Oscar Wilde is a 1960 biographical film about Oscar Wilde, made by Vantage Films and released by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by William Kirby, from a screenplay by Jo Eisinger, based on the play "Oscar Wilde" by Leslie Stokes and Sewell Stokes. The film starred Robert Morley (as Oscar Wilde), Ralph Richardson, Phyllis Calvert and Alexander Knox.
Plot.
The plot primarily focuses on the litigation surrounding Wilde's libel suit against the Marquess of Queensberry, and the subsequent accusation of Wilde's homosexuality.
Production.
This was one of two films about Wilde released in 1960, the other being "The Trials of Oscar Wilde". They were both released in the last week of May 1960.
Author and former film extra Brian Edward Hurst gives a detailed description of a scene he witnessed during filming where Morley (as Wilde) attempted to pick up a newspaper boy on a foggy London street. Hurst's book: "Heaven Can Help - the Autobiography of a Medium" describes the day's filming at Walton Studios.
The attempted seduction scene was cut from the final version. This movie was a lower budget production which was compared unfavorably with the wide-screen, technicolor version "The Trials of Oscar Wilde".
Release.
The film had a charity gala at the Carlton on 22 May 1960.
References.
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