Adapted from the famous Oscar Wilde work, 1945’s The Picture of Dorian Gray tells a chilling tale. Set in London circa 1886, young Dorian Gray (Hurd Hatfield) sits for a painting by Basil Hallward (Lowell Gilmore). During this session he meets Hallward’s pal Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders). The aristocrat impresses on Dorian the need to savor youth.

Dorian really takes this message to heart and he wishes that the painting would age while he didn’t outwardly grow old. Dorian also listens to Wotton’s advice to live life to the fullest, so he starts to frequent earthier parts of London. There he meets a young chanteuse named Sibyl Vane (Angela Lansbury). The pair fall in love and plan to marry.

However, the cynical Wotton indirectly sabotages this relationship. He urges Dorian to coldly “test” Sibyl’s morals, and she fails. Dorian dumps her, but by the time he reconsiders, she’s committed suicide.

Sibyl’s death pushes Dorian over the edge. He engages in a life of cold cruelty and becomes the subject of much London gossip, partially due to his unchanging veneer; while the years pass, Dorian’s physical appearance doesn’t change. We learn he hides a secret related to Hallward’s portrait.

I suppose it’s pointless for me to maintain that secret, as I expect the vast majority of the viewers know what happens with the painting. Heck, the DVD’s case even tells us! Nonetheless, I like to avoid spoilers, even when they’re as well-known as this one.

I admit the manner in which the film reveals that secret surprised me. I expected the story to save it for a big shock at the end, but instead, we examine the portrait’s spooky demeanor at moments throughout the film. I feared this might render the secret’s impact less effective, but it didn’t. The occasional glimpses of the picture add drama to the story, so they work well.

Much needed drama, I must say, as I think Picture tends to come across as rather flat at times. I expect some of this stems from the censorship standards of the day. Picture provides an awfully chatty experience; we hear a lot about Dorian’s evil transgressions but rarely get to see any of them.

This means we don’t often get the impact of his behavior. Oh, the flick shows a few potentially shocking scenes, and the occasional reveals of the portrait pack a punch.

However, much of the movie delivers retrospective information about the subjects; that second-person perspective means that the tale lacks the immediacy I’d like. I don’t know if the filmmakers couldn’t depict what they desired because the censorship limited that side of things, but I do know that the movie tells when it should show.

Another negative factor comes from Hatfield’s performance as Dorian. Hatfield was a handsome man but he lacked much personality. He presents Dorian as a dishwater dull character, even when he turns cold and cruel.

Hatfield’s one-dimensional turn doesn’t cause problems early in the flick because Dorian’s supposed to be something of a blank slate. However, as the years pass, Gray should become more complex; Hatfield simply can’t pull off the nuances and demands of the part.

At least the other actors provide more solid work. Always a treat, nobody did tart cynicism like Sanders. We find a good turn from a very young Lansbury as well. She doesn’t get much to do, but she contributes real heartbreak to her short appearance as Dorian’s doomed lover.

Clearly the source story boasts great potential, and another film version of Picture might more fully exploit the subject matter. As it stands, the movie manages to provide decent entertainment despite its flaws. Nonetheless, a better lead actor and a less chatty nature would turn it into something more consistently satisfying.

The Picture of Dorian Gray appears in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; due to those dimensions, the image has not been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Although the transfer showed its age, the movie usually looked fine.

As expected, source flaws presented the majority of the flick’s problems. I noticed a mix of specks, marks, spots and nicks throughout its running time. While these never became overwhelming, they occurred with moderate frequency.

Otherwise, I thought the film offered decent visuals. Sharpness consistently appeared positive. Only minor softness ever showed up, as the majority of the movie demonstrated good clarity. I noticed no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge enhancement caused only minor intrusions.

Though the vast majority of the flick was black and white, it did come with some Technicolor inserts. These showed the titular portrait on two brief occasions. In those shots, the colors were adequate but not particularly strong. Since the movie used so few of them, however, they weren’t an issue.

As for the black and white side of things, I thought the movie provided clean, vivid contrast. Blacks appeared dark and firm, and shadows were satisfying. A few interiors seemed slightly dense, but most low-light shots were clear and appropriately visible. Overall, I liked the transfer; only the persistent print defects and the mild edge enhancement made it a “C+“ presentation.

I thought the monaural audio of Picture was perfectly adequate for its age. It didn’t exceed expectations for a mix of its era, but the audio was more than acceptable. Speech lacked edginess. The lines weren’t exactly natural, but they seemed distinctive and without problems.

Effects were a little flat, but they showed no distortion and displayed acceptable definition. Music was pretty lively given its age, as the score sounded reasonably bright and concise. No background noise was noticeable. All together, I found little about which to complain, as the soundtrack aged well.

In terms of extras, the main attraction comes from an audio commentary with actor Angela Lansbury and film historian Steve Haberman. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific chat. They discuss cast and crew, performance-related topics, the source novel and its adaptation, and a few other issues connected to the film.

Lansbury and Haberman combine to make this an effective commentary. Haberman gives us good background notes, while Lansbury adds a nice first-person perspective to the piece. The two of them interact well and create an informative and enjoyable chat.

Along with the film’s trailer, we locate two period shorts. These include the live-action Stairway to Light (10:21) and the animated Quiet Please! (7:36). In Light, we get a quick biography of Phillippe Pinel and his pioneering work with the mentally disturbed. The piece is too short and superficial to turn into much, but it tells an interesting story.

As for Quiet, it gives us a Tom and Jerry cartoon. The cat and mouse fight so much that they distract a bulldog from his nap. The dog threatens Tom with pain if another interruption occurs, so naturally Jerry does his best to taunt his feline adversary. I’ve never been a big T&J fan, and nothing here changes that, though the relentless violence does become amusing in a non-PC way.

The Picture of Dorian Gray presents a mixed bag of a movie. On one hand, it boasts a fascinating story and some good supporting performances. On the other, the lead actor seems too bland, and the film tells its tale in a lackluster manner. The DVD offers decent picture and audio along with a few moderately interesting extras. This is an average release for a spotty movie.