Stars & Story Light up MGM's ‘Gaslight’ 1944

The hot house atmosphere of 1944's "Gaslight" gets much of its heat from these
great stars: Ingrid Bergman, Angela Lansbury, and Charles Boyer.

As a suspense film fan, it’s amazing to me that I've only seen clips of 1944's Gaslight in my 50 years of watching movies. With the recent death of Angela Lansbury, plus the 40th anniversary of Ingrid Bergman’s passing on Aug. 29, I thought it was high time to remedy this.

Ingrid Bergman is the lady of the house who's so fragile that even the malicious maid
 (Angela Lansbury) gets under her skin, in MGM's "Gaslight."

Based on the Broadway hit 1938 Angel Street, MGM then bought U.S. film rights and tried to bury the British version that was made in 1940. They didn't succeed, but more about that later.

MGM glamorized Gaslight like they did to many period stories—Pride and Prejudice, Madame Bovary, and Little Women—all made to look super wealthy, though they weren't. Metro does so here, too, though it's not quite as intrusive. 

Ingrid Bergman in one of many striking shots from 1944's "Gaslight."

What MGM does well in this version, which makes me prefer their Gaslight as a suspense film, is a certain amount of ambiguity (partly due to censorship) and by not overtly giving away the husband's villainy from the get-go. 

A huge plus is the cast, particularly the stars whose characters inhabit this hot house household: Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Angela Lansbury—in her first film. Their personas say much that dialogue can't. Bergman and Boyer have so much natural sensuality, much can be implied regarding what flamed their relationship. And Lansbury had that saucy and impudent look that could turn sour and bitchy in a blink of her huge eyes as the maid on the make.

Charles Boyer surround by his tall co-stars, Angela Lansbury & Ingrid Bergman,
on the set of MGM's "Gaslight."

The changes made in the MGM version work well, overall. Though it's an excuse to slather on some more Metro gloss, the prologue where young Paula meets and is swept off her feet by Gregory in Italy shows that this is her first love, with Boyer in full romantic mode. They also flipped certain plot points from the leading man to the leading lady, which works, too. The biggest change is the murdered relative and empty house now comes from her side of the family, not his.

The prologue to MGM's "Gaslight" shows Boyer & Bergman in love, on their honeymoon.

Though you know Boyer is the bad guy, the fact that he's played both heroes and villains has you hoping against hope he's not a total rat. That we don't see him actually setting up his tricks on Bergman, or that he's not blatantly abusive or adulterous, as in the British version.

MGM's version of "Gaslight" cleverly plays on Charles Boyer's romantic image
to create suspense as to his character's later villainy.

The great trio of performances gives the edge to this Gaslight. Ingrid Bergman's naturalness and emotionalism was her calling card as an actress, which is perfect for the role of Paula. That she has suffered trauma finding her murdered aunt makes great plot sense, and gives further authenticity to her fragility. When Boyer's Gregory subtly toys with her to the point where she begs not to be shamed in front of the servants, her humiliation is palpable. As the heroine questions her own sanity as the movie goes on, Bergman is utterly believable. Hedy Lamarr was the studio’s choice as Paula, but director George Cukor rightly rejected the idea. Most of MGM’s great dramatic divas had already left, leaving mature newcomer Greer Garson. British Deborah Kerr, who could have been great, didn’t arrive to Metro until ’47.

One of cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg's amazing closeups of Ingrid Bergman
as Paula, who begins to question her own sanity, in MGM's "Gaslight."

Charles Boyer had already scored as charming cads in Algiers and Hold Back the Dawn. But he also played warm, romantic roles like All This, and Heaven Too. That duality adds to his fine performance. Those great dark eyes and deep romantic voice transfix you as much as Paula. The moments where Boyer’s charm turns cold are utterly chilling. As Gregory, Charles Boyer runs nearly the same range of emotions as Bergman’s, except his are those of a sociopath, and he’s a memorable villain.

Charles Boyer used his aristocratic looks, soulful eyes, and beautiful speaking voice
to help create the most manipulative villain in 1944's "Gaslight."

