the media-savvy politico mother of the kidnap victim in Silence of the Lambs (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Volcano is the reissue title of the muddled disaster flick Krakatoa: East of Java. The name change was reportedly put into effect after thousands of filmgoers noted publicly that Krakatoa is west of Java. As might be expected, the story takes place in 1883, when the long-dormant volcano at Krakatoa erupted with A-bomb force. Since everyone knows what's coming, the filmmakers try to stir up suspense with a gratuitous subplot involving ship's-captain Maximilian Schell and his mutinous crew (a similar plot device had been used in a previous dramatization of the Krakatoa incident, 1953's Fair Wind to Java). The climactic special effects are spectacular enough to make the script, and the all-star cast (including Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Rossano Brazzi, and Sal Mineo), seem utterly superfluous. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, (more)
- 1969
Murder One was the pilot film for the Jack Webb-produced TV series The D.A. Howard Duff plays the title role, with Robert Conrad his able-bodied deputy. The indictment they must prepare for the Grand Jury is that of nurse Diane Baker. Several of Baker's husbands and relatives have met untimely deaths, and it appears that the good nurse has been dispatching the victims with overdoses of insulin. While Murder One was first telecast on December 8, 1969, the D.A. series itself wouldn't premiere until nearly two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Star-in-the-making Robert Duvall appears in this episode as Joseph Troy, one of two fugitives who are hiding from the Feds in California's wine country. Biding their time until the heat is off, Troy and his partner George Wilson (Burt Brinckerhoff) make plans to pull off a bank heist during a local harvest celebration. But things take an unexpected turn when one of the two outlaws falls in love with Lisa Cintron (Diane Baker). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
- G
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Advertising executive Fred Bolton (Dean Jones) is under pressure from his boss Tom Dugan (Fred Clark) to come up with a new ad campaign for a wealthy client. Fred's daughter Helen (Ellen Janov) loves to ride horses, so her father buys her one to tie the equine into the profitable advertisement. Nearly a third of the film's length is devoted to a Washington D. C. horse show in which Helen participates. Morey Amsterdam, Kurt Russell, Lloyd Bochner, and Diane Baker also appear in this Disney production. Shown with the animated Winnie The Pooh, the cartoon was far more popular and memorable than The Horse In The Gray Flannel Suit, which is one of the studio's less-inspiring efforts. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Jones, Diane Baker, (more)
- 1967
Roy Thinnes was the star of this 1967-1968 science fiction series, about an Earth poised on the brink of alien takeover. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The Fugitive wraps up its four-season run with Part One of the series' legendary final episode "The Judgment". Having learned that Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch), the elusive one-armed man who committed the murder for which Kimble was wrongfully condemned, has been arrested in Tucson, Kimble makes a beeline to the police station--followed closely by his own perennial pursuer Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse). But both men manage to elude capture: Kimble is alerted to Gerard's presence by longtime friend Jean Carlisle (Diane Baker), while Johnson is bailed out by an unknown benefactor. During a confrontation with blackmailing bailbondsman Art Howe (Michael Constantine), Johnson commits another murder and also learns the identity of the person who posted his bond--whereupon he heads for Kimble's home town of Stafford, Indiana. Before long, Kimble has caught up with Johnson...only to be apprehended by the relentless Gerard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In the conclusion of The Fugitive's celebrated series finale, wrongly convicted murderer Richard Kimble has been arrested by Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse) just moments before catching up with actual murderer Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch), aka "the one-armed man." It appears that Kimble has been betrayed by his own brother-in-law Fred Taft (Richard Anderson), but in fact the person most responsible for his capture--and Johnson's freedom--is a heretofore unknown witness to the murder of Kimble's wife, who for reasons of his own has remained silent all these years. The climax finds Kimble in hot pursuit of Johnson, who has climbed to the top of an amusement-park tower--while Gerard nervously waits at ground level to find out which of the