My Review of Gaslight (1944)

 

Written by John Van Druten And Walter Reisch And John L. Balderston

Directed by George Cukor

Gregory: "I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to me."

Brian: "I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to her."

Okay, there's a version from 1940 of this particular movie that I will catch up with at some point but I had to skip ahead and watch this one first. I'm somewhat glad that I did.

Based on the 1938 play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton, this version had the talents of Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman at the heart of this production. They're both exceptionally good as the gaslighting between the pair dominated proceedings.

Boyer took on the role of Gregory Anton, the accompanist to Paula Alquist Anton (Bergman). Paula was the orphaned niece o  recently murdered opera singer Alice Alquist. Paula also inherited Alice's home in London but her aunt's murder has become a trigger for her.

Gregory in public did appear to be the ideal husband, showing genuine concern for his wife's health. Privately and given the title of the movie, Gregory spent the entire movie gaslighting Paula, causing her no end of distress and rendering her into being a shut in. 

It also didn't help that Gregory would shamelessly flirt with Nancy (Angela Lansbury) while continuing to dim the lamp in order to mess with Paula all the more. Fortunately for Paula, at least had both the cook Elizabeth (Barbara Everest) and Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten) on her side.

There's something extremely gratifying in watching the table turn between Paula and Gregory when she eventually got the upper hand. Gregory's motives for what he was doing to Paula made sense for his character and he almost got away with it. 

- This was the first movie role for the legendary Angela Lansbury. She's great, even if Nancy isn't a particularly likable character.

- Both the opening and closing credits use a burning gaslight.

- Standout music: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 by Frédéric Chopin.

- Chronology: 1875 in both London and briefly, Italy. Then there was a ten year time jump.

Gaslight (1944) turned out to be a superb adaptation with absolutely brilliant performances from Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten respectively. It's an absolute masterclass in cinema with George Cukor's direction being very on point.

Rating: 8 out of 10