7.5/10
11,407
124 user 66 critic

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

Trailer
2:32 | Trailer
A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.

Director:

Albert Lewin

Writers:

Albert Lewin (screen play), Oscar Wilde (based upon the novel by)
Reviews
Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Lydia Bilbrook ... Mrs. Vane
Mary Forbes ... Lady Agatha
Robert Greig ... Sir Thomas
Moyna MacGill ... Duchess
Billy Bevan ... Malvolio Jones - Chairman
Learn more

More Like This 

Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.2/10 X  

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

Director: Dave Rosenbaum
Stars: Josh Duhamel, Branden Waugh, Rainer Judd
The Picture of Dorian Gray (TV Movie 1973)
Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

In Victorian London, a beautiful young man is given a portrait of himself by an admiring artist. Soon after this, he treats a young woman cruelly and then notices that his portrait seems to... See full summary »

Director: Glenn Jordan
Stars: Charles Aidman, William Beckley, Shane Briant
Drama | Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3.9/10 X  

A modern retelling of Oscar Wilde's classic masterpiece. In the wealthy and vain hedonist Dorian Gray, painter Basil Hallward has found his muse. Only when Dorian's portrait begins to age, ... See full summary »

Directors: Andrew Fisher, Khian Bartlett
Stars: Rene Abelar, Mo Chaaban, Chris Coon
Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.8/10 X  

A contemporary adaptation of Oscar Wilde classic tale of vanity.

Director: Duncan Roy
Stars: David Gallagher, Noah Segan, Christian Camargo
Dorian Gray (2009)
Certificate: 14A Drama | Fantasy | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

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

Director: Oliver Parker
Stars: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall
Certificate: 13+ Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  

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

Director: Massimo Dallamano
Stars: Helmut Berger, Richard Todd, Herbert Lom
Gaslight (1944)
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Years after her aunt was murdered in her home, a young woman moves back into the house with her new husband. However, he has a secret that he will do anything to protect, even if it means driving his wife insane.

Director: George Cukor
Stars: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten
The Uninvited (1944)
Certificate: PG Fantasy | Horror | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A composer and his sister discover that the reason they are able to purchase a beautiful gothic seacoast mansion very cheaply is the house's unsavory past.

Director: Lewis Allen
Stars: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp
Now, Voyager (1942)
Certificate: PG Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A frumpy spinster blossoms under therapy and becomes an elegant, independent woman.

Director: Irving Rapper
Stars: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
Certificate: 14+ Comedy | Drama | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

In 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Stars: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders
Certificate: PG Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.

Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Stars: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
Dead of Night (1945)
Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality. The guests at the country house encourage him to stay as they take turns telling supernatural tales.

Directors: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, and 2 more credits »
Stars: Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver
Edit

Storyline

In 1886, in Victorian London, the corrupt Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders) meets the pure Dorian Gray (Hurd Hatfield) posing for talented painter Basil Hallward (Lowell Gilmore). Basil paints Dorian's portrait and gives the beautiful painting and an Egyptian sculpture of a cat to him, while Henry corrupts his mind and soul, telling him that Dorian should seek pleasure in life. Dorian wishes that his portrait could age instead of him. Dorian goes to a side show in the Two Turtles in the poor neighborhood of London, and he falls in love with singer Sibyl Vane (Dame Angela Lansbury). Dorian decides to marry her and tells Lord Henry, who convinces him to test the honor of Sibyl. Dorian Gray leaves Sibyl and travels abroad, and when he returns to London, Lord Henry tells him that Sibyl committed suicide for love. Throughout the years, Dorian's friends age while he is still the same, but his picture discloses his evilness and corruptive life. Can he still have salvation, or is his soul ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Perfection of the outside. Murderous corruption within. See more »


Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dark musical piece that is heard repeatedly is Frédéric Chopin's "Prelude in D Minor", the last of the twenty-four pieces of "Opus 28". The set is widely regarded as one of the supreme achievements of solo piano composition. In an homage to Johann Sebastian Bach, the twenty-four pieces are written in all of the major and minor keys, beginning with C/A minor and progressing via the circle of 5ths to F/D minor. Chopin was personally the polar opposite to Dorian Gray, a man who struggled with illness and died young, yet left a lasting spiritual legacy that conveys immortality. See more »

Goofs

When Lord Henry first spots the butterfly on the drape in Basil's studio, the mesh edges of his fake beard are clearly visible. See more »

Quotes

Dorian Gray: You think it's only God who sees the soul.
See more »

Alternate Versions

Some prints are slightly edited, omitting Dorian's (Hurd Hatfield) prayer and Lord Henry's (George Sanders) line, "Heaven forgive me" in the final scene. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Murder, She Wrote: Sing a Song of Murder (1985) See more »

Soundtracks

Prelude for Piano, Op. 28, No. 24 in D Minor (The Storm)
(uncredited)
by Frédéric Chopin
Played by Lela Simone
See more »

User Reviews

Elegant horror
16 October 2000 | by Cajun-4See all my reviews

The key word for this movie is elegance. The cast move through sumptuous sets with the males dressed in immaculately tailored dress suits and the women exquisitely gowned. It seems that all the aristocrats lived in homes the size of Buckingham palace with high ceilinged rooms and magnificent staircases. They exchange Oscar Wilde epigrams in the cultured tones of the British upper classes.

Some great performances. Hurd Hatfield, an extremely handsome actor with a limited range ,gives the best one of his career as does George Sanders as the cynical Lord Henry Wotton, and a young Angela Lansbury is very moving (especially when she sings "The Little Yellow Bird").

One (very small) criticism. The color shots of the Dorian Gray portrait showing his degradation don't match the high standards of the rest of the design, they look more like pages from a horror comic. I think the producer's, with their obviously high budget, could have used a more imaginative artist.

As I say a small criticism. This a great film of psychological horror.


11 of 12 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 124 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more »
Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1945 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

The Picture of Dorian Gray See more »

Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor) (some sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page

We've Got Your Streaming Picks Covered

Looking for some great streaming picks? Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist.



Recently Viewed