The Picture of Dorian Gray

Painted by Ivan Le Lorraine Albright, 1943, oil on canvas.

Wilde's tale to make you be cautious about people who never seem to age or lose their youthful good looks. Dorian Gray is the nineteenth century aristocrat named who strikes a strange bargain with the artist who paints his portrait. While Dorian remains eternally youthful and angelic in appearance, his portrait, hideous in physical detail, reflects his true character, ravaged by his decadent lifestyle and acts of debauchery.

The real piece de resistance in the 1945 MGM film 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is the hideously surreal portrait which was painted by Ivan Le Lorraine Albright. He was commissioned after director Lewin saw a painting of his at the Art Institute of Chicago entitled 'That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do'. For the film, Albright created four portraits showing Dorian's gradual dissolution and, at the final scene, where Dorian's true nature is revealed on canvas, the elegant black and white cinematography shockingly bursts into Technicolor.

Writer-director Albert Lewin fashioned this lavish and effectively creepy version. There were some minor changes to the Wilde story such as the addition of a romantic subplot involving the niece of the painter (Donna Reed) and her fiancé (Peter Lawford) and some censorship restrictions that kept Dorian's unspeakable acts off-screen. But the film was an artistic success, winning three Oscar nominations including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Supporting Actress Angela Lansbury in her third film, singing "Little Yellow Bird." Hurd Hatfield, in his second screen appearance, was so effectively evil in the title role that it actually handicapped his career with casting directors.

Memorable is a murder scene staged beneath a wildly swinging chain lamp, an effect that would be duplicated by Alfred Hitchcock in Psycho some fifteen years later.

Director: Albert Lewin, Producer: Pandro S. Berman; Screenplay: Albert Lewin, Cinematography: Harry Stradling; Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters, Music: Herbert Stothart

Principal Cast: Hurd Hatfield (Dorian Gray), George Sanders (Lord Wotton), Angela Lansbury (Sibyl Vane), Donna Reed (Gladys Hallward), Peter Lawford (David Stone), Lowell Gilmore (Basil Hallward), Reginald Owen (Lord George Farmoor), Miles Mander (Sir Robert Bentley).