The concept of eternal youth has been a human preoccupation for centuries and it was only a matter of time before the literary world went after it. Oscar Wilde was the one who chomped at the bit with his sole novel and succeeds quite well at it. While initially a failure at its time, readers couldn't resist this intricate yet simple tale and having different adaptations keeps the story in pop culture.
This 1945 masterpiece is easily the most faithful interpretation as it directly translates the text though dialogue and the visuals. After Basil Hollward paints a striking painting of his friend, Dorian Gray, the title character selfishly wishes he could stay young forever after Lord Henry Wotton extolls the virtues of youth and beauty as opposed to letting it slip away. From there we follow Dorian's descent into immorality and witness the consequences of his actions.
The cast is impeccable despite few actual stars like today's casting process. In the role of Dorian Gray, future character actor Hurd Hatfield brings a regal yet arrogant air to the part. We find him fascinating as he inhabits the petulant aristocrat and want to follow his journey. There are times where we want Dorian better himself, but when Hatfield goes back to his selfish ways we are still invested despite the crimes he performs. As Lord Henry, we get the gravitas of George Sanders who is excellently haughty and self-obsessed. He spouts Lord Henry's philosophies with the scholarly air of a university professor and is indifferent to how the likes of Basil respond to his immoral views. Even when Dorian wants to do better, Lord Henry cooks up an excuse to keep Dorian on the path to devious behavior and is indirectly responsible for one of the character's deaths by his influence on our title character. In her first major role, the lovely Dame Angela Lansbury plays the beautiful and talented Sybil Vane. She is entrancing the moment she comes onscreen to sing 'Goodbye Little Yellow Bird" in her dulcet mezzo voice. We fall for her like Dorian (maybe not romantically like he does, but we care about her like she were our family or friend) and want to see them be happy together. Lansbury plays the right amount of naivety without being a dumb character; she is a girl in love with a man who initially does love her, but soon will take advantage of her. We feel her sadness when she is ultimately rejected and her inevitable fate breaks our hearts while Dorian's initial sadness and guilt melt away and turn to ice.
Outside of the stellar acting is the film's exquisite cinematography which primarily shot in black and white (per the time of filming as color films were still relatively new), but does include magnificent early Technicolor shots of Dorian's portrait in both its elegant stature at the beginning to its transformation into a hideous monstrosity by the midway section once Dorian's immorality increases. The paintings were done by two talented artists who in essence represented Dorian Gray through the art by their contrasting portraits. Henrique Medina created Basil Hollward's initial vision of Dorian as a beautiful young man with innocence, a child who has yet to be corrupted by the evils and vices of the world. The striking dark greens in the Technicolor shot of the completed portrait standout with the dark blue of Dorian's suit as well as the rosy complexion and beautiful dark brown of his fair hair. In contrast is the hideous and diseased looking portrait by Ivan Albright that displays the wickedness that Dorian engages in after Sybil's fate and on to the conclusion of the story. Taking a year to paint, Albright's horrifying visage is like a nightmare from a Stephen King story with an ugly aged man with a bloody hand, garish yellows and reds that could be seen in giallo films of the 1970s and distorted images we never quite see. If you want to see this masterpiece it is at the Art Institute of Chicago for all to see; something I must do. The film rightfully won an Oscar for its black and white cinematography (back when the category was split into two).
This 1945 masterpiece is easily the most faithful interpretation as it directly translates the text though dialogue and the visuals. After Basil Hollward paints a striking painting of his friend, Dorian Gray, the title character selfishly wishes he could stay young forever after Lord Henry Wotton extolls the virtues of youth and beauty as opposed to letting it slip away. From there we follow Dorian's descent into immorality and witness the consequences of his actions.
The cast is impeccable despite few actual stars like today's casting process. In the role of Dorian Gray, future character actor Hurd Hatfield brings a regal yet arrogant air to the part. We find him fascinating as he inhabits the petulant aristocrat and want to follow his journey. There are times where we want Dorian better himself, but when Hatfield goes back to his selfish ways we are still invested despite the crimes he performs. As Lord Henry, we get the gravitas of George Sanders who is excellently haughty and self-obsessed. He spouts Lord Henry's philosophies with the scholarly air of a university professor and is indifferent to how the likes of Basil respond to his immoral views. Even when Dorian wants to do better, Lord Henry cooks up an excuse to keep Dorian on the path to devious behavior and is indirectly responsible for one of the character's deaths by his influence on our title character. In her first major role, the lovely Dame Angela Lansbury plays the beautiful and talented Sybil Vane. She is entrancing the moment she comes onscreen to sing 'Goodbye Little Yellow Bird" in her dulcet mezzo voice. We fall for her like Dorian (maybe not romantically like he does, but we care about her like she were our family or friend) and want to see them be happy together. Lansbury plays the right amount of naivety without being a dumb character; she is a girl in love with a man who initially does love her, but soon will take advantage of her. We feel her sadness when she is ultimately rejected and her inevitable fate breaks our hearts while Dorian's initial sadness and guilt melt away and turn to ice.
Outside of the stellar acting is the film's exquisite cinematography which primarily shot in black and white (per the time of filming as color films were still relatively new), but does include magnificent early Technicolor shots of Dorian's portrait in both its elegant stature at the beginning to its transformation into a hideous monstrosity by the midway section once Dorian's immorality increases. The paintings were done by two talented artists who in essence represented Dorian Gray through the art by their contrasting portraits. Henrique Medina created Basil Hollward's initial vision of Dorian as a beautiful young man with innocence, a child who has yet to be corrupted by the evils and vices of the world. The striking dark greens in the Technicolor shot of the completed portrait standout with the dark blue of Dorian's suit as well as the rosy complexion and beautiful dark brown of his fair hair. In contrast is the hideous and diseased looking portrait by Ivan Albright that displays the wickedness that Dorian engages in after Sybil's fate and on to the conclusion of the story. Taking a year to paint, Albright's horrifying visage is like a nightmare from a Stephen King story with an ugly aged man with a bloody hand, garish yellows and reds that could be seen in giallo films of the 1970s and distorted images we never quite see. If you want to see this masterpiece it is at the Art Institute of Chicago for all to see; something I must do. The film rightfully won an Oscar for its black and white cinematography (back when the category was split into two).
