The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1973)

A handsome aristocrat (Shane Briant) has his portrait painted by a friend (Charles Aidman). He is pushed into a decadent lifestyle by a hedonistic nobleman (Nigel Davenport). Curiously, his depravity has no effect on him through out the years but his portrait shifts and displays his every sin on his face. Based on the classic novel by Oscar Wilde and directed by Glenn Jordan (ONLY WHEN I LAUGH). A dull adaptation of the Wilde novel. Granted, it would be hard to best the 1945 film version but this made for television version is listless. As Dorian Gray, the expressionless Shane Briant seems bored and that ennui is passed on to the audience. No genuine sense of a degenerate or corrupt atmosphere is provided, we're just told about it through Briant's narration. With Vanessa Howard, Linda Kelsey, Fionnula Flanagan and John Karlen.