Gaslight (1944) ****
Patrick Hamilton's (whose other most famous play Rope (1929) was also made into a 1948 film by Alfred Hitchcock) 1938 play Gas Light had been made into a British film in 1940, but I have to imagine that it wasn't until George Cukor's 1944 film starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten hit that the expression "gaslighting" gained widespread popular usage.
Per Wikipedia, "encouraged by the success of the play and the British 1940 film, MGM bought the remake rights, but with a clause insisting that all existing prints of the first film be destroyed, even to the point of trying to destroy the negative. Evidently that order was not honored to the letter, since the 1940 Gaslight is still safely available for both theatrical and TV exhibition."
The three leads are all excellent, but Ingrid Bergman is particularly so—having beat out Barbara Stanwyck's performance in Double Indemnity (a better film in my opinion) to win the 1945 Academy Award for Best Actress. Per IMDb trivia, Bergman was particularly proud of her "portrayal of a weak character and considered it one of her greatest challenges as an actress...as she considered herself to be a very strong and independent woman, and worried that she would be unable to convincingly play the timid and fragile character."
Charles Boyer is very convincing as Bergman's husband, deftly bouncing between gentlemanly/considerate and sinister/psychologically manipulative. Joseph Cotten gives a subtle, underplayed performance as a Scotland yard inspector. Angela Lansbury, in her screen debut at a mere 18 years old, also gives a memorable performance as the unscrupulous maid.
The noir-like chiaroscuro cinematography and confident camerawork by Joseph Ruttenberg perfectly compliments the eerie score by Bronislau Kaper, to set the mood of oppression. Gaslight (1944) holds strong 75 years on as an expertly executed picture of a husband's victimization of his wife.
Per Wikipedia, "encouraged by the success of the play and the British 1940 film, MGM bought the remake rights, but with a clause insisting that all existing prints of the first film be destroyed, even to the point of trying to destroy the negative. Evidently that order was not honored to the letter, since the 1940 Gaslight is still safely available for both theatrical and TV exhibition."
The three leads are all excellent, but Ingrid Bergman is particularly so—having beat out Barbara Stanwyck's performance in Double Indemnity (a better film in my opinion) to win the 1945 Academy Award for Best Actress. Per IMDb trivia, Bergman was particularly proud of her "portrayal of a weak character and considered it one of her greatest challenges as an actress...as she considered herself to be a very strong and independent woman, and worried that she would be unable to convincingly play the timid and fragile character."
Charles Boyer is very convincing as Bergman's husband, deftly bouncing between gentlemanly/considerate and sinister/psychologically manipulative. Joseph Cotten gives a subtle, underplayed performance as a Scotland yard inspector. Angela Lansbury, in her screen debut at a mere 18 years old, also gives a memorable performance as the unscrupulous maid.
The noir-like chiaroscuro cinematography and confident camerawork by Joseph Ruttenberg perfectly compliments the eerie score by Bronislau Kaper, to set the mood of oppression. Gaslight (1944) holds strong 75 years on as an expertly executed picture of a husband's victimization of his wife.
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