The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Promotional poster
Directed by	Albert Lewin
Produced by	Pandro S. Berman
Screenplay by	Albert Lewin
Based on	The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Starring	George Sanders Hurd Hatfield Donna Reed Angela Lansbury Peter Lawford
Narrated by	Cedric Hardwicke
Music by	Herbert Stothart
Cinematography	Harry Stradling
Edited by	Ferris Webster
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	March 1, 1945 (1945-03-01)
Running time	110 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,918,000[2]
Box office	$2,975,000[2][3]

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1945 American horror-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel of the same name. Released in March 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is directed by Albert Lewin and stars George Sanders as Lord Henry Wotton and Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray. Shot primarily in black-and-white, the film features four colour inserts in 3-strip Technicolor of Dorian's portrait; these are a special effect, the first two inserts are the original portrait and the second two after a major period of degeneration then recovery.

Plot

It is London, 1886. Dorian Gray (Hurd Hatfield) is a handsome and wealthy young man. While generally intelligent, he is naive and easily manipulated. These faults lead to his spiral into sin and ultimate misery.

While posing for a painting by his friend Basil Hallward (Lowell Gilmore), Gray meets Hallward's friend Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders). The cynical but witty Wotton persuades Gray the only worthwhile life is dedicated to pleasure, because "what the gods give they quickly take away." After Wotton convinces Gray that youth and beauty will bring him everything he desires, Dorian wishes his portrait could age instead of him. He makes the wish openly in the presence of an Egyptian cat statue with supposed mystical powers to grant wishes.

Dorian visits a tavern, where he falls in love with a beautiful singer named Sibyl Vane (Angela Lansbury). He begins a romance with her, despite disapproval from Sibyl's brother James (Richard Fraser), and they are soon engaged. Though initially contented, Dorian is again persuaded by Lord Henry to pursue a more hedonistic lifestyle. Dorian sends Sibyl a hurtful letter, ending their relationship and "compensating" her with a large payment in cash.

The next morning, Gray finds his own face unchanged but the portrait has changed and "the lines of cruelty about the mouth were unmistakable." He starts to realize his wish to the cat may be real. Lord Henry arrives with news that a heartbroken Sibyl Vane killed herself the previous night, after receiving Dorian's dismissive letter. Gray is at first shocked and guilty but soon adopts Lord Henry's indifferent manner. He surprises Hallward by going to the opera that evening. Gray has the portrait locked away in his old school room and disguises its location by firing servants who moved the painting. He becomes even more dedicated to a sinful and heartless life.

Years later, Dorian Gray is forty but looks twenty-two, unchanged from when Hallward painted the portrait. London society is awestruck at his unchanging appearance. Over eighteen years of pointless debauchery, the portrait has remained locked away, with Gray holding the only key. Gray has become paranoid no others see the portrait and he repeatedly fires servants who are too inquisitive. Over the years, the portrait of the young, handsome, Dorian Gray has warped into a hideous, demon-like creature reflecting Dorian's sins. Basil Hallward, the painter, eventually sees his painting. Shocked at its disfigurement, scarred "as if some moral leprosy was eating him away", Hallward encourages Gray to reform his life. However, Gray panics, murders his friend and seals his body in the school room next to the portrait.

Dorian blackmails an old friend, Allen Campbell (Douglas Walton), to dispose of Hallward's body. He then starts a romance with Hallward's niece, Gladys (Donna Reed), who was a child when the portrait was painted. Though Gladys had always loved Dorian, and is overjoyed when he proposes marriage, those close to Gray find him suspicious and changed. Allen Campbell, distraught at his role in destroying Hallward's corpse, commits suicide.

Gray begins to realize the harm he inflicts on himself and others. He is assaulted by James Vane, Sibyl's brother, who has sworn revenge for his sister's death. Dorian, abusing his ever youthful appearance, deceives James by claiming his appearance is too youthful versus the man from eighteen years before. However, James soon guesses the truth, following Dorian Gray to his country estate, intending to achieve his revenge. The unfortunate Vane, hiding in bushes, is shot by accident during a hunting party. Gray despairs at his impact on others, knowing his role in yet another death, and realizes he can spare Gladys from misfortune by leaving her.

After sending Gladys a letter breaking their engagement Gray confronts his portrait and sees a subtle improvement. Attributing the change to his determination not to harm Gladys he resolves to change his life. However, he also resolves to destroy the portrait. He stabs the portrait in the heart, seeking to end the spell, but cries out as if he too has also been stabbed. His friends, realizing what has happened, burst into the school room to discover Dorian Gray dead next to the portrait, his body "withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage", now reflecting his sins in physical form. The portrait, by contrast, once more shows Dorian Gray as a young, innocent man.

Cast

The painting of Dorian Gray

Albright's painting of Dorian Gray, from the 1945 film

The painting entitled Picture of Dorian Gray^[4] used in the film was painted on commission during the making of the film in 1943-1944 by Ivan Le Lorraine Albright, an American artist who was well known as a painter of the macabre. Created specifically for use in the film, it is now part of the art collection of The Art Institute of Chicago. Albright had to paint the picture while the movie was being made in order to show Dorian Gray's physical transformation as his evil actions changed him into a horrid image in the painting, while his actual physical appearance remained that of a young man. At the film's climax, Gray "killed" the painting by piercing it through its heart with a knife, thus killing himself when his physical appearance changed to that of the painting.

The original portrait of Dorian Gray seen in the beginning of the film was painted by Henrique Medina. It was originally sold at the legendary MGM auction in 1970 when the contents of the studio were sold at a series of auctions lasting several months. It was then sold in a Butterfield and Butterfield Entertainment Memorabilia auction in 1997 for $17,250, and in 2015 it was sold at Christie's, New York for $149,000 and is believed to be in a private collection.

Music

The first piano piece played by Dorian to Sibyl is Frédéric Chopin's Prelude No 24 in D minor. Played later in the Blue Gate Field house is Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,399,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,576,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $26,000.^[2]

Awards and nominations

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 86
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • Dorian Gray — Nominated Villain

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Picture of Dorian Gray (film).

• The Picture of Dorian Gray on IMDb
• The Picture of Dorian Gray at the TCM Movie Database
• The Picture of Dorian Gray at AllMovie
• The Picture of Dorian Gray at the American Film Institute Catalog
• The Picture of Dorian Gray at Rotten Tomatoes