Gaslight

I’m surprised to report I found this inferior to the 1944 remake overall, though it is still a solid film and in some respects does top the Hollywood alterations. Anton Walbrook is every bit as menacing as Charles Boyer in the role of the husband trying to drive his wife mad, achieving something I can only call underplayed overacting. His performance is a bit over the top, but in whispers and calculated twitches of an eyebrow. Cathleen Cordell too is nearly a match for Angela Lansbury’s smart-mouthed and experienced (though, “depends on how you mean” ;)) parlormaid — high praise, as I’d have to cite Lansbury’s work as one of the best supporting jobs of the decade. Diana Wynyard (not shockingly) pales in comparison to Ingrid Bergman, although it might be accurate to say she plainly underplays the role where Bergman plainly overacts it. In any case, the cast is quite good. The story launches right into the action without the romantic interlude the remake invented. This would seem to work in the original’s favor, but to be honest I felt I needed some evidence that Mallen had not always seemed a scoundrel. On the other hand, the policeman who unravels the gaslight mystery is better here, without another injection of a romantic subplot. Basically I feel the ‘44 remake did a great job of fleshing out the story and adding more intensity to it. This is so bare bones that it leaves it to the cast to make much of anything out of it: they rise to the occasion, but can only take it so far. Still a very good film, but I do prefer the remake.