Gaslight (1944)

Gaslight (1944)

Runtime: 114 minutes

Directed by: George Cukor

Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, Angela Lansbury, Dame May Whitty

From: MGM

It is fascinating that “gaslighting” has entered the lexicon of the English language.

In just the past couple of years, that term has become popular and people use it to describe a situation where-as Wikipedia puts it-”a person seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, or sanity.” Among the general public, I am not sure how many cared to look up the origin of the word and realized it was from a 1938 play, a 1940 British film, or here in its most famous iteration. I am not sure how it happened but now it's usually either used to describe something bad happening to a woman done by a loved one or in politics... let me skip past the latter to avoid controversy.

The plot of this story revolves around the former; Paula (Ingrid Bergman) is gaslighted by her new husband as they live in the mansion that belonged to her late aunt, who was mysteriously murdered years before. I will not reveal the reasons why her spouse created such a horrifying scheme to drive his wife crazy; also in the mix are interesting characters that include Angela Lansbury (in her film debut) as a tart of a maid, Dame May Whitty as a flighty older woman who provides some laughs, and Joseph Cotten in a role far different from the tremendous performance he delivered in Shadow of a Doubt.

As the director was George Cukor and the studio was MGM, naturally the production was high-class and everything was done pretty well. The cast does a nice job overall but without having seen most of the other entries, Ingrid Bergman deservedly won an Academy Award as she was tremendous in a difficult role where she was emotionally abused most of the way. The art direction was the other Oscar that the movie won, and that was top-notch. So was the light and shadow that was used in a noir sort of way.

The movie is more than just the source of a term that unexpectedly became popular amongst “woke culture”; it is a great piece of work where the lead is put through a psychological ringer and it is easy to feel sympathetic over the horrific way she is abused. He convinces her she is always tired, is forgetful, imagines moments, and otherwise does inexplicable things. It does result in an unforgettable finale when the other shoe finally drops and the bad guy finally gets his comeuppance. Also, the story does explain why it is known as Gaslight... it relates to lights dimming in the mansion when they aren't supposed to and is another aspect of poor Paula being driven mad.