Gaslight (1940)

Twenty years after the murder of Alice Barlow, her house is finally occupied again. However, the husband from the couple who have moved in has a secret which he will do anything to keep hidden.

Director:

Thorold Dickinson

Writers:

Patrick Hamilton (from the stage play by), A.R. Rawlinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anton Walbrook	...	Paul Mallen
Diana Wynyard	...	Bella Mallen
Frank Pettingell	...	Rough
Cathleen Cordell	...	Nancy
Robert Newton	...	Ullswater
Jimmy Hanley	...	Cobb
Minnie Rayner	...	Elizabeth
Marie Wright	...	Alice Barlow
Aubrey Dexter	...	House Agent
Mary Hinton	...	Lady Winterbourne
Angus Morrison	...	Pianist
Jack Barty	...	Chairman of Music Hall
The Darmora Ballet	...	Dancers

Storyline

In Victorian London, all the talk in one specific neighborhood is that someone has finally moved into 12 Pimilco Square, the house having sat empty for years as the previous owner, Alice Barlow, was murdered there, her valuable rubies thought to be stolen in the process, this information of which the new owners, newlyweds Paul and Bella Mallen, may or may not be aware. Bella's delicate constitution takes a turn for the worse after moving into the house, she forgetting and misplacing things, as well as being delusional in hearing noises in the closed off upper floors of the house, and seeing the lights flicker when no one else is in the house, those flickers which should only occur when other lights are turned on and off in the house in the gas to the lights being dispersed. Paul's love for her crosses that fine line into hate in dealing with Bella's worsening mental health, he isolating her in the house in not wanting to be embarrassed by her in public. Paul's harsh treatment ...

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Plot Keywords:

punch and judy | tied to a chair | piano recital | bigamist | pet dog | 

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Taglines:

A melodrama of a strange love!

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

When MGM remade the film with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman, the studio attempted to have all prints of this earlier version destroyed. Fortunately, several prints escaped the fire (in fact, it is believed that director Thorold Dickinson surreptitiously struck a print himself before the negative was lost).

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Goofs

When the police enter the room with the dead body, they move an object before touching the body. The object had not been there previously.

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Quotes

Bella Mallen: Why did you ever marry me?
Paul Mallen: When I married you, you were normal. At least I thought you were.

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Connections

Referenced in The Others (2001)

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Soundtracks

It's Very Aggravating
(uncredited)
Written by J. Williams and G.W. Hunt

User Reviews

Just as good--if not better--than the 1944 remake

It's easy to see why MGM locked this away in their vaults when they issued their 1944 remake--it's really great!

An evil crook (Anton Walbrook) slowly tries to drive his wife (Diana Wynyard) mad for some jewels.

This isn't as lush as the remake, but it more than makes up for it in other departments. For one thing--it's shorter by about 30 minutes and there's no romantic interlude at the beginning. This one starts dark and gets darker. Walbrook is frightening as the husband--much better than Charles Boyer in the remake. The scenes where he yells at his wife had me jumping. Wynyard is great as his fragile wife. She doesn't go into hysterics and chew the scenery like Ingrid Bergman did--she plays it calmly and quietly and very very realistically. Her final confrontation with her husband was just great. Also Cathleen Cordell is lots of fun as Nancy, the parlor maid. In the remake she was played by Angela Landsbury (in her film debut). Surprisingly, Cordell is better than Landsbury!

The remake copied this film virtually scene by scene--and suffers somewhat by comparison. It added on the unnecessary romantic subplot with Joseph Cotton. Thankfully, there's nothing like that here. This just grips you from the very beginning and doesn't let go.

Both movies are great but this one is marginally better. Very recommended.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Murder in Thornton Square

Filming Locations:

D&P Studios, Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British National Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1