THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945), which I watched for the first time yesterday, is a monster movie. How do I know?

Forry Ackerman told me so.

Oh sure, on the surface PICTURE is a costume drama with elements of the supernatural barely hinted at. It's a lush and lavish production from MGM, a studio not generally known for producing horror/monster movies, especially not in 1945. At that time, horror films were almost strictly the product churned out by smaller, lesser studios. MGM was a prestigious studio, the crown jewel in the Hollywood firmament. Surely they wouldn't stoop so low as to produce a common horror film?

Secondly, it's based on a classic novel by Oscar Wilde, a name that is rarely mentioned when talking about the major authors of the fantastic such as Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. Nevertheless, Wilde is an important figure in Western literature even if PICTURE is his only work with supernatural overtones. 

PICTURE also boasts a first rate cast including George Sanders (one of my all time favorite actors), newcomer Hurd Hatfield in the title role, two luminous beauties, Angela Lansbury and Donna Reed, in supporting roles along with a young Peter Lawford. 

And horror films, as a rule, don't receive Academy Award nominations, of which, PICTURE earned three including Best Supporting Actress (Lansbury), Best Black and White Art Direction and Best Black and White Cinematography (Harry Stradling, winner). 

And would MGM go to the trouble of shooting four color inserts (in three strip Technicolor) of the titular portrait, two showing the young Gray in his innocent prime, the other two, showing Gray riddled with rot and moral corruption. By the way, black and white photos of this horrific portrait regularly graced the pages of FAMOUS MONSTERS magazine when I was a kid. And since the magazine was printed in black and white, I naturally figured that the film must be in black and white also. Imagine my surprise to view these rich, vivid color inserts for the first time. Wow!

For those who came in late, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY is the story of a young man who wishes to remain forever young while his portrait ages and shows the effects of a life spent in sin and debauchery. While Gray's sinful exploits are never explicitly delineated, it's inferred that he spends time with prostitutes and denizens of the London underworld. Several people that get close to Gray end up dead, including the man who painted the picture, Basil Hallward (Lowell Gilmore), who meets his end at the hands of Gray. 

And although Gray professes his love for both Sibyl Vane (Lansbury) and years later, Gladys Hallward (Reed), it's just possible that some of Gray's descents into depravity might have involved homosexual encounters, acts which, in the London of 1886 would have been unspeakable crimes. Given the fact that author Wilde was himself gay, it's possible that he intended this to be a subtext to the work. NOTE: I have not read the novel, I'm merely using the film as my text. 

As the years go by, Gray remains eternally young but emotionally distant while the portrait, which he keeps behind a locked door, becomes more and more horrific. After the death of Sibyl's brother, Gray has had enough. He plunges a knife into the heart of the figure in the portrait, causing the picture to resort to it's original state while Gray's body, especially his face and hands, become ridden with pustules and blood. 

Yep, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY is a monster/horror movie, no doubt. If it wasn't, would Forry have featured the title character on the cover of FAMOUS MONSTERS #60, December 1969? It's a painting by the legendary Basil Gogos showing Gray in all his horrific magnificence. 

If Forry says so, that's good enough for me.