two men is truly the guilty party. Ending with the now-famous words "Tuesday, August 29: The Day the Running Stopped", the second half of "The Judgment" set a record in 1967 as the highest-rated TV series finale in TV history--a record that would remain unbroken until the equally famous final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Ben Cartwright protects longtime family friend Mary Farnum (Diane Baker) from the drunken rampages of her brutal husband Russ Wharton (Paul Richards). Misinterpreting Ben's kindness, the long-suffering Mary falls desperately in love with the Cartwright patriarch. Also in the cast are Dennis Cross as Monk and Raymond Guth as Goliath. Written by Joel Murcott, "A Woman in the House" originally aired on February 19, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1966
Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) investigates a fatal plane crash that was rigged to hide the fact that someone working for defense contractor Steven Colton (Fritz Weaver) has been shipping defective equipment to Vietnam. Time is of the essence in rooting out the villain, inasmuch as the lives of thousands of a American soldiers are at stake. But Erskine's boss Arthur Ward (Philip Abbott) has a more personal stake in the matter: Steven Colton's wife Elyse (Diane Baker) is an old friend of his. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
A dazed man, David Stillwell (Gregory Peck), wanders down the stairs of a New York skyscraper during a power blackout, only vaguely aware of who he is, where he's been, and why he has this nagging feeling that danger lurks all about him. Stillwell does know that many of the people in the building are acquainted with him -- and that he is somehow linked with the death of wealthy philanthropist Charles Calvin (Walter Abel), who has fallen 27 floors to his death (a special effect that was remarkable for its time). From this point onward, everyone Stillwell meets is connected with Calvin's death, or is in some way threatening Stillwell's well-being. When he seeks the help of Dr. Pepper-imbibing private eye Ted Caselle (Walter Matthau), he is told that "you don't want to remember" -- shortly before Caselle is murdered by persons unknown. Only the enigmatic Sheila (Diane Baker) evinces any real sympathy, and she too is part of the conspiracy aimed at silencing and/or neutralizing the dumbfounded Stillwell. Mirage has far too many twists of plot to go into here, but if you stay with it, everything is satisfactorily explained. Less than three years after its initial release, the black-and-white Mirage was remade in color as Jigsaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, (more)
- 1966
The Arab-Israeli conflict provides the backdrop for this political drama that tells the story of an American gentile woman who goes to Israel to find the place where her Jewish fiance died during the 1948 conflict. There she meets the dead man's best friend and eventually they fall in love. The man works in a potash factory, but he is also a gun runner for Israel. One day an Arab terrorist ambushes the gun runner. Later the terrorist's father, tired of all the violence, takes the gun runner in. When his son discovers this, he attacks his father's house. During the scuffle, the terrorist is killed and the gun runner wounded. Fortunately, his American love is there to help him heal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Wandering cowpoke Kiowa Jones (Robert Horton) is deputized by a mortally wounded marshal (Gary Merrill) for a deadly mission. Jones is to transport two killers (Sal Mineo, Nehemiah Persoff) to a faraway fort. One of the criminals has offered a $2000 reward to anyone who will help him escape. Since Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones was the pilot for a TV series, we can say with some confidence that Mr. Jones completes his mission. This made-for-TV movie--the first such for MGM--was first networkcast on Christmas day, 1966; later on, MGM released the film theatrically in Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this drama, a Hungarian photographer is sad when she discovers that her handsome lover, no longer cares for her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this chilling blood-tale in "Psycho" style, Robert Bloch modernizes the Lizzy Borden story. A wife (Joan Crawford) literally axes her cheating husband and his lover, witnessed by her three-year-old daughter. Mom is packed off to the insane asylum for 20 years before reuniting with the daughter (Diane Baker). From this point, the axe murders continue along a contrived plot intended to lead the audience astray until the mystery is solved. Crawford's strong performance and the excellently constructed suspense are the best elements of the film -- and the chopping saves the show when the plot tends to slow. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, (more)
