ABSTRACT
Writing in the 1940s, Hesketh Pearson (1946) noted a common characteristic of biographical accounts of the life of Oscar Wilde; they were dominated by Wilde's encounters with the criminal law in a series of three trials. 1 Wilde's prosecution of the Marquis of Queensbury for criminal libel was the first. The two subsequent trials were prosecutions by the state against Wilde on the basis of charges of gross indecency with various men. In the final trial, Wilde was found guilty and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with hard labour which he served in Reading Gaol. 2 The first two films of Wilde's life 3 (both were made in Britain), Oscar Wilde, directed by Gregory Ratoff (1960), starring Robert Morley as Wilde and The Trials of Oscar Wilde, 4 ' directed by Ken Hughes (1960), starring Peter Finch in the title role, follow this pattern. 5 The triangular relationship of Wilde, Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas) and Bosie's father, the Marquis of Queensbury, dominates both films. In both, law frames this relationship and has a pivotal organisational role in the narrative. The criminal law in general, and courtroom scenes in particular, provides the dramatic core of the two films (Baker, 1960; Elley 1994, p 946). More specifically, much of each film is dedicated to a representation of courtroom processes associated with the first two trials: the reading of the criminal charges; the examination-in-chief of various witnesses and their cross-examination; various interactions between senior counsel and between counsel and the judge. In each film, much of the rest of the story is devoted to setting the scene for the trials. In addition to this focus on the courtroom, the two films deal with a range of other legal issues, such as blackmail, human rights (Anon, 1968) and wider matters of social justice and injustice (NH, 1960). 6
