Angela Lansbury at her most beautifully, sensuously, and vulnerably innocent!
Although sparse treatment of minor characters and some noticeable deletions from the novel (due to the straight-laced, 1945-ish treatment of certain of Gray's more perverse and debauched atrocities) may be "intrusive" to fans of Wilde's disturbing (but often delightful) descriptions of the more colorful of the late-Victorians' tastes in sensual depravity, this production is a fine example of the careful writing, thoughtful directing, and the control of character Hollywood's artistry could (seldom so successfully) proffer.
Despite George Sanders' somewhat stilted and--in modern terms--"out of the moment" portrayal as the film opens, within ten minutes or so the audience meets the serenely enchanting Hurd Hatfield's rendition of the title character, and the artistry begins. Once Hatfield enters the film the supporting performances become increasingly effective, and the remainder of the production, including Sanders as "Lord Henry," reach almost mythic proportions.
With near-perfection, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) delivers Wilde's portrait of Narcissistic and perfidious sensuality--the delight and desire of the suppressed and decayed late nineteenth-century Victorian elite-- . . . or, . . .
as Sanders quotes Wilde: "To get back my youth, I'll do anything except 'get up early, take exercise, or live respectably.'"
Although sparse treatment of minor characters and some noticeable deletions from the novel (due to the straight-laced, 1945-ish treatment of certain of Gray's more perverse and debauched atrocities) may be "intrusive" to fans of Wilde's disturbing (but often delightful) descriptions of the more colorful of the late-Victorians' tastes in sensual depravity, this production is a fine example of the careful writing, thoughtful directing, and the control of character Hollywood's artistry could (seldom so successfully) proffer.
Despite George Sanders' somewhat stilted and--in modern terms--"out of the moment" portrayal as the film opens, within ten minutes or so the audience meets the serenely enchanting Hurd Hatfield's rendition of the title character, and the artistry begins. Once Hatfield enters the film the supporting performances become increasingly effective, and the remainder of the production, including Sanders as "Lord Henry," reach almost mythic proportions.
With near-perfection, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) delivers Wilde's portrait of Narcissistic and perfidious sensuality--the delight and desire of the suppressed and decayed late nineteenth-century Victorian elite-- . . . or, . . .
as Sanders quotes Wilde: "To get back my youth, I'll do anything except 'get up early, take exercise, or live respectably.'"