Condemned as being a "disappointing" and "unworthy" Alfred Hitchcock effort at the time of its release, Marnie has since grown in stature; it is still considered a lesser Hitchcock, but a fascinating one. Tippi Hedren plays Marnie, a compulsive thief who cannot stand to be touched by any man. She also goes bonkers over the sight of the color red. Her new boss, Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) is intrigued by Marnie -- to such an extent that he blackmails her into marriage when he stumbles onto her breaking into his safe. Rutland is in his own way as "sick" as his wife because of his fetishist desire to cohabit with a thief. After innumerable plot twists and turns, Marnie is "cured" by a facile but mesmerizing flashback sequence involving her ex-hooker mother (Louise Latham). Among the critical carps aimed at Marnie was the complaint that the studio-bound sets -- particularly the waterfront locale where the film ends -- were tacky and artificial; curiously, this seeming "carelessness" adds to the queasy, off-setting mood that Hitchcock endeavored to sustain. Even when the direction seems to falter, the film is buoyed by the driving musical score of Bernard Herrmann (his last for Hitchcock). Among the supporting actors in Marnie are Mariette Hartley as a secretary and Bruce Dern as a sailor; twelve years later, Dern would star in Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, (more)
- 1964
Arabs resentful of the creation of Israel carry out terrorist missions in this action drama set in 1949. They harass the Jews with land mines, robberies, and general chaos in a wave of reactionary righteous indignation over their displacement. David Opantoshu plays the venerable Arab leader Daoud, who calls for the murder of a local policeman suspected of selling out to the Jews. Susan (Diane Baker) is an American girl who travels to Israel to pay respects at the grave of her sweetheart who died in the fight for Israeli independence. She later falls for the Jewish boy Dan (Tom Bell). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Baker, David Opatoshu, (more)
- 1963
Based on the novel by Irving Wallace, The Prize takes place in Stockholm, where several laureates gather to accept their Nobel Prizes. At first, the film concentrates on iconoclastic novelist Paul Newman, but he is temporarily shunted to the background when physics expert Edward G. Robinson is kidnaped and replaced by his wicked twin brother. The real Robinson is to be spirited behind the Iron Curtain, while the "fake" Robinson is to disrupt the awards ceremony with an anti-American tirade. Newman gets wind of the plot, and with the help of Swedish foreign office functionary Elke Sommer, he endeavors to rescue the real Robinson and expose the phony-who has yet another trick up his sleeve before the film is over. We'll go along with the fantastic plot convolutions of The Prize, provided we don't have to swallow the premise of another man's voice emanating from that familiar Eddie Robinson mug. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
- 1963
Stolen Hours is the overlong, overglamorized 1963 remake of the 1939 Bette Davis vehicle Dark Victory. Susan Hayward plays a rich, neurotic socialite who discovers that she only has a year to live. Acting resentfully at first--especially towards handsome doctor Michael Craig, who withheld this information from her "for her own good"--Hayward eventually adopts a philosophical attitude towards her fate. By the time she begins slipping into "that undiscovered uncountry," Hayward is practically a candidate for sainthood. A plot device not utilized in the original involves Hayward's virtual adoption of a young boy (Robert Bacon), who is neglected by his own mother. Novelist Jessamyn West and playwright Joseph Hayes did their best to "contemporize" the outdated elements of the original Dark Victory, even unto having Susan Hayward learn to dance the Twist! Stolen Hours was filmed in England, affording us lovely Technicolor glimpses of the Cornish coast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Michael Craig, (more)
- 1963
This drama follows the nine hours that came before the assassination of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi by a Hindu radical. Naturam Godse (Horst Buchholz), a Brahmin who was rejected for service in the British Army and is horrified by the fighting between Moslem and Hindu fanatics, comes to the conclusion that the only solution to the civil unrest is to kill Gandhi (J.S. Casshyap), believing that the leader's philosophy of non-violence has only fanned the flames of unrest. In love with a married woman, Rani Mahta (Valerie Gearon), Godse spends a guilty afternoon with her as he flashes back on his life of violence and mistreatment; he also pays a call to Sheila (Diane Baker), a prostitute. Meanwhile, as civil unrest flares around him, Ghandi goes about his daily rounds, despite warnings from police chief Gopal Das (Jose Ferrer) that his life is in danger. J.S. Casshyap was a 64-year-old teacher and author before being cast as Gandhi in this, his first film role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Horst Buchholz, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1962
