Watched the 1945 The Picture of Dorian Gray (dir. Albert Lewin) last night and experienced a kind of aesthetic angst when Dorian (Hurd Hatfield) first came on screen. I wanted him to take my breath away. ‘I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best,’ said Oscar Wilde. Well, I had simply imagined Dorian as being more striking. ‘Handsomeness’ is terribly subjective, but this is not the only place where a film version of DG falls down (for me). There is the portrait itself. Gruesomeness is also subjective.
Finally, those Wildean witticisms, so pleasurable to read, made for a very over-the-top screenplay. It also meant that Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders) spoke so quickly I could barely hear what he was saying.
But the film is still enjoyable. The sets, in particular, are dramatic and engaging. And Angela Lansbury continues to delight me as a young actress (growing up, I always knew her as the perfect older one).
I read Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray as part of my ongoing 20 classics project. You can find that post here.
Dorian Gray pic via | Sybil Vane pic via
LiteraryMinded 
My favourite version is the one starring Helmut Berger. He literally took my breath away. http://cinebeats.blogsome.com/2007/04/08/massimo-dallamanos-dorian-gray/
Oh YES. Wow wow wow must see this version.
I only saw it once on late night TV, have never forgotten it! It’s the very epitome of debauched.
I haven’t seen this film adaptation but I saw last year’s version – starring a very handsome Ben Barnes as Dorian. I absolutely LOVE Wilde and particularly this novel which I studied and wrote about as a uni student so I found the film didn’t quite hit the mark, as is typically the case. It was interesting though as a modern take on this incredible text. I’m with some of your previous commenters on recommending Against Nature, Fry or perhaps some Stoppard..? Love the blog by the way!
Thanks, Lara! It is an amazing novel. I’m so glad I finally read it this year.