Gaslight (1944)

• Year: 1944
• Released: 16 Jun 1944
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Won 2 Oscars. 6 wins & 7 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036855/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gaslight
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, Italian
• MPA Rating: Passed
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
• Runtime: 114 min
• Writer: John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Balderston
• Director: George Cukor
• Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten
• Keywords: murder, horror, psychological thriller, victorian england, psychological horror,

	7.8/10
	88% – Critics
	90% – Audience

Gaslight Storyline

It’s the late nineteenth century. Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), an aspiring opera singer, and Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), the accompanist at her singing lessons under the tutelage of Maestro Guardi (Emil Rameau) in Italy, fall in love and get married. Before learning of her background, Gregory is able to convince her to live in London, then when she divulges to him that she owns a house there at 9 Thornton Square, it bequeathed to her by her famous maternal aunt, opera singer Alice Alquist, who raised Paula and whom Paula found murdered in the house, the murder never solved. Not having thought about the house in a long time, Paula believes Anton’s love can help her through whatever pain she may have felt about her aunt’s murder now to live there with him. Over time at the house, Paula begins to forget things, lose things, and imagine things – such as an animosity with the new Cockney housekeeper Nancy (Angela Lansbury), who has a penchant for making “friends” with whatever Police Constable is patrolling the neighborhood – with Gregory quietly convincing her, without using the exact words, that she is ill. As such, she becomes isolated in the house, which only exacerbates her feeling that she indeed is going mad. However, two people on the outside believe that funny things are happening behind the closed doors of 9 Thornton Square, where only the domestics, Elizabeth (Barbara Everest) and Nancy, are allowed in, and only Gregory, who ever leaves by himself to take a walk every night. Those two are: Miss Thwaites (May Whitty), an elderly busybody neighbor who loves a good mystery; and Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten), a fan of Alice Alquist, and who, in his professional life, arguably knows the most about her murder besides the actual murderer.

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Gaslight Movie Reviews

Folks, it’s a remake….

Back in 1940, an exceptional movie, “Murder in Thornton Square”, was made in the UK. Just a few years later, Hollywood wanted to do a remake and did something unusual…they bought up every copy of the original picture that they could find in the hope that folks wouldn’t realize that “Gaslight” was not an original picture. It worked, as “Gaslight” went on to win two academy awards, including one for Best Actress. I have seen both films and strongly recommend you do the same…since the original should also be considered a classic.

When the film begins, there’s been a murder in a home on fashionable Thornton Square. The lady of the house was killed and her young niece, Paula (Ingrid Bergman) discovered the body. Years pass and Paula seems like a normal woman. She’s met Gregory (Charles Boyer) and he romances her quite vigorously. They marry and he talks about wanting to move with her to London. Well, Paula owns the home where her aunt was killed and suggests they go there. The house holds some frightful memories…but she wants to make Gregory happy.

At first things seem ideal, but over time there is a change in Gregory. He no longer seems so thoughtful and kind but has become distance and sullen. He also begins insisting that Paula is stealing things and hiding them…though she has no recollection of any of this. Is she losing her mind? After all, she now seems emotionally fragile and weak. Or, is this all some elaborate plot to drive her out of her mind?

“Gaslight” is an exquisite film with an exciting script. Good enough to nearly earn a 10. But since it is a remake, it cannot in my eyes deserve a 10. Well worth seeing.

Superbly menacing melodrama

As a fan of classic film ‘Gaslight’ is not quite one of my favourites, but it has a great cast who give almost uniformly fine performances and although the story has been done to death and is somewhat “dated” (a criticism this reviewer dislikes on the most part) much is done to make it gripping (especially the atmosphere) and the film has much to offer.

The only real issue this reviewer found with ‘Gaslight’ was Joseph Cotten. It is not an awful performance, he is often sympathetic and charismatic and not as wooden as he sometimes could be. But he is very unconvincing as a Scotland Yard police officer, too young, too American and sometimes stiff, so he does seem out of place sometimes as a character that should have been introduced earlier and perhaps been in the film more.

However, ‘Gaslight’ is a beautifully made film, the lighting just adds so much to the atmosphere and the tone of the film, the cinematography is haunting and luminous and the Victorian setting is so striking in its elegance and evocative atmosphere. Other excellent assets are George Cukor’s intelligent direction, Bonislau Kaper’s nail-biting, orchestrally lush and melodically rich music score (great use of classical music too) and a cracking script, which sizzles with subtle tension with the odd spot of wry humour that is surprisingly well balanced with everything else. Despite being a melodrama, ‘Gaslight’s’ script avoids being too hammy or over-dramatic.

‘Gaslight’s’ story is not going to work for all tastes now and one can see the reservations. The criticisms that it is contrived, “dated” and that it has been done to death are valid and understandable. This said, this reviewer found herself absolutely riveted throughout the whole duration of ‘Gaslight’, even if the earlier film version is tighter structurally and a little less obvious (which were not problems at all to me, because the story on the whole is really well executed). The slow-folding tension and suspense was very effective, making the overwhelming intensity of the ending as this tension and suspense crescendos all the more powerful. Equally powerful was the whole dynamic between Bergman and Boyer, the intensity in the last half of the film genuinely frightening.

Cotten aside, the acting is uniformly great. While Barbara Stanwyk in ‘Double Idemnity’ was my Best Actress pick for that year, Ingrid Bergman was still a more than worthy win in one of her best performances, she radiates on screen and performs her character’s vulnerability with raw edge and poignancy. Have yet to see a better performance from Charles Boyer than the one he gives here in ‘Gaslight’, he is handsome and suave to begin with and then later on the more sadistic edge he brings is absolutely chilling. Dame May Witty brings a delightful dottiness and wryness, and Angela Lansbury is deliciously auspicious in a very early role.

Overall, superbly menacing and very highly recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Entering our English Lexicon

It is not often that a proper name or title enters the common use of any language, but maybe the highest possible praise Gaslight could receive is the fact that the title is now a verb. To gaslight someone now is to do little deliberate things and blame articles disappearing or misplaced on a person in an effort to make them think they are losing their minds.

That is exactly what the suave sophisticated continental Charles Boyer is trying to do to his new bride Ingrid Bergman in the house that they live in. It was previously occupied by Bergman’s aunt, a noted soprano who was murdered several years earlier.

A good mad act is always guaranteed to draw Oscar attention and in this case it got Ingrid Bergman her first Academy Award. She is really something to watch as the poor woman really starts to believe she’s losing her mind.

Charles Boyer goes against type in this film. Usually the charming European of many nationalities besides his native French, Boyer starts out the film in a typical Boyer mold. But he gradually changes into a hardened stone cold killer. The audience ever so gradually realizes he didn’t marry Bergman for love. Boyer was also nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, but no one was beating Bing Crosby that year in Going My Way.

Joseph Cotten plays the stalwart Scotland Yard inspector and a very young Angela Lansbury has an early part in Gaslight as a tart cockney maid.

George Cukor directs it all with a Hitchcock type flair that even the master of suspense would tip his hat to. In fact I’m surprised that Alfred Hitchcock didn’t consider Gaslight as a film property for himself.