He utilizes small mosaics of sharp characterization in building to his climax and works in each facet faultlessly. And he increases his acting stature by playing the part, much as did Robert Montgomery by appearing in Night Must Fall.ĭirection by George Cukor is ever a display of fine craftsmanship. It is a far cry from his average romantic roles, actually his first unmitigated screen villainy. She is saved only by the timely intervention of the police who have never been satisfied with the mystery surrounding her aunt’s demise.īoyer’s performance of the husband is really brilliant. The husband seems intent upon driving his wife insane by psychological suggestion and, with diabolical cunning, lead her to doing away with herself. He plants the thought in her mind that she does not always remember what she has done, that she loses things which have been given to her, that her sanity may be impaired. Without her unforced ability to capture the very spirit of youth, the prologue would have been impossible.įollowing their return to London, a subtle change begins in her husband’s attitude. Miss Bergman is indescribably lovely as the young wife, but even more remarkable is her appearance as the teen-age child, quite the youngest girl you have ever seen an established actress portray seriously. But she gives up her music when she falls in love and marries the man who is her accompaniment, then with her husband returns to Thornton Square. She leaves the old house on Thornton Square, London, to study singing on the Continent. This introduces the heroine as a girl in her ‘teens, deeply touched by the tragedy of her aunt’s mysterious murder. True, a prologue has been added to the original play. In the complete honesty of the melodrama rests its strong bid for outstanding box office. Hornblow is to be congratulated for his sagacity in avoiding the usual Hollywood “production touches.” He has a melodramatic tale to tell, and he gives it to audiences straight-from-the-shoulder. Rough), Cathleen Cordell (Nancy, the Parlour Maid), Robert Newton (Vincent Ullswater), Minnie Rayner (Elizabeth, the Cook).There is the properly terrifying atmosphere of the Drury Lane era in this piece, the emotional content of which relentlessly grips and holds absorbed interest. Principal Cast: Anton Walbrook (Paul Mallen, aka Louis Bauer), Diana Wynyard (Bella Mallen), Frank Pettingell (B.G. Rawlinson, Bridget Boland, from play Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton Producers: John Corfield, Richard Vernon (associate) Vienna-born Walbrook (1900-1967) established himself as a star of stage and films in Germany and Austria before emigrating to England and becoming a Continental leading man in such films as The Red Shoes (1948) and La Ronde (1950). In the 1940s she was married for four years to the celebrated film director Carol Reed. London-born Wynyard (1906-1964) was a distinguished star of the British stage who also succeeded on Broadway and in American and English films, winning an Oscar nomination for Cavalcade (1933). Walbrook was singled out by critics of the day for particular praise as the husband, whose outward veneer of suave sophistication hides inner cruelty, greed and desperation. Bella at last finds an unlikely aide in an ex-Scotland Yard detective (Frank Pettingell) she has met socially.īoth roles offer plum parts for actors, with Wynyard delivering a convincing performance in the role that would win Bergman a Best Actress Oscar. In the British film, Walbrook plays Paul Mallen, who convinces his bride Bella (Wynyard) that she is losing her memory and indeed her mind while he searches her Victorian mansion for the rubies that had belonged to her late aunt. Luckily for film fans, the original somehow survived and may be enjoyed today.īoth versions of Gaslight were adapted from Patrick Hamilton's Angel Street, a long-running London stage mystery that also enjoyed success on Broadway in 1941 with Vincent Price and Judith Evans in the leading roles. Indeed, many critics still feel that the British version is superior, portraying as it does the casual cruelty of the English class system. Because the original had won high critical praise, the studio hoped in this manner to avoid unfavorable comparisons to the lavishly produced remake. When MGM bought the rights to remake this Victorian mystery-thriller with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman in the leading roles, it ordered all copies of the British film destroyed. The original stars Anton Walbrook as the villainous husband in search of a fortune in rubies and Diana Wynyard as the unfortunate wife who is almost driven insane by his devious ways. The British version of Gaslight (1940), also known in England as A Strange Case of Murder, preceded its American remake by four years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |