Diane Clare
(* July 08, 1938)

Born in London, England

Diane Clare's genteel English accent is both indicative of her noble bloodline and at the same time is curiously out of place given her mixed ancestry.

Her father was Hungarian born Baron A. Dirsztay, most likely either a merchant, industrialist or banker, who settled in Britain before the Second World War.

Her mother was of American descent and directly related to Wild West showman William Frederick Cody (that's Buffalo Bill to you and me).

It was with the assistance of her mother and because of her natural photogenic charm that Diane became a child actor from the age of 2, however, she admits to remembering nothing at all of appearances in films like The Silver Fleet (1942) starring Ralph Richardson and Esmond Knight or The Ghosts of Berkeley Square (1947) with Robert Morley and Martita Hunt, later star of Hammer's Brides of Dracula. All she does recall she says "is the lovely period costumes, and the few lines of dialogue I had to say".

Despite such appearances, her education soon took priority, during which time she managed to join a stage school and became captivated by the idea of a future life in the acting profession.

In 1953 she entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where she studied with the likes of Albert Finney and Alan Bates. Whilst still at RADA she also co-starred alongside Peter O'Toole in Young Elizabeth at The Malvern Arts Festival.

Her film career took off after honing her acting skills in repertory theatre and by taking over the title role from Anna Massey in the stage production of The Reluctant Debutante.

In her first major film appearance she was cast as Sister Denise Norton in Ice Cold in Alex (1958) opposite the likes of John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews. Although having few lines, Diane showed acceptable dramatic qualities as the innocent and ineffective nurse traumatised by the emotional and psychological consequences of War. The image of her grave in the foreground of a lonely, barren and forgotten wilderness, while an ambulance drives off into the distance, lives long in the memory.

Another substantial supporting role beckoned with the cinemascope production of The Reluctant Debutante (1958), a glittering and loquacious upper class Hollywood style comedy set during the London Season. This time however Diane switched roles, playing the quiet and modest but infatuated daughter of the socially manipulating Angela Lansbury.

Rex Harrison and his wife Kay Kendall played the principle characters. Diane remembers Kay Kendall as "being full of fun". But unknown to her and to everyone else at the time, except her husband, she was terminally ill with leukaemia. She died the following year.

A series of small parts followed in the early 60's with the Naked Edge (1960), Gary Cooper's last film and Whistle Down the Wind (1961), a vehicle for the 15 year old Hayley Mills. Her part in this film as a Sunday school teacher consisted of one memorable scene where she is alone with children trying to explain the answer to their difficult questions of Christ's return.

By this time Diane had also been making numerous television appearances. In 1959 alone she featured in four one-off plays for the BBC Offshore Island, Through the Glass Darkly, My Side of the Story and  White Sheep of the Family.

In one play Local Boy (1963) as the wife of an ambitious politician, with Jack Hedley, she gave what she considered her finest performance; the critics agreed with her: "Diane Clare excelled as the spirited wife"; "A delicious performance by Diane Clare" and tellingly "she managed to mix sex, politics and wide-eyed innocence in a way that was both playful and shrewd".

Later her husband, Barry England, novelist and playwright, would say of his wife:

"Diane's quality of innocence is precisely the reason why she was cast in those roles. I think the quality of innocence is also a key element in Diane's own character and one of her most endearing qualities."

Fortunately Diane didn't worry about being typecast, but it is a great pity her range as an actress anchored by this innocence was not put to better use as they had been in Local Boy and later in Hammer's Golden era classic Plague of the Zombies.

Her association with horror had started with a small part in Robert Wyse's The Haunting. This was followed by Don Sharpe's Witchcraft (1964) where she played Amy the niece of faded Universal star Lon Chaney Jr.

The film involves the association and bitterness existing between two families, stemming from their origins during the witch trials right up until the present day. Diane's character is central to the films conflict as a girl torn between two loyalties: her family or the man she loves.

Diane Clare commented that Lon Chaney Jr was a gentleman, shy, sad but friendly and very unassuming. At the time, she admits rather naively, that she was unaware (unlike everybody else) that he drank heavily during filming.

More television followed. Plays, this time for the ITV network, guest appearances in Sgt York, The Probation Officer, Hancock's Half Hour, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers and Redcap. However she was probably best known to TV audiences of the time for her recurring role as Sgt Wendy, opposite Peter Graves and Bradford Dillman, in the second run of the excellent ITC drama series Court Martial, a typically British production despite its reliance on many recognisable and rising stars from across the Atlantic.

