Review of Gaslight (1944) by Blake P — 17 Aug 2011

What a thrilling movie! Gregory (Boyer), is a seemingly- nice guy who marries Paula (Bergman). They soon move into a mansion, belonging to her aunt who had previously been murdered, which depresses Paula and leaves her with a bad taste in her mouth.

But Gregory soon takes it to his power and tries to convince Paula that she is crazy to he can start is devious plans. . . but when a detective (Cotten) gets in the way, things are a lot complicated then before.

"Gaslight" is an extremely suspenseful thriller that is really among one of my favorite films of all time. Though gay director George Cukor was known so much for making witty women's pictures, here he really steps up and makes a film that could even be mistaken for Hitchcock! With this film, sure, it's really suspenseful, but I think Cukor really tries to make the creepiness come up slowly, until the very good climax.

Bergman gives her best performance here and for not one second did I think she didn't deserve the Oscar win. What position would you be in if you were Paula? Bergman gives the best answer, and really gives Garbo a run for her money for the best Swedish turned American actress.

The same goes for Boyer as well. "Gaslight" is a very well made psychological suspense thriller that I think has gotten even better over time. Recommended.