It's hard to believe that Angela Lansbury turned just 18 during the making of Gaslight. Her saucy, sharp-tongued maid reminded me a bit of Bette Davis as Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage. Which always made me think that Angela should been cast as a Bette Davis-style leading lady at MGM, which had more glamour girls than great actresses, frankly. But what a great start this was for Angela, and she's most subtle here. Nancy is tart with the missus and slightly tarty with the master. She’s very street smart and self-possessed. When Boyer’s master comments that she’s much too charming for the mistress of the house, Lansbury’s Nancy slyly replies, “She’s not the only one in the house, is she?”

Angela Lansbury as Nancy, the domestic who seems to be untamed! Angela was not yet
 18 when she worked on 1944's "Gaslight," but holds her own with Bergman & Boyer.

All three of these actors got Oscar nominations and Bergman deservedly won, I thought. Even Barbara Stanwyck, nominated for her classic performance in Double Indemnity, publicly lauded Ingrid’s victory. Watching the arc of Bergman’s character start off as bright and girlish to tormented and finally, nearly emotionally beaten, is fascinating to watch.

A fresh-faced Ingrid Bergman as young Paula at the beginning of MGM's "Gaslight."

This is one of those movies that more than a few have mistakenly attributed to Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, since two of the stars—Bergman and Cotten—were under contract to David Selznick, it's a wonder that his director didn't come along to Metro for the ride. That said, MGM director George Cukor was in his prime here, his strengths were getting the best from his actors and in sophisticated storytelling.

Two of producer David Selznick's stars--Ingrid Bergman & Joseph Cotten--were loaned to MGM for "Gaslight." With Charles Boyer here.

I've watched the British version, which has been saved and restored. I notice that the 1940 and ‘44 versions have been pitted in the typical movie critics/movie lovers’ game of which is better. The '40 version gets a lot of sympathy because Hollywood's biggest studio tried to destroy the smaller British version. I believe MGM also tried to do the same with the Italian version of The Postman Always Rings Twice. Well, the 1940 version is more faithful to the Patrick Hamilton play and it is much more straightforward—in fact it barely runs 90 minutes. Does that necessarily make it better? The Mildred Pierce remake was more faithful, but I really prefer the 1945 film version.

Ingrid Bergman is radiant as a woman in love in 1944's "Gaslight."

What the British version offers are British leads whose characters live a more upper middle class British life. Also, playwright Patrick Hamilton offers side commentary on the British social hierarchy, especially when it comes to marriage and money. The two leads are Diana Wynyard and Anton Walbrook. Their performances are fine by their film era's standards. While her character stands up to her husband on occasion, Diana Wynyard’s performance feels very leading lady-ish, with much wide-eyed displays of  fear and disbelief. There’s very little of the raw emotion that Ingrid Bergman evinces as the beleaguered wife here. And while I enjoyed the expert mustache twirling of Anton Walbrook as the heartless husband, he feels a bit campy, and I wondered if Kevin Branagh’s mad “Maestro” was inspired by him later in Dead Again. Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh would have been wonderful—and British, but they didn’t get cast in either version. Cathleen Cordell as the maid was strictly one-note, with none of the magnetism or malice that Lansbury possessed. Joseph Cotten made a younger, attractive detective who is on the husband’s case in the ’44 Gaslight, and I found his warm charm preferable to his British counterpart’s aging ham. Yes, MGM does play the hint of romance card at the literal last minute, between Cotten and Bergman, with Dame May Whitty clucking cutely.

Angela Lansbury's maid on the make Nancy is performed with much more depth
in the MGM version of "Gaslight."

The 1940 version seems rather barebones and can’t imagine that the stage play was only 90 minutes. The MGM is 30 minutes longer, and feels more fully fleshed, not merely padded. Joseph Ruttenberg's photography is masterful, particularly depicting Bergman’s gradually growing unbalanced. BTW, though Bergman’s makeup-free, soft close-ups as the young Paula leaving the crime scene are convincing, did it look like they used an actual teenager in long-shot over the 5’9” Bergman? The score by Bronislau Kaper is superbly eerie.

Ingrid Bergman as the beaten-down wife in 1944's "Gaslight."

Gaslight is one of the first movies to depict spousal emotional abuse in a marriage, under the guise of a suspense film. The husband woos the wife, only to isolate and gradually wear down her self-esteem with abuse, is still relevant today. The final monologue, where Paula confronts her tormentor husband, is strongly written and performed by Bergman. Gaslight is a superior thriller with intriguing underlying themes.

Ingrid Bergman's big scene where her abused wife Paula tells off her
tormentor husband, now captured and helpless, in 1944's "Gaslight."