On G List of Movie Reviews

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Gaslight (1940)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 5/05, 5/16

Glight
5/05: Slow, tedious, and predictable, Gaslight lacks a good deal of suspense and has many false endings.

The acting, most especially from Diana Wynyard as Bella Mallen, is weak. Also, the film is marred by poor script and silly characters. There's an eerie hybrid between Orson Welles and Robert Donat in Anton Walbrook who plays a character that's equally repulsive and odious.

All in all, with better editing, Gaslight can be completed in an hour yet achieve the same result.

5/16: One good thing about the 1940 version of Gaslight is it's shorter than the remake.

However, Charles Boyer's performance is memorable enough to give the original a run for its money. He's masterful. Anton Walbrook does a good job and is almost as convincing. At least, his character's relationship with the maid is just because it's what I thought during the remake.

If there's anything I hate about the 1944 version, it's Ingrid Bergman's overrated performance. As ordinary as she was, Diana Wynyard created the character, and Ingrid Bergman only copied it. What I like about the original is the buildup of suspense in Victorian style. I could feel it. Hence, the cinematography is perfectly executed, and it's a lot grittier than the remake.

All in all, I give the slight edge to the 1940 version of Gaslight over the 1944 remake.