A review of the 1944 movie classic “Gaslight”
This is the film which gave rise to the term ‘to gaslight’, meaning to cause someone to doubt his or her sanity through psychological manipulation. In the film itself, a husband played by Charles Boyer seeks to undermine the sanity of his wife portrayed by Ingrid Bergman through – among other things – repeatedly dimming and brightening the gaslights in their 19th century London home.
Based on a play called “Angel Street” and the subject of an earlier British cinematic version in 1940, this American-made movie was directed by George Cukor. It is somewhat static in location, but finely acted with plenty of atmosphere, and it won an Academy Award for Bergman.