Gaslight

Critics Consensus

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100%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 6

76%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 678
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Movie Info

The 1940 British production of Gaslight was the first of two cinematic adaptations of Patrick Hamilton's play. Oozing faux continental charm, Anton Walbrook inveigles his way into the confidence of the young mistress (Diana Wynyard) of a large Victorian mansion. Walbrook is searching for the rubies that he'd stolen from the previous owner of the house -- whom he'd also murdered. Suspecting that Wynyard is about to catch on to his secret, Walbrook enlists the aid of a sluttish maidservant to drive his loving bride crazy. The ploy almost works, but Wynyard is rescued by an unexpected ally. Gaslight was released in the U.S. as Murder in Thornton Square, then withdrawn entirely on the occasion of MGM's expensive 1944 remake of Gaslight, which starred Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. To avoid confusion, MGM allegedly ordered that all prints of the original Gaslight be destroyed. Evidently that order was not honored to the letter, since the 1940 Gaslight is still safely available for both theatrical and TV exhibition. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Cast

Anton Walbrook
as Paul Mallen
Diana Wynyard
as Bella Mallen
Frank Pettingell
as B.G. Rough
Cathleen Cordell
as Nancy
Robert Newton
as Vincent Ullswater
Jimmy Hanley
as Cobb
Minnie Rayner
as Elizabeth
Mary Hinton
as Lady Winterbourne
Marie Wright
as Alice Barlow
Jack Barty
as Chairman
Angus Morrison
as Pianist
Darrnora Ballet
Aubrey Dexter
as House Agent
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Critic Reviews for Gaslight

All Critics (6)

  • The first, British version of Patrick Hamilton's popular play, is extremely well acted by Diana Wynyard and Anton Walbrook, but Cukor's MGM version, with Osar-winning Ingrid Bergman, is superior.

    Aug 2, 2012 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

    Emanuel Levy

    EmanuelLevy.Com

  • So much goes right in this film version, all without sparking a corresponding bump in my enthusiasm, that it's all the more obvious that I find some foundations of this text perennially problematic.

    Jan 16, 2012 | Rating: B | Full Review…

    Nick Davis

    Nick's Flick Picks

  • The husband is played by Anton Walbrook, who is far more sinister and emotionless than Charles Boyer would be in the later version.

    Feb 10, 2004 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review…

    John J. Puccio

    Movie Metropolis
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Audience Reviews for Gaslight

  • May 20, 2012
    An interesting British thriller that isn't great but does possess one great performance from Walbrook as the evil husband. I'd already seen a stage version and so knew what to expect but the film surprised me in its brutality (the strangulation of an old woman in the first few minutes) and its morally ambiguous characters.
    David S Super Reviewer
  • May 09, 2012
    A townhouse in 19th Century London with a past: there was a woman murdered there years ago and the murderer never caught. The new couple there should be happy, but the young wife ... troubled. Hears things, sees things, its too bad really. With women as the target audience there's still enough in this strange, brooding gothic tale to please everyone, and was good enough to be remade by Hollywood a scant 4 years later. All the meat's still here in the original, more direct version.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
  • Dec 15, 2011
    MGM famously tried to destroy this film's negatives so it wouldn't compete with its own 1944 remake starring Charles Boyer and Angela Lansbury. Good thing they didn't, because we wouldn't have the great fortunate of watching the darker side of Anton Walbrook. His villainy may be a little over-the-top, but he does it with such conviction, commitment, and stature that I bought it 100%. If that isn't a testament to how great of an actor he was, I don't know what is.
    Jonathan H Super Reviewer
  • Nov 03, 2010
    Nothing special. Fucking Netflix sent this version to me instead of the Ingrid Bergman version. It makes for a marginally compelling tale of deception and murder, but Bella's husband is so over-the-top evil that they should have made his mustache a little longer so he could twist it. Bella herself is mostly ineffectual and whiny, and though you obviously feel sorry for her as she's trapped in this perverse psychological game, she doesn't really offer any interesting insight into her predicament or mental state. She's just a crazy lady with a controlling husband living in a house where an old lady died. It's basically a Victorian Gothic paint-by-numbers.
    Drew S Super Reviewer
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