Oscar Wilde's only published novel telling of pristinely handsome, consummately mannered, and inwardly devoid young man whose portrait reflects his true, hideous nature received an excellent film treatment in this first talking era onscreen outing. Albert Lewin's film is shot in crisp black and white, although the sequences reveal the grotesque picture in all its shocking color. Hurd Hatfield is appropriately cast as the vapid title character, George Sanders is excellent as the amoral lord who serves as an impetus to young Dorian's corruption, and Angela Lansbury received her second Oscar nomination for what is her third screen portrayal, here playing a victim of the young cad's cruelty.
