Podcasts
Straightening Out ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
British Buggery.
After closing out January with the very gay (and very terrible) The Covenant (listen) and the pseudo-remake of Single White Female: The Roommate (listen), we kicked off February with journey to the world of H.P. Lovecraft in Re-Animator. Now, we’re traveling back in time to discuss Albert Lewin‘s 1945 adaptation of The Portrait of Dorian Gray.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders), tells his friend Dorian Gray (Hurd Hatfield) that men should pursue their sensual longings, but laments that only the young get to do so. Taken with the idea, Dorian inadvertently makes a Faustian bargain to stay young forever. His wish comes true, and his boyish looks aid him as he indulges his every whim. Unfortunately, his sins take physical form on a portrait of himself, and as the years go by he must decide what type of man he wants to be.
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Episode 268: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
We apologize for the intelligence of our remarks, but we’re delving into every gay man’s worst nightmare (aging) in Albert Lewin’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). Tagging in for the conversation is writer and filmmaker Amanda Jane Stern, who turns out to be an enormous fan of the source material!
Join us as we go all in on this adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s only novel, but not before discussing the tragedy that is Wilde’s life. We then discuss Hollywood’s “straightening” of this very queer story and bask in the glory of what is Angela Lansbury‘s third film role.
Plus, one very cruel Slut Test™, four stellar Technicolor shots (seriously), a presumably enormous confetti budget, Egyptian cat magic, one extremely unnecessary narrator and an even more unnecessary Gladys.
Cross out The Picture of Dorian Gray!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with a discussion of the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th, just in time for its 15th anniversary.
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for nearly 288 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01, Episode 02, No Way Up, Suitable Flesh, Lisa Frankenstein and, to coincide with the new Diablo Cody-penned film, our audio commentary for the month will be on Heathers.
Podcasts
‘The Boston Strangler’ Adaptations Share One Major Blind Spot [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]
Amanda and I have spent the month of July examining the various cinematic depictions of The Boston Strangler over on Murder Made Fiction, and we’ve come to an odd realization: despite the case claiming thirteen lives, none of its filmed adaptations seem to care at all about the victims.
After walking Amanda through a Primer on the case, which seems like an open and shut indictment of Albert DeSalvo (until it gets muddied by conspiracy and possible corruption by the Boston PD), we tackled three very different films:
- 1964’s The Strangler: Burt Topper directs Whatever Happened to Baby Jane actor Victor Buono in a slice of 60s pop psychology that tries to inject a weird doll fetish into the proceedings. The real life details of the case mostly fall by the wayside, in large part because DeSalvo wasn’t implicated in the murders until after this film’s release. Still, Buono’s performance is pretty astounding!
- 1968’s The Boston Strangler: The best of this month’s three films, though it is less for Tony Curtis‘ take on the killer than its use of split screens by cinematographer Richard H. Kline and editor Marion Rothman. It’s magnificently entertaining, though the back half slows down too much when it comes time to let Curtis do his thing.
- 2023’s Boston Strangler: This is the film that finally prioritizes women…although not the victims. The straight-to-Hulu film (which I reviewed for Bloody back in the day) stars Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon as Record American reporters, but writer/director Matt Ruskin’s thesis, which boils down to “it’s hard for women in the workforce,” feels overly simplistic. In hindsight, this one is mostly just a boring misfire.
The Boston Strangler 1968
Next month: For August, we’re turning our attention to John List, the family annihilator who went on to inspire 1987’s The Stepfather. We’ll partner that up with the 2009 remake, starring YOU‘s Penn Badgley (!), as well as the 2026 Tubi version starring Taye Diggs (!!)
Want even more true crime adaptations and Murder Made Fiction? Support the show on Patreon to listen to our coverage of Elle Fanning in The Girl From Plainville and Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher Netflix series, as well as full-length primers and 160+ hours of bonus content.
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