After the success of Court Martial which received a BAFTA for best drama series of 1966, Diane headed for the Thames side home of the now world famous Bray Studios.

Hammer's Plague of the Zombies (1966) is arguably the finest film ever made in this particular horror sub-genre. Filled with a wonderful gothic atmosphere, cloaked in an air of mystery and ripened with a sense of adventure.

Its images of the dead rising from their graves filmed in slightly green hue with a tilted frame, displays a macabre beauty that shows very simply what can be achieved  with the ordinary tools of the film maker’s craft.

Diane Clare's natural innocence - as Sylvia Forbes the daughter of a London Professor, played by Andre Morrell - is wholly apparent throughout most of the films length, yet she tempers it with a spirit of fun loving independence, inquisitiveness and restrained maturity. She is also on screen long enough for us to appreciate her delicate beauty.

In hindsight two issues have arisen regarding the making of Plague of the Zombies and Diane Clare.

One concerns Diane's relationship during the making of the film with co-star Andre Morrell, the other is about whether or not her voice was dubbed by another artist.

In an interview with Jacqueline Pearce (who was also in Plague) Mike Murphy, editor of the now dis-continued magazine dedicated to Hammer Films "Dark Terrors"  asked her what she thought of Diane Clare's performance in Plague of the Zombies. She answered: "I didn't think she was terribly good actually. She used to annoy Andre Morrell very much. He didn't have much time for her at all. I'd never heard of her before or since actually."

Diane's performance was in keeping with the type of actress she was and the quality of innocence she best expressed. Given her husband's remarks about her and the more forceful personalities of both Andre Morrell and Jacqueline Pearce it is may not be surprising that there was a degree of friction between them.

Diane Clare shows typical humility with regard to her co-stars, however, there is also perhaps an awareness of a difference in temperaments: "With Andre Morrell there was a gulf, of course, in age and experience, so I couldn't claim to have got close to him. But he was a consummate professional, and as with all such, easy to work with."

Whatever they felt about each other, it didn't show on screen, as the Father-Daughter relationship was well etched, particularly in their first scene together.

Diane says of Jacqueline Pearce: "She was very nice and played the role of a harmless victim very well."

It is pleasing to hear that John Carson and Brook Williams (the other stars in Plague) were by all accounts already good friends.

Rumours of actors being dubbed seems a common occurrence, particularly when they are associated with Hammer Films. It should be stated categorically that Diane Clare's voice was not dubbed in Plague of the Zombies as is sometimes reported. More interesting is the reason why this voice dubbing impression regularly does the rounds, and I think this is connected to the very concept of re-dubbing itself, where quite often the actors have to re-voice dialogue due to poor recordings or other acoustic problems. It is not always possible to disguise the fact that a scene has been re-voiced, but it gives rise to rumours of an actor's voice being removed and replaced. This is very likely to be the source of the error.

In 1967 Diane Clare's acting career ended. She was 30 years of age. She had decided that husband and children were more important. Her two children, Katie and Christopher, were both born soon after her marriage to Barry England. His successful novel "Figures in the Landscape" had received critical acclaim and had been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He had also wrote "Conduct Unbecoming", a well received stage play and later a film starring Stacey Keach and John Mills.

It was during these very hectic few years of her marriage that she decided what things must have first calling on her time. There would simply be too many compromises if she continued to pursue acting. Ironically she mentions, this is when the offers came flooding in.

Her last film was The Trygon Factor (1967), directed by Cyril Frankel, in which Diane plays a bogus nun with a penchant for murder. It was a polished production which also starred Stewart Granger, Robert Morley and James Robertson Justice.

In between this film and Plague of the Zombies she also appeared in two low budget horror films, The Hand of the Night and The Vulture.

To her credit Diane's acting brought as much to the roles, as anyone could have reasonably expected given the mixture of poor direction, low production values and indifferent scripting.

Today it is believed that Diane and her husband live somewhere in Oxfordshire, England. "What satisfied me most (she reflects) was to be accepted as an actress in all the forms: theatre, television and film." "I look back only with pleasure. And gratitude. I had a chance to do I job I loved. I met many wonderful people and went to beautiful places. I wish I could thank them all."

For her appearance in Plague of the Zombies as Sylvia Forbes, Diane Clare will always maintain her place in the hallowed halls of Hammer.

 

Filmography