Imperfect Likeness
HEARING the first few episodes of the ZB serial The Picture of Dorian Gray I availed myself of Dr. Johnson’s comment on hearing a woman preacher -not surprised that it should be done badly, I marvelled that it should be done at all. But. my criticism was from the viewpoint of the listener rather than that of the Jittérateur. Adhering too closely to its original, the serial suffered from too little action and too much talk, especially Lord Henry Wotton’s. But later the situation improved. The plot was thickened (with home-made ingredients) at the expense of the purple prose, and Evil became explicit. For example, those nameless creatures with ravaged faces who skulk round the dark edges of the novel were dragged into the limelight and cleaned up somewhat, emerging as nice Cockney girls prone to murmur "I love you, Dorian Gray," though this did tend to reduce Dorian Gray himself to a kind of upper-crust Hyde, with sex-appeal. Where radio scored, however, was in the dreadful life it imparted to the scenes of violence, which in the book take a welcome artificiality from their surroundings.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19550422.2.19.2
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 821, 22 April 1955, Page 10
Word count
Tapeke kupu
188Imperfect Likeness New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 821, 22 April 1955, Page 10
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Material in this publication is protected by copyright.
Are Media Limited has granted permission to the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa to develop and maintain this content online. You can search, browse, print and download for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Are Media Limited for any other use.
Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
Log in