The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film) The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film) The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1945 American horror-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel of the same name. Released in March 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is directed by Albert Lewin and stars George Sanders as Lord Henry Wotton and Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray. Shot primarily in black-and-white, the film features four colour inserts in 3-strip Technicolor of Dorian's portrait; these are a special effect, the first two inserts are the original portrait and the second two after a major period of degeneration then recovery. It is London, 1886.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film) sold at an MGM auction in 1970 when the contents of the studio were sold at a series of auctions lasting several months. It was then sold in a Butterfield and Butterfield Entertainment Memorabilia auction in 1997 for $17,250, and in 2015 it was sold at Christie's, New York for $149,000 and is believed to be in a private collection. The first piano piece played by Dorian to Sibyl is Frédéric Chopin's Prelude No 24 in D minor. Played later in the Blue Gate Field house is Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". According to MGM records, the film earned $1,399,000