The Trials of Oscar Wilde [Blu-ray]

Director: Ken Hughes Ken Hughes

Overview

Peter Finch portrays the titular flamboyant Irish poet/playwright in The Trials of Oscar Wilde. The storyline, lifted to a great extent from actual court records, recounts Wilde's late 19th century libel action against the Marquis of Queensbury. The author loses, whereupon he himself is tried for sodomy due to his homosexual affair with the Marquis' son, Lord Douglas. Wilde is sentenced to prison; the public humiliation leads to the once-proud writer's immortal poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol--and to his premature death in 1900. The film had to tiptoe around certain touchy legalities, in that sodomy was still a punishable offence in British courts in 1960. The US title for this film was The Trial of Oscar Wilde, effectively killing the ironic double meaning of the plural British title. In certain regions, the film was shown as The Man with the Green Carnation.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/09/2022
UPC:	0738329259655
Original Release:	1960
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	2:10:00
Sales rank:	30,935

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Peter Finch	Oscar Wilde
Lionel Jeffries	John Sholto Douglas, Marquis of Queensberry
John Fraser	Lord Alfred Douglas
Yvonne Mitchell	Constance Wilde
Nigel Patrick	Edward Clarke
Sonia Dresdel	Lady Wilde
Maxine Audley	Ada Leverson
Emrys Jones	Robbie Ross
James Mason	Sir Edward Carson
James Booth	Alfred Wood
Paul Rogers	Frank Harris
Ian Fleming	Arthur
Laurence Naismith	Prince of Wales
Naomi Chance	Lily Langtry
Meredith Edwards	Auctioneer
Anthony Newlands	First Clerk of Arraigns
Michael Goodliffe	Charles Gill
Liam Gaffney	Willie Wilde
Ronald Cardew	Lord Sonning
Derek Aylward	Lord Percy Douglas
Campbell Singer	Insector
A.J. Brown	Justice Collins
Charles Carson	Justice Charles
David Ensor	Justice Wills
Gladys Henson	Landlady
Cicely Paget-Bowman	Lady Queensberry
Victor Kendall	Actor
Lloyd Lamble	Charles Humphries
Robert Percival	Second Clerk of Arraigns
Victor Brooks	Constable
Alfred Burke	Reporter
Edward Evans	Sydney
John Welsh	Cafe Royal Manager
Howard Lang	Court Usher
Ron Goodwin	Composer

Technical Credits

Ken Hughes

Ken Hughes	Director,Screenwriter
Albert R. Broccoli	Producer
Harold Huth	Producer
Irving Allen	Producer
Jim Groom	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

A sterling performance from Peter Finch infuses The Trials of Oscar Wilde with a radiant glow, despite some concessions to the mores of the time in which it was filmed that may strike modern viewers as both odd and rather dishonest. In 1960, simply making an English film about Wilde was tempting fate, as any real discussion of his homosexuality and its consequences would have been banned by the national censor. Thus, Trials has to skirt the issue quite a bit, hinting as far as it can and opting for ambiguity when things threaten to get a bit dicey. Today's audiences will find this a bit coy in places, a bit baffling in others, and may feel that the filmmakers are simply trying to whitewash the facts. Certainly, in this treatment, Wilde comes off as a bit more noble and "above it all" than the facts indicate. However, this has the dramatic benefit of making his fall from grace more tragic. It also allows Finch to turn in a performance that captures all of the wit and mischief of Wilde, while at the same time creating a portrait that is more muscular and masculine than that which is usually credited to the man. Finch does a superb job of capturing the many sides of Wilde, and of anchoring the film with his presence and his manner. James Mason, who should be equally good as the lawyer who undoes Wilde, should be Finch's match; yet Mason seems to be operating at less than his full powers, turning in a performance that is good, yet less than it should be. Lionel Jeffries engages in some marvelous scenery chewing, and John Fraser quite looks the part of Lord Alfred Douglas. Ken Hughes' direction is solid, always leading the viewer exactly where he needs to go. The Trials of Oscar Wilde may be a bit dated, but it's still quite powerful -- and Finch is often mesmerizing.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler