The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

 The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

As a kid I grew up listening to ads for Dorian Grey brand stockings, so I had some sort of an idea that Dorian Grey must be someone related, maybe, to the garment industry.

Eventually I got into Gothic literature and read Oscar Wilde’s novel, but I must have heard the story of a man who doesn’t age while his portrait rots, possibly in school or thru my parents much earlier than that.

At one point I must have confused the stocking manufacturer with the Oscar Wilde character without being able to discover they weren’t in fact the same person and without knowing what to make of it.

Before this screening I had already seen the movie on afternoon broadcast B&W TV decades ago, and I recall the movie’s image and sound quality being terrible; so even while I bought the DVD some years ago, I wasn’t really looking forward to rewatching it. It seemed like some homework I eventually had to get around to.

Imagine my surprise last night at seeing a crisp image and getting nice, clear sound.

I’m sure I recall there were scenes in color, and seeing them for the first time, even if not theatrically remains an impressive experience, (even when I'm certain I had seen the color plate in some publication or other). I can only imagine the impact it had in theaters at the time of original release.

The plot hardly needs retelling: A dandy (Hurd Hatfield) sells his soul to remain young and devotes his life to self-indulgence up till the point where it all catches up with him. The gimmick is that a portrait of him reflects his corrupt true self.

The character of Dorian Gray is not immediately presented as evil-intentioned and requires being seduced into debauchery by a Sadean libertine (George Sanders) everyone seems to disapprove of, but whose charming personality is nevertheless still welcome in social circles.

When Dorian announces he has decided to marry a tavern singer (Angela Lansbury), he is convinced to put her to a test, if she responds to Dorian’s seduction attempt, she will prove not to be worth marrying.

She fails the test, thereby destroying Dorian’s faith in her, and although Dorian has second thoughts by the next morning it is already, tragically, too late.

With an overnight change of attitude, Dorian then dedicates the rest of his youthful-seeming life (while everyone around him ages normally) to the pursuit of pleasure.

Dorian seemingly is not nearly as charming as his mentor nor as careful not to cultivate too many enemies, a fact which eventually results in his perdition when his secret is in danger of being discovered, and when he must therefore resort to desperate, criminal activities in order to keep it hidden.

A fairly literate script which references Omar Khayyam, Aubrey Beardsley (illustrations for Salome, natch) and Oscar Wilde himself also includes plenty of quick wit which may be lost to those with a slower ear.

The painting created by Ivan Le Lorraine Albright is an immediately recognized classic image of Horror Film even when the film is for the most part better described as Fantasy.

Other out-and-out Horrors have used the gimmick (or something close to it.) I don't recall if episodes of The Twilight Zone or The Night Gallery used similar a similar device, but it's obvious that The Vault of Horror (1973) did.

With Donna Reed, Peter Lawford, and Lowell Gilmore.