The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Albert Lewin

Writers:

Oscar Wilde (novel)
Albert E. Lewin (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 March 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Romance

Tagline:

His life was a muddy morass into which he dragged all who knew him! Such was Dorian Gray, the man who wanted eternal youth, and bartered his soul to get it!

Plot:

A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.

Plot Keywords:

Portrait | Suicide | Attic | Painting | Portrait Painting

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

George Sanders	...	Lord Henry Wotton
Hurd Hatfield	...	Dorian Gray
Donna Reed	...	Gladys Hallward
Angela Lansbury	...	Sibyl Vane
Peter Lawford	...	David Stone
Lowell Gilmore	...	Basil Hallward
Richard Fraser	...	James Vane
Douglas Walton	...	Allen Campbell
Morton Lowry	...	Adrian Singleton
Miles Mander	...	Sir Robert Bentley
Lydia Bilbrook	...	Mrs. Vane
Mary Forbes	...	Lady Agatha
Robert Greig	...	Sir Thomas
Moyna MacGill	...	Duchess
Billy Bevan	...	Malvolio Jones (chairman)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Germany:6 (2006, DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Angela Lansbury also sang "Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird" in a 1985 episode of her show _"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) {Sing a Song of Murder (#2.5)} _.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Sibyl Vane first catches sight of Dorian while she's performing "Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird," she momentarily stops singing, but her voice can still be heard on the soundtrack.

Quotes:

Lord Henry Wotton: It's an odd thing, but every one who disappears is said to be seen at San Francisco. It must be a delightful city, and possess all the attractions of the next world.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Prelude in E, Op. 28 No. 4

Chilling

A man sells his soul and the results are tragic, not only for the man but for everyone around him. Yet no one knows that he sold his soul, because on the surface he is quiet, urbane and seemingly respectable, which is what makes this movie so chilling. For who can say what's going on INSIDE a person, below the veneer of civility and social formality? "The Picture of Dorian Gray" deals directly with this question and presents to the viewer a situation involving a man who is emotionally torn apart, and a profound hypocrite as well, but on the surface seems completely intact. It is only through the picture noted in the title that the viewer finally perceives the depth of Gray's moral corruption, and by then it's too late. The cynical commentary of Lord Henry Wotton adds to the dark and foreboding mood of the movie, as the Wotton character explains what is happening to Dorian as Dorian sinks lower and lower into the abyss from which there is no return.