The 1970 British/Italian/West German film THE SECRET OF DORIAN GRAY (Original title Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray) is notable for sexing up the Oscar Wilde novel; that comes as no surprise given that the producer is none other than Harry Alan Towers, well known for cheapo literary adaptations, Fu Manchu sequels and a number of continental Christopher Lee movies made during the era. It updates the tale to 1970's London and features a blond Helmut Berger in the title role, playing the amoral playboy - shades of ALFIE - who remains ageless while hiding a dark secret in the attic.
So far, so straightforward; this is quite the conventional movie. Some style is brought to the proceedings by director Massimo Dallamano (whose WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? might just be my all-time favourite giallo) including novel P.O.V. shots and plenty of nice location work around swinging London. A bevy of Euro beauties prop up the cast, including among their number Maria Rohm, Margaret Lee and Beryl Cunningham; you'll know many of them from Jess Franco movies. But the lengthy sexuality and explicit material takes a toll on the running time, and the pace flags after a while.
It's certainly not all bad though. It looks great (I caught it in HD on Amazon Prime, not sure who uploaded it). Richard Todd is one of my favourite film stars and he stands out in a minor role as the painter, while Herbert Lom is a typical delight as the predatory older male. Berger convinced me too: it's easy to get a handsome model for the role, but you need someone to also get across the inner seediness and I think he manages that. The painting inevitably plays a big role in the film and looks great, and there's a nice flourish at the climax. Purists will want to stick with the 1945 Hollywood version of the tale, but this one's not so bad either.
So far, so straightforward; this is quite the conventional movie. Some style is brought to the proceedings by director Massimo Dallamano (whose WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? might just be my all-time favourite giallo) including novel P.O.V. shots and plenty of nice location work around swinging London. A bevy of Euro beauties prop up the cast, including among their number Maria Rohm, Margaret Lee and Beryl Cunningham; you'll know many of them from Jess Franco movies. But the lengthy sexuality and explicit material takes a toll on the running time, and the pace flags after a while.
It's certainly not all bad though. It looks great (I caught it in HD on Amazon Prime, not sure who uploaded it). Richard Todd is one of my favourite film stars and he stands out in a minor role as the painter, while Herbert Lom is a typical delight as the predatory older male. Berger convinced me too: it's easy to get a handsome model for the role, but you need someone to also get across the inner seediness and I think he manages that. The painting inevitably plays a big role in the film and looks great, and there's a nice flourish at the climax. Purists will want to stick with the 1945 Hollywood version of the tale, but this one's not so bad either.