The "official" title of this film is Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man; its screenplay is adapted from semi-autobiographical "Nick Adams" stories written by Ernest Hemingway. Played by Richard Beymer (West Side Story), Nick Adams is a young Michigan boy who sets out in the early 1900s to learn about life and to pursue a journalistic career. No sooner is he on his way than he gets his first taste of "real life" by being thrown off a train by a railroad agent. He attempts to secure newspaper work, but is laughed out of the office due to his inexperience. He gains valuable insight on the human condition while serving in the Italian army during World War One, where (in Farewell to Arms fashion) a star-crossed romance develops between Nick and a Red Cross nurse (Susan Strasberg). Nick returns to America determined to pursue his destiny by writing of his now-vast experiences. Long and somewhat poky, Adventures of a Young Man is enlivened by the cameo appearance of Paul Newman as a pathetic, punch drunk boxer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Beymer, Diane Baker, (more)
A colorful action film about the Battle Of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. in which the Spartans defend themselves for a Persian invasion against overwhelming odds. King Leodinas (Richard Egan) rallies the locals to stop the attack of thousands of plundering Persian invaders led by evil King Xerxes (David Farrar). Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens leads the international cast this the spectacular cinematic conflict that has more emphasis on action rather than historical accuracy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Egan, Ralph Richardson, (more)
- 1961
In this modernized version of Grace Miller White's popular novel, the feisty Tess moves to the Pennsylvania Dutch country and finds herself unwelcome by her Mennonite neighbors until she begins fighting along with a group of farmers who sold land to a chemical company and are now unhappy because it has been polluted. During the struggle, Tess falls in love with a handsome Mennonite. Eventually their love and her hard work pays off and her neighbors finally accept her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Baker, Jack Ging, (more)
- 1960
In this satirical costume fantasy, a clumsy no-talent genie ends up chastised by the genie king and given one last chance to prove himself. If he fails, he will end up a mere mortal. The hapless genie then heads for Baghdad astride a talking horse to try to become the Wizard of Baghdad. In that capacity, he must ensure that a princess and prince get married so they can rule the great city together. Their union has been prophesied. Unfortunately, an elderly sultan, who will inherit the city should they fail, tries to keep the prophecy from coming true. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Shawn, Diane Baker, (more)
- 1959
- G
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There was neither a heroine nor a villain in Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, but scenarist Charles Brackett evidently knew what he was doing by adding both to the 1959 film version. The picture proved to be a significant success in an otherwise disappointing year for 20th Century Fox. James Mason stars as amusingly absent-minded professor Oliver Lindenbrook, whose first step on a fabulous journey is prompted by a lump of lava brought to him by his student Alec McEwen (Pat Boone -- and, yes, he gets to sing). Melting down the curiously composed lump, Lindenbrook discovers a hastily scrawled message from long-lost explorer Arne Saknussem, with directions for reaching the earth's core. Accompanied by Carla (Arlene Dahl), widow of a famed geologist, and Icelandic guide Hans (Peter Ronson), Lindenbrook and Alec head down, down below. They are closely followed by the villainous Count Saknussem (Thayer David), descendant of the lost explorer who wrote the directions; the count hopes to use Lindenbrook's discoveries for his own personal and political gain (we know he's really bad when he eats Han's lovable pet goose). What follows is a festival of superb special effects, fabulous subterranean sets, and gigantized reptiles posing as dinosaurs, all brilliantly accompanied by Bernard Herrmann's ominous musical score. Journey to the Center of the Earth would later be adapted into a Saturday-morning cartoon series, again produced by 20th Century Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Boone, James Mason, (more)
