Today’s media establishment is trying, and often succeeding, to convince people – many of them supposed to be intelligent and educated – to act like little children and believe anything they are told. Many of those who comment on this sad state of affairs use the word ‘gaslighting’, which has already been used a great deal to describe more generic forms of psychological manipulation. The word entered English vocabulary relatively recently and is one of the rare ones that originates in the title of a film. That film was Gaslight, a 1944 period thriller directed by George Cukor.
The film is based on a 1938 stage play by British author Patrick Hamilton, which had been adapted into an eponymous 1940 British film directed by Thorold Dickinson. The Hollywood version sets the plot in Victorian London. The protagonist, played by Ingrid Bergman, is Paula Alquist, niece of the famous opera singer Alice Alquist, who was strangled to death ten years earlier. Paula has been trying to follow her aunt’s career by studying singing in Italy. There she meets the charming pianist Gregory Anton (played by Charles Boyer) and marries him after a whirlwind romance. Her husband insists they move to the London house Paula inherited from her aunt. She obliges, despite her old home being the site of an unresolved crime and a source of psychological trauma. Soon afterwards, she begins to lose things and hear strange noises, while her husband claims she is forgetful and imagining things. As her mental state worsens, Scotland Yard detective Paul Cameron (played by Joseph Cotten) becomes interested in resolving the murder and begins to follow Paula, convinced that she or those around her might have something to do with the crime.
The 1944 version of Gaslight is often described as ‘Hitchcockian’, although it bears the marks of a more generic production of Classic Hollywood at the top of its game. It was produced by MGM, the dominant studio at the time, with its executives quite impressed by the enormous success of the stage play on Broadway, which had a total of 1,295 performances. MGM bought the film rights with the stipulation that the 1940 British version had to be destroyed – which, as in some other fortunate cases, was not followed through, although the earlier film became obscure for a number of decades. The new version was very expensive, with most of the budget spent on meticulously reconstructing Victorian London in the studio, with particular attention to props, costumes and other period details.
Such an ambitious project had to be given to the most experienced director, and George Cukor qualified, despite his reputation being built on melodramas rather than thrillers. While suspenseful and atmospheric enough to pass as a Hitchcock film to inexperienced viewers, Gaslight benefited most from Cukor’s famed ability to work with women. In this particular case, Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, who was enjoying immense popularity, handled her role very well, easily displaying emotional extremes from crazy love, psychological trauma, descent into madness and vindictiveness near the end. Bergman often considered the role of Paula to be one of her best, and this was confirmed by her receiving the first of her three Oscars for it. French actor Charles Boyer proved to be a very good match. As in many of his Hollywood films, he radiated a charm and suaveness that could easily be transformed into something much more sinister.
Gaslight, unlike many modern thrillers with a similar concept, does not try to play with the viewer’s expectations. The script clearly sets Gregory as the villain and all but telegraphs that Paula’s ‘madness’ is the product of her husband’s manipulation. There is a brief moment near the end when it is suggested that Gregory’s gaslighting campaign might be too successful, and in a way that could prove fatal for the manipulator. The makers, bound by the strict censorship rules of the Hays Code, do not dare to go there and opt for a more conventional happy ending. The same censorship concerns, on the other hand, do not prevent the introduction of the character of Anton’s maid, Nancy Oliver, which gives a specific period flavour and a sort of social commentary. Played by the teenage Angela Lansbury in her first film role, Nancy is disdainful of her mistress and openly promiscuous, in line with English class stereotypes of ‘proles’ compensating for their inferior social position with more liberal attitudes to sex. Those stereotypes are used by Gregory, who unashamedly flirts with his young employee solely to further rattle his wife.
Casting Joseph Cotten in the role of the police detective who would provide a deus ex machina resolution was less fortunate. His character, described as a middle-aged man in the play, was made younger strictly for box-office purposes and hints at a future romance between him and Paula. Cotten does what he can with his role, but his unexplained American accent sticks out like a sore thumb in a film set in Victorian England. Dame May Whitty, who appears in the role of Paula’s nosy neighbour, serves mostly as misguided comic relief and something of fan service.
Despite those flaws, Gaslight is a very well-made film that performed well at the box office. Unlike many classic thrillers, it was never remade for the big screen, probably because its premise became part of popular culture and its title added a new word to the vocabulary. This proved to be a blessing in disguise, because newer viewers can still enjoy and appreciate this thriller from Hollywood’s golden age.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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